Conference: Boosting small business owners’ incomes in K-P

Entrepreneurs discuss how to make money from medicinal plants and honey.

Plant collectors and beekeepers discussed how to create and take advantage of business opportunities with buyers at a conference on Monday.

The conference on medicinal and aromatic plants and the honey industry featured discussions aimed at developing these sectors in the country, according to a press release.

In an effort to increase farmers’ incomes, the conference introduced plant collectors and beekeepers to successful agribusiness entrepreneurs.  Representatives from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, including the Ministry of Forestry and the Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority attended the symposium, along with experts, traders, and sales agents dealing in medicinal plants and honey.



“Assistance from the American people has helped uplift the economic situation of some of our poorest communities,” said Tahir Orakzai, director general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, K-P. “This conference is a part of a broader agenda that the US government and the K-P government are pursuing together to bring sustainable economic change to the region.”

USAID Entrepreneurs Project has trained 24,000 small business owners in the field of medicinal plants and honey.  USAID Mission Director Gregory Gottlieb said, “The US government is committed to working in partnership with the people and government of Pakistan to revitalise economic activity in the conflict and flood-affected communities of K-P.

We support Pakistan’s efforts to develop competitive products and forge lasting linkages with international markets to accelerate sales, investment, and job growth, particularly in the agricultural sector, he added.

This initiative is just one part of a US economic growth assistance programme for Pakistan which includes expanding irrigation by 200,000 acres to spur farming near Gomal Zam and Satpara dams, and increasing the incomes of 250,000 farmers and female agricultural workers through training and increased access to market networks, allowing them to earn more money for the crops they grow.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2014.