The soil and climate of Afghanistan are especially well-suited for pistachio trees, which grow wild in the region. However, many pistachio trees have died due to neglect, war, and drought, while many others have been cut down for firewood. Deforestation is another issue. However, experts hope that more pistachio trees can be planted across the country to reforest and produce crops. These trees can also stabilize slopes that have been stripped of vegetation.
Thanks to a recent revival in interest in the pistachio, in 2017 Afghanistan was ranked ninth in world in pistachio production. “We work hard here to cultivate pistachio and benefit well,” Ata Mohammad, a farmer in Herat province’s Karrokh district, told Voice of America. He added, “this crop is better than others. This is a productive and Halal [legitimate or religiously legal] crop.”
The pistachio tree looks more like a hardy bush, growing between eight and 10 meters tall. It thrives in regions with cold winters and long, hot summers. Pistachio nuts are typically harvested in late August and throughout September. A mature tree growing in good soil can produce as much as 23 kilograms of hulled, dried nuts each year.
Iran and the United States lead the world in production of pistachios, but pistachio aficionados prefer nuts that are grown in the Middle East and Asia, where the nut originated. Farmers already see opportunities for export to India, Turkey, Germany, and countries in the Gulf region.
Here are two efforts to create a pistachio farming sector in Afghanistan.
Badam Bagh Farm
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock planted three types of pistachio trees on this farm in Kabul nine years ago as an experiment. In 2017, farmers harvested nuts from these trees and said they saw positive results. While the ministry tried growing some Iranian pistachio trees, farmers said that local trees produced a better harvest. Trees from Badghis, Samangan, and Herat provinces showed particular promise, according to a pistachio tree expert.
Farmers found that trees planted in the west, northeast, and north mountainous regions of the country thrive and don’t require irrigation. However, agricultural experts believe that harvests from trees that are grown on level land and irrigated will have significantly larger yields. With this knowledge, they hope to help farmers grow high-yield pistachio orchards.
Kandahar Pistachios
Agriculture expert Hamid Helmandi planted a 75-acre orchard of pistachios in the southern province of Kandahar, and in 2017 it produced 2,000 kilograms of nuts. As he’s promoted pistachio growing in the region, Helmandi has also used his crops to research how the region can build a self-sustaining pistachio industry. He hopes that more farmers across Afghanistan will plant pistachio orchards.
Helmandi’s research shows that landlocked countries such as Afghanistan face similar challenges in growing and exporting crops. Trade routes are subject to a country’s relationship with its neighbors as well as the political and economic situations of adjacent countries. Additionally, growers must have access to affordable and efficient transportation routes to get their produce to market. Otherwise, Afghanistan will not be able to compete in the global pistachio market, he said.
Helmandi’s initial research shows promise for pistachio orchards in Afghanistan. He found that the trees only needed to be watered every 10 days, and they grew well even in regions where water supplies were low. His pistachio trees produced nuts six years after they were planted, and one tree could produce about $100 in income a year of pistachios. In comparison, a pomegranate tree in Afghanistan produces between $4 and $20 in income for the farmer.
In the future, Helmandi hopes that more Afghani farmers will consider growing pistachios. His farm produced 2,000 kilograms of pistachios in 2016, and each kilogram sold locally for about $8.40. He already has helped establish 115 pistachio farms in Takhta, Afghistan, Spin Boldak, Maiwant, Zheri, and Panjwai, and he hopes to plant 240 more pistachio orchards in regions with limited water supplies.
Challenges
While growing pistachios in Afghanistan and selling them on the global market should not be difficult, getting the pistachios to customers once they are harvested remains a challenge. Afghanistan has few processing plants, packing facilities, or marketing structures for the nuts. The Ministry of Agriculture also needs to standardize its processing procedures for pistachios to ensure that nuts it sends to market have a consistent quality.
Government officials must also continue working to keep pistachio crops safe from insurgents, who are said to be destroying pistachio trees. Sometimes, insurgents demand that farmers give them a portion of their crops, reducing farmers’ yields. In response, some farmers have begun harvesting crops early, which reduces the quality of the nuts and could harm Afghanistan’s reputation for producing excellent pistachios.