KABUL - Nearly nine million Afghans are living in extreme poverty due to a lack of investment in the country's agriculture sector, a minister said on Sunday.
"Due to the past three decades of war, investment in the agriculture sector has dropped by 43 percent," Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Minister Mohammad Asif Rahimi told a gathering marking the World Food Day in Kabul.
The minister said the price of rice increased by three percent and that of maize by 74 percent over the past 18 months in Afghanistan. He said high food prices were adding to the woes of poverty-stricken people, particularly those with disabilities.

However, he explained Afghanistan was not the only country facing the problem. He said food prices across the world had increased by 122 percent over a decade due to a lack of investment in the agriculture sector.

To alleviate the poverty, the minister said they planned to provide 20,000 tons of improved quality wheat seeds to farmers across the country this year.

Tekeste Ghebray Tekie, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, told the gathering that food prices increased in the country due to floods and drought. He also said that due to a lack of proper attention toward the agriculture sector, the harvests have been dropping.

World Food Program country director in Afghanistan, Willim Afif, on the occasion said there has been a 60 percent increase in the prices of food items in Afghanistan since 2007.

Dry spells and floods were other factors that contributed to the increase in food rates this year, he said.

He said despite facing financial constrains, his organization would provide assistance to 2.8 million Afghans during the current year.