KABUL (Commodity Online) : War torn Afghanistan expects good Wheat harvest this season as harvest has been plentiful in northern parts of the country which is the main supplier of wheat for the rest of the nation.

Small district of Samangan harvested 140,000 tones of wheat, a seven-fold increase over the 20,000 tons last year, according to Afghan agriculture ministry.

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Farmers have managed to store a surplus of 50,000 tones there and asked agriculture ministry and the World Food Program to purchase the surplus so people will be able to make a profit.

After years of drought brought failed harvests and food crises, in which dozens of people died, rain reached most part of the country.

Around 90% of the farmland in the north is in mountainous areas, irrigated by rain in the spring and snow in the winter.

Agricultural experts say that with better seeds and a better system of irrigation, Afghanistan should be able to feed itself. However, the agricultural sector has been devastated by years of civil war and was neglected in the reconstruction phase after the fall of the Taliban.

The long spells of drought in the last few years had a huge impact on the north, with many farmers leaving rural areas for the cities. The ones who stayed behind barely survived, or starved. There are accounts of people trying to sell their children to buy food. The bad Wheat harvest in the north also affected the rest of the country.

The resulting high wheat price was a major incentive for farmers to grow more wheat this year, helped by the distribution of seeds by aid organizations.

But the rains brought in the harvest. People now have enough food, and far fewer are leaving for the city.

The overall situation is so favorable that Afghanistan this year will import only 200,000 tonnes of wheat, analysts said. Last year, Afghanistan bought 1.2 million tonnes of wheat.

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