Uzbekistan has reached an agreement with the Taliban to invest in Bamyan Province in order to supply potatoes for its domestic market.
An Uzbek delegation led by Dauran Vahabov, head of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met on Monday, May 18, with Gul Haidar Shafaq, the Taliban governor of Bamyan Province.
The two sides agreed that Uzbekistan will transfer around 40 tons of improved Dutch potato seeds to Bamyan.
These improved seeds will be cultivated on approximately 90,000 jeribs of agricultural land.
According to the Uzbek delegation, as quoted by the newspaper “Uzbekistan Daily,” investment in potato production in Afghanistan could annually provide between 50,000 and 300,000 tons of high-quality and low-cost potatoes for the Uzbek market.
The press office of the Taliban governor in Bamyan also confirmed the agreement in a statement.
The deal will be implemented under the “cluster” model.
Under this model, Uzbekistan will be responsible not only for supplying improved seeds, but also for building modern cold-storage facilities for agricultural products and mineral fertilizers, developing export infrastructure, training local farmers, and providing modern agricultural technology.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
