Energy Management : - In Afghanistan the energy needs for cooking, keeping the houses warm in winter season and to meet the other needs of the urban and rural areas energy management is very important. To meet energy requirements of both the rural and the urban areas, proper plans should be formulated and implemented by involving the people of Afghanistan. For this, the silvi-pastoral plantation should be encouraged on the village level.
Planning of urban centres :- Most of the urban towns of Afghanistan have been destroyed by the Talibans or by the bombardment of the American Air Force planes. Now it is a major issue who should rebuild these towns. A town should be given basic infrastructure facilities like road, electricity or power, medical and health, education, housing, etc. The urban centres and growth of towns in the hill areas of Afghanistan should be strictly regulated on ecological considerations.
Agriculture :- In Afghanistan the agriculture is by far the most important occupation. More than 84% of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. The varied topography and agro-climatic conditions permit the cultivation of a wide variety of crops and fruits ranging from arid, semi-arid, sub-tropical to cool temperate. The effective measures, if taken to persuade the people to practise more extensively the profitable and scientific cultivation will undoubtedly go a long way in enhancing the agricultural out put in the regions. The valley of Helmand, alluvial plains of Kabulistan, Bamian area, Panjshir valley, Badakhshan region of north-east of Afghanistan, low plain of Afghan Turkistan, Oasis of Tejend, Amu-Darye, the Hari-Rud, fertile plain of Herat, Oasis of Merv and upper valley of the Murghab may be the best for large agriculture production area of war-ravaged Afghanistan. In these areas the cultivation of the staple crops including wheat, barley, millet, maize, sugarcane, beet grenadines, saffron and date-palms in summer, winter and autumn season. Through proper planning in agriculture sector Afghanistan will be self-sufficient in near future in food grains.
If prepare the proper planning of Afghanistan than this country will get additional irrigation of 10 lakhs hectares land, 10 lakhs hectares of grazing land, 20 lakhs tones additional food grain including wheat, maize, oat, mustard and gram, 5 to10 lakhs tones fruits, flowers, vegetables and dry fruits including date, grape, fig, chestnut, currant, musk, beet, orange, pear, lemon, almond, pistacho, raisin, mulberry and apple can be produced every year.
Potato Cultivation :- In Afghanistan the potato tubers can easily grown in cold region so that potato cultivation should be increased. It is remarkable that even coarse hill soils are able to produce fine crops of potato. Because of the higher return value of seed potatoes, their cultivation can be done largely at high attitudes of Afghan mountain region. The Afghanistan people can grow potato as a crop on hill slopes in abundance quantity. The Central Potato Research Institute, Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India can give the new technique for high-yielding and disease resistant varieties of potato to Afghanistan. The Indian government also can supply spawn and technical guidance to the growers including mushrooms in Afghanistan.
Horticulture: -In Afghanistan horticulture has special significance from the point of view of better land use and amelioration of the economic conditions of the people. The land of Afghanistan is suitable for the production of fruits, vegetables and flower seeds. If Afghan government promotes horticulture activities in the country the people of rural and urban area can earn additional benefit. Afghanistan can be divided into five horticultural zones. Table No. 1 shows Horticultural Zone. The Bactria plain, Kabulistan Valley, Panjshir Valley and Badakhshan region may be the best fruit production area in Asia including dry fruits. The north and north-eastern plain of Afghanistan provides suitable conditions for successful growing fruit cultivation.
Table -1
| |
Zone |
Important Fruits |
| 1. |
Lower Hills and Valleys Zone |
Sub-Tropical Fruits Like Litchi, Loquat, Guava, Citrus Fruits, Mango, Spices, Apple, Grapes, etc. |
| 2. |
Mid-Hills Zone |
Stone Fruits Like Peach, Plum, Apricot, Persimmon, Pear, Pomegranate, Almond, Orange, Spices, Olive, etc. |
| 3. |
High Hills and Interior Valleys |
Apple, Cherry, Pear, Almond, Walnut, Chestnut, Apricot, etc. |
| 4. |
Plain Zone |
Guava, Litchi, Pomegranate, Fig, Mango, Mushrooms, Musk-Melon, Grapes, Orange, Pistachio, Mulberry. etc. |
| 5. |
Dry and Cold Zone |
Raisin, Grapes, Prunes, Musk-Melon, Drying Varieties of Apricot,
Chilgoza, Apple, Date Mulberry, Spices, etc. |
Thus, through proper planning the well-managed Grapes orchard can be developed in plain area of Hazara and Hindu Kush Lower hills and valley and river side of Kabul, Murghab, Hari-Rud and Helmand river. Jalalabad, Bamyan,, Charika, Ghazni, Malistan, Tarinkot, Qulat, Kandahar, Lashkargah, Chaghcharan, Maymana, Shibarghan, Mazare-sharif, Kunduz, Taloqan, and Faizabad districts are the best for horticulture practice. In the rich plains of Kabul a great variety of fruit is grown. In the lower region (below 2000 feet) one meets such characteristic Mediterranean fruits as orange, figs and grenadines as well as date-palms and sugercane.
Irrigation:- The Mountain region received snow melting water in summer. This water can be utilised in the Kandhar, Helmand, Nimruz, Farah and Herat provinces for irrigation purpose. By constructing the Dam on the Helmand, Amu-Darya, Murghab and Herirud rivers for irrigation purpose. The construction of Dam for utilizing the melting water can produce near about 20 Lakh tons food-grains, 4 Lakh tons fruits and 2 Lakh tons dry fruits by irrigation.
Pasture Development:- Afghanistan has better breeds of sheeps, goat, horse, Mule, Ass and camel. To provide them with nutritious feed and fodder, a pasture development programme should be implemented on common property land. The undulating terrain of each village should be developed as a fuel-cum-fodder farm and the regeneration of this area should be looked after by the village committee under the technical guidance of the forest department. It is also possible that a group of four or five village may develop a common Silvi-pastoral farm on a common land. The existing pasture land on the mountain region may be regenerated by re-seeding and serial spraying of grass seeds. It is all the more essential to meet the requirement of fuel and fodder of each village. To achieve this objective a proper plan should be formulated and implemented for the establishment of Silvi-pastoral farms on village common lands. The high yielding local varieties of grasses may be grown on village common lands and waste lands.
Solar and Wind Power :- The south and west part of Afghanistan country forms part of desert eco-system. It has a vast solar and wind power potential which may be harnessed for power generation. With the development of the technology for solar power generation, the area under reference will generate sufficient quantity of power required for the economic development of the area. On an average about 300 days remain cloud free in a year in the desert area of Afghanistan which has a vast potential for the generation of power from the solar energy. The western, south-west and northern winds blow in the desert and surrounding mountain parts of Afghanistan at a sufficiently higher speed which may be harnessed through wind mills.