Bamiyan’s Potato Flower Festival will provide a platform for the marketing of potatoes both locally and internationally, government officials said on Sunday.
Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah, along with a number of high-ranking officials and diplomats visited the festival in Bamiyan province over the weekend.
While in the province, Abdullah also inaugurated the first tourist information center at Band-e Amir National Park.
This year’s potato festival drew dozens of visitors to the province.
“Bamiyan is a secure province and the only reason for security is the close cooperation between security forces and the people; therefore government must put more attention to development projects in the province,” said Fakoor Beheshti, a lawmaker from Bamiyan.
The minister of agriculture Assadullah Zamir, who also attended the festival, said the ministry was trying to standardize cultivation methods in the province. He also said his ministry was trying to implement plans to promote the cultivation of saffron and medicinal herbs in Bamiyan.
“We have adequate plans to increase the potato harvest in Bamiyan and those plans will have a big impact on the current situation in coming years,” said Zamir.
Tahir Zahir, Bamiyan’s governor, said the province will hopefully one day have the largest potato processing plant in the region – once the National Unity Government’s plans have been implemented.
“We want the central government to continue its development and economic programs and also export potatoes to neighboring countries especially to central Asia countries,” Zahir said.
Bamiyan is one of the secure provinces in the country and draws hundreds of tourists a year – especially to Band-e Amir – the country’s first national park.
Although Bamiyan is a potentially wealthy province in terms of agriculture and tourism, at least 50 percent of its residents reportedly live below the poverty line.