Poultry Farm Opens in Helmand

Helmand: A poultry farm worth three million dollars, provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has been established in province of Helmand.

Dr.Ihsanullah said the farm had 5,000 chickens imported from Holland. The fowls include hens laying eggs for hatching, those laying eggs for human consumption and meat chicks, according to USAID chief in Helmand.

Eggs for human consumption would be sold on the local market, he said, adding the objective behind creating the farm was to obviate the need for poultry imports from the neighboring countries - Pakistan and Iran.

After a year and a half, Dr. Ihsan continued, the farm would produce 50,000 eggs on a daily basis, 100,000 meat chickens and 200,000 egg-laying hens annually. The poultry products will be supplied to other parts of the country once the needs of Helmand and adjoining provinces are met.

Residents of different districts of Helmand would be imparted poultry trainings and provided with chicken feed and other requisite resources at cheaper rates, promised the USAID official.

Governor Gulab Mangal visited the farm in the militancy-plagued province, where a string of development projects have been inaugurated this week as part of a huge effort to put it back on the road to normalcy. USAID representatives and government officials from different departments accompanied the governor.

Speaking on the occasion, Mangal hoped the project would spur the local economy on the one hand and minimize reliance on imports on the other. Eggs and chicks coming from abroad were often found unfit for eating, he pointed out.

Happy over the establishment of the farm, a Lashkargah-based poultry merchant said the initiative would help ensure easier availability of quality eggs and meat. Ghulam Rasul was confident the venture would go a long way in bringing down prices of poultry products.