The Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan has completed the construction of a silkworm farm in Powrak village in Logar province, PRT spokeswoman Kristyna Greplova has told CTK.

Besides, Czechs organised a training for about 100 local farmers who make their living by breeding silkworm and who will use the farm for egg supplies and purchase cocoons there, Greplova said.

"Sericulture (silk farming) secures a number of jobs. At the same time, it does not require advanced technologies, and this is why it is one of the areas suitable for the development of Afghan farming," agriculture engineer Lenka Huberova, working in the PRT, said.

The farm starts operating in March.

The first silkworm eggs will be brought from a state sericulture farm on the outskirts of Kabul. The Afghan Agriculture Ministry, which has selected Logar as one of the localities suitable for silk production, supplied hundreds of mulberry trees.

The Czech team also organised a several-week training for farmers who will learn proper care of mulberry trees and more efficient methods of silkworm breeding, Huberova added.

Moreover, the Czech PRT built an irrigation infrastructure on the farm´s land since a sufficient amount of fresh mulberry tree leaves, which must be watered yearlong, is a basic precondition for silkworm breeding, Huberova added.

The Czech PRT of 11 civilian experts from the Foreign Ministry and 292 soldiers has been operating in Logar since March 2008.

The team supports the development of security, agriculture, health care and independent media, repairs water sources and builds infrastructure.

Czechs have completed over 150 projects in Logar.