As the government-investors row continues, Hazara agriculture suffers

Investors are reluctant to move to the new Haripur Collection Point till the cold storage is made.

HARIPUR:

The much-trumpeted Haripur Collection Point and Cold Storage Project has failed to become operational even after two and a half years.

The project aimed to provide the growers of Hazara Division a place for storing locally grown fruit and vegetables. The government acquired four acres of land near the Haripur campus of Hazara University. Construction on the storage started in 2008 with a cost of Rs90 million. The land was divided into three categories of plots: Category A consisted of 24 plots measuring 300 sq ft, category B of 20 plots each of 250 sq ft, while category C had 50 shops each measuring 120 sq ft. Two auctioning sheds and a cold storage were also part of the plan.

The Pakistan Horticulture Board (PHB) has so far constructed one auction point and 50 shops. But, despite repeated notices, PHB has failed to attract local investors for the shops.

The investors cite two reasons behind their reluctance: the price (Rs400,000) and the absence of the cold storage. “The lease price is about 50% more than the actual investment on the shop,” said Akhtar Nawaz, a local vegetable trader who claimed that each shop had not incurred more than Rs290,000 in expenses.

Jehangir Khan, another trader, was of the view that PHB should have constructed the cold storage before starting the auction process. Accusing PHB of ill planning, Khan said the two and a half years delay in the project had deprived local farmers of benefits they had been promised by the government. He said if the PHB had constructed the cold storage it would have been in a position to force investors to begin construction or otherwise have their leases terminated. He, too, emphasised the need to immediately construct the cold storage for the project to take off.

Asif Ali Jah, a local farmer and president of Farm Services Centre Haripur, said the absence of a cold storage was an issue, but the construction of shops was poor as well. An investigation started in April into the substandard materials used on construction of the shops is still pending, he added.

The Collection Points Project Manager Ghani Gul blamed the traders for being “uncooperative”. He explained that the PHB authorities had planned to utilise funds collected from auctioning of shops to be spent on the cold storage’s construction, but the investors were adamant on construction of the cold storage prior to their move.

Haripur District has a total irrigated area of 32789 hectares, 52282 hectares of rain fed area, and 1292 hectares of area covered by orchards. Vegetables such as cauliflower cabbage, onion, green peas, tomato, potatoes, chillies, turnips, and radish are grown on an area of 1,408 hectares annually. Haripur is known for its lauqat, Khanpuri citrus, guava and lichee.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2011.