Economic gain: ‘Mango growers’ income trebled in targeted areas’

Pak-Australia cooperation can strengthen agriculture sector, says minister.

MULTAN:

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Bosan praised the Australian government on Friday for its help in tackling mango diseases in the country.

Talking to the media at the Circuit House in Multan, the minister said that pre-harvest guidelines had tripled the income of mango growers in targeted areas in Sindh and the Punjab.

He said Pakistan and Australia should move ahead for a nationwide project in line with efforts aimed at strengthening the agriculture sector.

The minister said 24 integrated research centres in the Punjab and 12 in Sindh had been set up under the Australia-Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkage Programme’s (ASLP) mango project.



He said the pre-harvest mango orchard management technology had increased the income of growers from Rs0.1 million to Rs0.3 million.

Bosan said the technology and guidelines provided by the Australian experts had helped the farmers.

He said the ASLP had developed nurseries at Mango Research Station, Shujabad, Sindh Horticulture Research Institute, Mirpur Khas and Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam.

He said two commercial nurseries at Sadiqabad and Vehari were also operational.

He said the ASLP project had also assisted 17 master’s students and two PhD students in their degree research. “Four research papers were published in national and international journals… six research abstracts were presented in 2013 and eight abstracts were submitted for the conference to be held in 2014.” The minister was accompanied by a delegation of Australian agriculture scientists led by Ian Bally.

Bally, currently visiting south Punjab and Sindh to explore the need and possibilities for further extension in the on-going ASLP, said “Our research on mango malformation disease is still in progress.”

He advised mango growers to prune their orchards.  Bally said the Australian government would also provide help to Pakistan on post-harvest technology and guidelines for enhanced mango exports.

“Most of the mango harvest in Pakistan goes to waste,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2014.