NEILI - Public representatives on Sunday said funds allocated for the agriculture sector in the draft budget were inadequate and accused the central government of ignoring central Daikundi province.

Provincial council member Hadi Rahimi said only 12 million afghanis had been set aside for the agriculture sector in the proposed budget. He told Pajhwok Afghan News previous budgets had not been properly used to develop the key sector.

He said most Daikundi residents were associated with farming, but the sector had long been neglected. He believed the agriculture department would not be able to facilitate farmers because the funds would be enough only to meet its own needs.

Sadiqi Zada, who represents Daikundi in the Wolesi Jirga, accused the government of having no clear plan for development projects, saying funds had never been used properly. He said the government always blamed donor agencies for its failure.

“We have been calling on the Ministry of Agriculture over the past two years that Daikundi needs machinery, improved wheat seeds, training for farmers and water dams, but only promises are made and nothing has been done practically,” Zada lamented.

But Agriculture Director Mehdi Mowahadi said they had utilized the entire 12 million afghanis allocated for development programs and nine million afghanis for general expenses.

He claimed providing fertilizers to 1,800 farmers and prepared eight plots of land for saffron cultivation. They had been able to counter plant diseases and construct two veterinary clinics as primary achievements during the ongoing solar year, Mowahadi said.

He said the outgoing year saw wheat production decreasing from last year’s 38,000 tons to 31,000 and almond from 8,000 tons to 7,000 tons.

He said there was need for the construction of small dams, embanking natural streams, improving saffron cultivation and distributing improved seeds in Daikundi. (Pajhwok)