Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Tarnab, Peshawar organized Olive Gala, showcasing the potential of the olive industry in Pakistan here on Saturday.
The event was organized under the auspices of the Italian-funded project “Olive Culture-Holistic and Multi-Professional Mechanism for a Pakistani Olive Oil Value Chain” and “Promotion of Olive Cultivation on commercial scale in Pakistan (PSDP)”.
Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ghulam Ali was the chief guest of the event. The honorable chief guest expressed his happiness at the progress being made in olive cultivation in the country and emphasized the need to disseminate information about new varieties and production technology to ordinary farmers to ensure that the country becomes self-sufficient in edible oil production.
He also added that Italian experts from CIHEAM Bari are doing impressive work in the development of olive crop.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural Minister, Abdul Haleem Qasuria lauded the efforts of Agricultural Research Institute in promotion of olive oil in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is spending million rupees in importing edible oil promoting olive will help enable Pakistan to make their own olive oil.
Stakeholders from various sectors, including institutions, businesses, farmers, youth, women, consumers, and entrepreneurs, were able to explore and improve the economic, productive, and quality aspects of the Pakistani olive oil value chain during the Olive Gala.
Speaking on the occasion, The Director General Agricultural Research Institute, Tarnab welcomed the participants of olive gala, emphasizing the importance of the olive oil industry in Pakistan.
He added that the Agricultural Research Institute in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is doing a tremendous job in promotion of olive cultivation and production with the help and support of Italian Agency for their support. He also added that we are receiving positive response from farmers and progressive growth of olives.
The Olive Gala also featured representative from CIHEAM Bari emphasized the importance of enhancing the olive value chain and promoting interaction among all actors along with the olive value addition.—APP
