Helping hand: USAID installs mango processing plant

ISLAMABAD: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday installed a processing facility at a farm in Multan to export high-quality mangoes. The facility was inaugurated at the Zarpak Horticulture Products Farm, with local government officials, mango farmers, and USAID representatives attending. The new mango processing line would enable the farm to ship large quantities of mangoes to Europe, the Far East, and the Middle East by sea, significantly reducing transportation costs. By September 2011, it is hoped that nearly 15 farms across Pakistan will be equipped with the new processing technology. USAID Director for Pakistan Andrew Sisson said that through such projects, USAID is helping Pakistanis to adopt new technologies, develop a work force, find new markets, and ultimately earn more revenue.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2011.