The government of Pakistan will train more than 2,800 olive farmers during the tree plantation campaign for the current season to encourage and promote olive farming in potential areas across the country, WealthPK reports. According to Dr Hassan Tariq, National Project Director Olive Cultivation Programme in the National Agriculture Research Center, the initiative is meant to ensure the production of nutrient-filled hygienic edible oil by enhancing domestic output as well as reducing the reliance on the imported commodity, which is putting pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

He told media that during the current spring tree plantation drive, about 47 training programmes would be organised in different areas to familiarise farmers with international best practices for olive cultivation. The farmers would also be trained on orchard management and value addition of the olive to enhance their income, whereas they would also be introduced to the latest marketing techniques, labelling and branding.

Meanwhile, a national olive reference laboratory was also established for quality testing to ensure the safety and quality of the locally produced products, including olive oil and other value-added items, that would help to ensure a proper rate of return to growers. Another regional laboratory would also be established during the current year. A national conference would also be organised during the next month that would be attended by growers, experts, academia and industrialists.

Dr Hassan Tariq said that more than 1.2 million olive saplings would be planted during the current spring campaign across the country for strengthening the national efforts to enhance the output of domestic edible oil for reducing reliance on the imported commodity and save much-needed foreign exchange. He said that the olive plantation would be carried out over 8,900 acres across the country. A campaign on wild olive grafting would also be launched in the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, to attain oil for local consumption.

Dr Hassan Tariq said that so far olive plantation had already been completed over 40,400 acres, and about 8,900 acres of land would be brought under the olive plantation during the current spring plantation campaign, which will help to expand the area under olive production. The government in collaboration with other stakeholders and provincial governments would graft more than two million wild olive trees. The wild olive trees standing over millions of acres are an untapped potential, which would be brought under olive production.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk