‘Olive production to reduce import bill’
Abbottabad Deputy Commissioner has said that the implementation of the pilot project for olives in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and citizens is a great measure to make possible large-scale olives and oil production in Abbottabad.
He expressed these views during the inspection of the ongoing olive grafting in Union Council Dhamtoor Abbottabad on Sunday.
“Islam also gives importance to the olive tree and its oil, in Abbottabad district, the government is implementing word-planting and grafting in Union Council Dhamtoor and Sarbhana under a pilot project where the Department of Agriculture, Abbottabad, in collaboration with the local communities, is conducting training and implementation of olive grafting on wild oak trees,” he said.
The deputy commissioner also met with the residents of the UC and hoped for the success of the pilot project.
District Director Agriculture Mukhtiar Yousafzai, Deputy Director Sajid Khan and other officers and farms were also present on the occasion. Yousufzai said that a target of 30,000 olive trees has been set in Abbottabad district out of which up to 20,000 trees have been planted and 13,000 trees have been grafted, under this project.
The main focus will be on sustainable agriculture with the objectives to eliminate poverty in all its forms, eradicate hunger, achieve food security and better nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, restore and promote sustainable use of the terrestrial ecosystem, he said, adding that the other objectives were including to take immediate action to tackle climate change and its effects, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
The present project is being pursued following the overall objectives of the agricultural sector which have the specific objectives comprising transforming millions of wild olive trees into fruit-bearing plants so that the import of edible oil can be reduced and valuable foreign exchange can be saved.
Yousufzai said that bringing ordinary land under production through grafting, providing additional sources of income to the farming community, providing training, conducting technical studies and providing assistance to farmers, providing job opportunities with technical knowledge to the local residents of Abbottabad District, especially the youth looking for employment and introducing the olive plant in the edible oil trade is also our objective during the current campaign.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2022.