Grain Stockpiles to Reach 500,000 Tonne Capacity

Officials in the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock say the capacity of grain stockpiles will reach 500,000 tonnes in the next 3 years

The Ministry says it is planning to store 100,000 tonnes of grain in the current year.

The capacity of grain stockpiles is increasing every year and there are plans to build grain stockpiles in the remotest provinces like Badakhshan and Helmand with the financial support of international organisations, the Ministry says.

"We will continue the same process next year and we are planning to increase the capacity of our stockpiles each year," Majidullah Qarar, a spokesman for the Ministry, told TOLOnews.

"We expect to have enough wheat stored in our stockpiles in the next few years," he added.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock in planning to increase the number of wheat stockpiles at a time when food prices have increased tremendously in the country due to heavy floods in Pakistan that have damaged crops.

The Ministry says it had stored more than 70,000 tonnes of wheat that was collected from farmers all across the country and is planning this year to increase the capacity of stockpiles to 200,000 tonnes.