Bringing 4.4mln Hectares Suitable Land Under Olive Cultivation To Address Economic Woes

Amid hide and seek between the sun and clouds hovering over Punjkora valley, Khushal Khan, a progressive farmer has accelerated plantation of olive species to take advantage of the possible rainfall imperative for successful afforestration in mountainous areas bordering with Swat

TIMERGARAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Apr, 2024) Amid hide and seek between the sun and clouds hovering over Punjkora valley, Khushal Khan, a progressive farmer has accelerated plantation of olive species to take advantage of the possible rainfall imperative for successful afforestration in mountainous areas bordering with Swat.

Busy like a honeybee in plantation of olive plants’ stock at his farmland at Och village of Dir Lower, Khushal has engaged extra labourers besides supported by relatives in cultivation following rains’ prediction for Upper Khyber Pakthunkhwa including Dir from April 24-27.

Carrying on the legacy of his father, the motivated farmer completed an olive plantation in his six acres land during spring season against the set target of 20,000 plants, to be achieved by the end of this month.

“Watering is a major problem for young olive plants and in case of dry or ailment of plants, the farmers suffer financial losses,” he said, adding current rainfalls help in afforestration at large scale.

While travelling on Chitral-Dir Road, a visitor could be highly impressed to see thousands of olive trees planted in plains and mountains areas around Punjkora and Talash valleys at Dir Lower.

Farmers, general public, students and civil society supported by KP agriculture-forest departments planted thousands of olive trees that bore fruits contributing to their families’ economic wellbeing.

Ahmad Said, former Project In-charge, Promotion of Olive Trees Cultivation on Commercial Scale (POTCCS) Khyber Pakthunkhwa told APP that entire Malakand division including Dir and Bajaur districts, merged areas’ South Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber tribal districts were most suited for olive cultivation.

The better climate and soil conditions of Malakand and merged tribal districts made northwestern KP as most suited for olive cultivation. “We have around 4.4 million hectares of land in KP, Punjab, Balochistan and erstwhile Fata which are most suited for olive cultivation in Pakistan,” he said.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, over a million olive plants are being grown on an area of 9,391 acres engaging 768 farmers. The production of olive oil is estimated to reach the value of Rs1.458bn in 2024, he said.

Likewise, in Balochistan, over half a million plants are being grown over an area of over 9,391 acres and it is expected that by closing December, 2024, the value of oil will be Rs1.160 billion, he added.

Ahmad said Spain was producing about 45 percent of the total world’s edible oil from olive cultivation on 2.6 million hectares while Pakistan despite having a vast suitable area of 4.4 million hectares for olive farming as compared to Spain.

He said Pakistan was spending billions of rupees on imports of edible oil including soybean, palm oil, sunflowers and other related commodities since 1970 despite 4.4 million hectares of land suitable for olive plantation, adding around 3,000 tons of olive oil worth Rs1.241billion imported during 2017-18.

Spending about USD 4 billion annually on the import of edible oil, he claimed that Pakistan’s annual requirement of edible oil has touched about five million tons with 16-kilogram per capita edible use. “Pakistan’s edible oil import bill was only USD 615 million in 2006 that jumped to record USD 3.8 billion in 2022 while the country was currently producing about six metric tons.

Ahmad said the first olive promotional project funded by the Italian Government was launched on June 1, 2012 under which olive cultivation on over 1,500 hectares including Dir and Bajaur achieved.

This project worth Rs 3.82billion was later handed over to Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) after devolution of Pakistan Oil Development Board (PODB) on February 12, 2012 and completed on June 30, 2015.

The then Federal Government in order to capitalize on the good work of the Italian funded project, had launched "Promotion of Olive Trees Cultivation on Commercial Scale (POTCCS)” Project worth Rs2.

3 billion in 2015.

Under the project, he said about 6.5 million wild olive plants have been naturally raised in thickly olive-covered mountains and plains areas through enclosures at Bajaur, Dir, Waziristan, Manki Sharif Nowshera and others districts besides Potohar region of Rawalpindi and Balochistan.

Around 70 million wild olive trees were identified in KP including 11 million wild olive trees in Dir and Bajaur, he said. In addition to completion of grafting in four lakh wild olives trees, olive saplings were planted on 800 acres across Bajaur and Dir by farmers that already started fruits.

“It requires five years for an olive tree to produce fruits. Normally one kilogram of olive fruits produces 200 milliliter oil and from 100 kilogram a farmer can get 17 to 20 liters easily while one liter extra virgin olive oil is sold on about Rs2200 to Rs2500 per liter,” said Fazl Bhari, Director General, Agriculture Research KP.

He said one tree can give a farmer Rs15,400 to Rs20,000 income per year and that olive fruits can also be sold for Rs120 per kilogram easily in the local market.

The expert said one tree could easily produce 50 kilogram and could live up to 500 to 1000 years. “The exotic olive plants mostly imported from Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Malaysia, Morocco and Turkey are relatively more costly than indigenous wild olive and efforts are being made to increase production of indigenous plants through grafting in wild olives trees to encourage farmers to go for commercial olive farming,” he added.

A state-of-the-art olive processing unit, established by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) in the Lower Dir district, has successfully processed olives, yielding an impressive over 12% oil ratio.

The unit has been established in Lower Dir district through the Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) under the Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR) with assistance of a foreign donor country.

They said approximately 1.3 million olive plants and orchards on 14,000 acres of land would be raised in Bajaur, Dir, South Waziristan and other potential districts of KP by 2027. In March 2022, “Olive Culture Holistic and Multi-Professional Mechanism for a Pakistani Olive Oil Value Chain”, was launched.

The Olive Culture project worth €1.5 million would be executed in 26 months in suitable areas with assistance from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and Pakistan Oilseed Department Islamabad.

Similarly, under the POTCCS project, 50,000 acres additional land would be brought under olive cover in the country. Olive cultivation on over 25,000 acres has already been completed under the project with major share from Dir Lower, Bajaur and Potohar region of Punjab.

Punjab Govt has declared Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jehlum, Attock and Khushab districts as Olive Valleys and if KP Govt does the same for Bajaur, Nowshera, Waziristan and Dir districts could significantly increase edible oil production.

Dr Bari said an oil extracted machine in Bajuar and Dir districts was chemical free and that Pakistan’s olive oil also great demand internationally as well as across the country due to its purity and quality besides high income.

Fazal Elahi, Chief Conservator of Forests KP said that about 70 million wild olive tree plants discovered in KP mostly in Bajaur, Dir and others districts of Malakand division and erstwhile Fata out of which 40 million will be grafted in the next five years with the support of the Agriculture Department.

The Agriculture department’s research institutes would be used to graft olive trees, he said, adding that over 25,000 olive trees were planted in Azakhel Nowshera in the last two years.

The experts said olive farming has a great scope in Dir, Bajaur, Malakand and seven merged tribal districts and KP Govt constant patronage would help increase its farmers inclination and income vital to alleviate poverty besides making it game-changer to make Pakistan self-sufficient in edible oil.

APP/fam/1745