Uzair bin Farid

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has formulated an eighteen-day training program for olive growers across the country to help them increase their yield and consequent income. Main target participants of the program will be marginalized and small-scale growers, according to National Project Director of Olive Cultivation in National Agriculture Research Center (NARC), Dr Ahmad Tariq. PARC will execute the training program through its various regional offices in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab and Baluchistan provinces.

Farmers will be trained in the use of modern technologies to enhance yields as well as the scaling of their production techniques. Dr Ahmad Tariq said that the training would be imparted to the farmers with the help from Italian experts. He said they will train the farmers in orchard management, pruning, irrigation, fertilizers, disease and pest management, and harvesting. He said that the training program will start early next month.

Dr Ahmad Tariq further said that of the total 18 training sessions, seven would be arranged in different locations of the KPK province, including Tarnab, Shankyari, Lower Dir and Pir Sabak. He added that in the same vein, five one-day training sessions will also be arranged in Baluchistan in areas of Quetta, Killa Saifullah, Loralai, Musakhail and Zhob. He continued, “six days will be given to the training sessions in Punjab. They will be arranged in the localities of Chakwal, Kallar Kahar, Lawa and Neela Dullah.

We are hoping that large numbers of farmers in all the provinces will attend these sessions along with officials from the agricultural extension department.” He said climate change will reduce the production of olive crop by 30% this season as compared to the crop yield last year. He added that changing weather patterns because of climate change, torrential rains, floods, heat waves, and droughts were the main cause of decreasing yield of olive crops. “Last year,” he said, “olive production was more than the expected.

We were able to extract 110 tons of extra olive oil and 100 tons of extra olive oil value-added products.” He continued, “we also made sure that farmers got reasonable sums for their olive production.” Dr Ahmad Tariq said that the government is working hard to bring extra 9,000 hectares of land under cultivation with plantation of additional 1.2 million olive plants. “Currently,” he said, “olive is grown over an area of 30,000 hectares. We have made plans to increase this area up to 70,000 hectares.

We will also graft olive on a million hectares of wild land. It will increase our olive production exponentially, thus enabling us to export the surplus amount.” He concluded by saying that in the first phase, grafting will be carried over 500,000 wild olive trees, and farmers will be trained to increase yield through the use of modern technology and hybrid seeds. “Farmers will be able to increase their incomes through the adoption of new methods,” he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk