The somber black cloak with the turquoise silk sleeve gives Mohibullah Faruki an air of authority as he addresses the hushed court room.

Afghan farmers have been planting seeds and harvesting crops for thousands of years. Skills and techniques have been passed from father to son for generations, and many see no reason to change the way they run their farms.

“I cover most of my family expenses with the blisters of my hands,” are the poetic words that 55-year-old Fatima employs to describe her source of income.

Mount Noshaq stands alone, soaring over 7,600 metres above the plains of the Wakhan Corridor in the northeast corner of Badakhshan province.

Afghanistan has been a meeting point of diverse cultures as foreign traders and armies traversed through this crossroad of civilizations. This created cultural surprises, shocks, confusion and even pleasant memories for hosts and guests alike.

With a glimmer of daylight casting long shadows on a dusty highway, the silence of dawn is broken by the tramp of booted feet. A long column of Afghan warriors comes into view, across the dusty plain. Soldiers stride out, clad in the uniform of the Afghan National Army.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock plans to create hundreds of new fruit gardens in northern Samangan province, to help enhance economic conditions of the people, officials said on Saturday.

Officials said on Monday research showed that saffron could be a better alternative to the banned poppy crop in southern Helmand province, the world’s largest opium-producing region.