PARC With Italian Experts To Conduct Training For Olive Farmers

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has designed a comprehensive training program for olive farmers in order to promote olive cultivation across the potential areas of the country to enhance farms' income of marginalized and small-scale growers.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2022 ) :Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has designed a comprehensive training program for olive farmers in order to promote olive cultivation across the potential areas of the country to enhance farms' income of marginalized and small-scale growers.

The 18 days long training program would be executed through different research stations of the council working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan and farmers would be trained about the innovative technologies to attain maximum output of olive, said Dr. Ahmad Tariq, National Project Director of Olive Cultivation in National Agriculture Research Center (NARC).

He said that Italian experts would impart training to local olive farmers on orchard management, pruning, irrigation, fertilizer, disease, pest management and harvesting, adding the training programs would start by next month.

He informed that out of the total 07 training secession would be held in different locations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province including Tarnab, Shankyari, Lower Dir and Pir Sabak, he said that a large number of farmers belonging to these areas would attend the training secessions.

Meanwhile, 05-day long training program was also designed for farmers of Balochistan as the farmers from Quetta, Qilla Saifullah, loralai, Musakhail and Zhob would be educated about orchard management.

In Punjab, he said that the training program, to be continued for 6 days, would be held in Chakwal, Kallar Kahar, Lawa and Neela Dullah areas, adding that along with the farmers, the training sessions would also be attended by the filed extension departments and other relevant stakeholders involved in olive value addition.

Dr. Tariq further informed that owing to the adverse impact of climate change, domestic output of olive oil is reduced by 30 percent during current season as against the production of last season.

The downfall in local olive crop output was mainly attributed to the worsening weather patron, the impact of climate change, which resulted in devastating floods, and torrential rains, and the change in season cycle that shrank spring, creating heat waves and droughts during the crop-producing season, he added.

He informed that last year over 110 tons of extra virgin olive oil of international standards were extracted, besides producing about 100 tons of other olive value-added products and ensured proper rate of returns to growers across the country.

Meanwhile, he said efforts afoot to enhance the area under olive cultivation as the government was intended to bring over 9,000 hectares under olive cultivation, adding that 1.2 million olive plants would be planted during the current financial year.

He said that so far olive grew over 39,000 hectares as the government has set a target to enhance the areas under olive cultivation to 70,000 hectares, besides grafting on wild olive trees standing over a million of hectares, adding that it would strengthen the efforts to produce exportable surplus within the stipulated time frame.

Dr Tariq informed that during the current season about 500,000 wiled olive trees would be grafted, besides proving basic training to farmers to enhance the area under oil seeds production, adding that the initiative would help to enhance farm income of rural farming communities.