Bring on the pomegranate

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: The Koran mentions the pomegranate as one of the fruits found in paradise, and medical research suggests it may help those wanting to extend their stay in this world. Rich in antioxidants, the pomegranate is promoted in the West as a defence against prostate cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. So in Afghanistan, where the United Nations reports another hefty Afghan opium harvest this year, the hope is that this life-giving fruit can displace the life-sapping drug trade that is closely tied to the Taliban insurgency.

In early November the Afghan agriculture ministry and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) held a World Pomegranate Fair at a model farm on the edge of Kabul. The organisers pointed out that pomegranate prices had quadrupled in five years, making the fruit a potential rival to the lucrative poppy.

Bill Phillimore, a Californian magnate producing juices branded as POM Wonderful, told a group of craggy Afghan farmers how his company makes multimillion-dollar profits from the fruit. His audience was bemused. “The thing we wanted was some vital instructions on how to grow our pomegranate trees but they have just given us this book, which is empty,” said Gulam Haider, a 60-year-old farmer from Kapisa province.

Kandahar, in the south of the country, produces perhaps the world’s best pomegranates, medium-sweet ruby-red fruit that are savoured by connoisseurs, particularly in India. But Kandahar also lies in the heart of Taliban and opium country. That is only the start of the problem. All attempts to develop Afghanistan as an agricultural exporter suffer from fundamental difficulties: lack of fertiliser and pesticides, a poor road network, shortages of electricity and cold-storage depots, and only rudimentary packaging. Add the country’s landlocked geography and Afghan agriculture remains perennially uncompetitive.

Mannish Gaba, an Indian fruit importer, complains that Afghan pomegranate farmers have only wooden boxes in which to pack their produce. This damages the fruit. Strict border controls mean that Afghan lorries must be completely unloaded twice on their way to Delhi to satisfy Pakistani and Indian border officials.