# Olive Plantation in Pakistan



## ghazi52

Training on olive pruning and micropropagation is being conducted at BARI, Chakwal by Italian experts





















Italian olive scientists also visited Tissue culture lab at BARi and gave briefing on olive propagation techniques to BARI scientist











Ambassadors of various Countries including Tunisia, Morroco, Kenya, Nigeria,Sudan and Mauritius visited BARI Chakwal on 03.02.2018. The Ambassodars esp of Tunisia & Morocco showed great interest and expressed their will to collaborate with BARI in Olive sector.

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## AZADPAKISTAN2009

Amazing imges

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## Goenitz

so happy... we should invest in corn plantation.... it can be grown on sandy area.. we can extract sugar from it too

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## ghazi52

*OLIVE CULTIVATION POTENTIAL IN PAKISTAN*







THE OLIVE cultivation is reported 50,000 to 60,000 years back in Syria, Iraq, Palestines, etc. Its medicinal and nutritious benefits are also enumerated in Holy Scriptures. Oleo europea belongs to the family Oleaceae. It is an evergreen tree growing to 50 ft. in height with a spread of about 30 ft. It can be maintained up to 20 ft. height with annual pruning. The beautiful, twisted branching form is also quite unique. It can long-lived by a life expectation of 500 years. The trees are also persistent, easily developing back even when cut to the ground. 
Olive is a potential oilseed crop grown in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. It has been cultivated for centuries due to its medicinal and nutritive value. Millions of wild olive trees are present in Pakistan. The feasibility of olive cultivation is mainly restricted to dry, hilly areas of the country. Many factors such as sapling availability, lack of good quality genetic material, low success rate of grafted olive trees and little awareness about economic importance contribute to reduced cultivation in the country. Sunflower, mustard, groundnut and maize are preferred for extraction of oil but are unable to meet the increasing edible oil demand. Consequently, a large amount of foreign exchange is spent on edible oil import each year. 
The decrease in water availability for agricultural lands in past few decades has increased the susceptibility to environmental stresses particularly drought. Olive cultivation can help to overcome these problems as it can also be grown on low fertility soils, in desert areas and requires little water to complete its growth and development. Moreover, it sustains the fragile natural resources and is a big source of oil rich in nutritional fats. The tropical climate of the country is most suitable for olive cultivation. Many olive varieties have been identified by Barani Agricultural Research Institute for Pakistan. The cultivation of olive in arid and semi-arid regions such as Chakwal, Fateh jang, Zhob, Loralai, Killa Saifullah, Barkhan, North Waziristan, Bajaur Agency, Mohmand Agency, Kurram Agency, Hangu, Khyber Agency, South Waziristan, Malakand, Charsadda and Haripur would not only increase agricultural area but will also help to improve edible oil production in the country. Izhar Group of Companies has planted 30,000 plants in region near Kallar Kahar. 
Pakistan has approximately 15% desert areas of its total area. Desert areas can be utilized by cultivating olive trees. India cultivated 260 ha of Rajasthan’s desert in 2008 which is successful fruiting. Thar and Cholistan desert has the same climatic conditions as Rajasthan’s desert of India. Olive cultivation can be a good source of income for people living in desert areas of Pakistan. Furthermore, it would lead to the establishment of new olive nurseries, manufacturing of olive medicinal products, olive orchards, and oil extraction mills, pickle industries, daily paid labor, technical workers, fruit picking and marketing opportunities all over the Pakistan that would open new ways for generating income in these impoverished areas. Olive cultivation will be magnificent source of olive oil export and source of foreign exchange earnings business. Last but not the least; it would help to save the foreign exchange of the country that may be used for other purposes.

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## Shane

ghazi52 said:


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> Training on olive pruning and micropropagation is being conducted at BARI, Chakwal by Italian experts
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> Italian olive scientists also visited Tissue culture lab at BARi and gave briefing on olive propagation techniques to BARI scientist
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> Ambassadors of various Countries including Tunisia, Morroco, Kenya, Nigeria,Sudan and Mauritius visited BARI Chakwal on 03.02.2018. The Ambassodars esp of Tunisia & Morocco showed great interest and expressed their will to collaborate with BARI in Olive sector.



Slow but steady progress. I have seen these plantations and experiments while travelling to and fro from where i used to work a few years ago. 

The experiment of grafting olive plants to local "Kaho" trees was really interesting as i was told that the kaho tree is the same family plant as olive or so i was told by people near such experiment site at Morat Animal Husbandry Farm near FatehJang.

I wonder if that experiment was a success as Kaho is a common tree of the area and grafting edible Olive over it might be an easy, lucrative and ready opportunity for the locals.

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## ghazi52

*PLAN DEVISED TO PROMOTE OLIVE CULTIVATION*


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A well-knitted plan has been prepared for the promotion of Olive cultivation in the country and Azad Kashmir. Overall demand of olive oil is 1.9 million tons of which 1.3 million tons were being imported from different countries for catering the domestic needs and requirements costing Rs 28 billion annually.

“Special attention would be focused on the promotion of Olive cultivation and necessary information and guidance are being extended to Olive growers in Balochistan. Olive model farms are playing instrumental role in cultivation of Olive crop in various parts and a large number of cultivators showing their keen interest in Olive crop in the Province,” sources told this scribe.

In Punjab, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Chakwal and Khushab districts are the potential areas for Olive cultivation. The Olive orchard cultivation throughout these potential areas of Punjab could produce much quantity of oil, which may certainly bring Pakistan’s Olive oil import share to zero resultantly enabling its exports to mount.

There is a vast potential for Olive cultivation in Pakistan which can be adopted by two different ways like new plantation and grafting the available wild varieties.

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## BATMAN

WTF foreigners are doing in this area? are they teaching Pakistanis how to irrigate a plant?

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## !eon

Shane said:


> Slow but steady progress. I have seen these plantations and experiments while travelling to and fro from where i used to work a few years ago.


From where these plants and their regarding information can be obtained ?



BATMAN said:


> WTF foreigners are doing in this area? are they teaching Pakistanis how to irrigate a plant?


Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain and Jordan are hubs of Olive fruit and oil. Their interest is understandable

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## ghazi52

The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) has started a project “Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation" in the country with the financial assistance of Italian government.

According to details, under this project thousands of acres olive saplings will be planted in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, FATA and Baluchistan.

In this connection, researchers and olive growers have recently organised an Olive Plantation Day at Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Chakwal.

BARI has established an olive nursery for distribution of olive plants to growers in the region. PARC and BARI are engaged in making every effort to promote olive cultivation in the country.

While addressing on this occasion, scientists emphasized on the importance of olive and olive cultivation in Pakistan. The Punjab government has already declared the Pothowar area as Olive Valley. On this occasion olive plants were distributed among olive growers of the Pothwar Region in order to popularize the olive cultivation in the area.

Dr. Muhammad Munir Goraya, Senior Director (Crops) PARC/National Project Director is coordinating and supervising the activities of this project at national level.

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## ghazi52

*How to Start Olive Farming (Fruit Cultivation) in Pakistan*


Olive oil is an expensive item and is used by the people who are health and hygiene conscious. Beside this it is also used in different cosmetics and for massage purposes. Initially only imported olive oil and olive products were available in local market but now local companies / farmers have started producing Oil and other products in Pakistan. Now olive farmers can sell their yield in local market to manufacturer and olive exporters as well. The Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) located in Punjab’s Chakwal district, has already planted 473,265 olive trees in the region so far. The BARI reveals that the massive Olive Valley Project is not only providing olive saplings to local farmers, but also technical support on olive grove management and financial support for water resource development and drip irrigation.

Pakistan is a country conducive to small scale farming where olive cultivation provides an opportunity for enhancing income of under privileged. Olive cultivation is an upcoming opportunity in Pakistan since it requires very less water as compared to other crops. Beside this it can be cultivated on barren land which is normally un-utilized. It can play a major role in the economy of country as the price of olives is high in market. Fruiting age of Olive plants is about 250 years and a great immune power of plants which help to survive with less water and cold weather.

Since the olive sector in Pakistan is not highly developed, there are great variations in the production and consumption cycle of olive oil and its by products. The production is especially dependent upon the natural environment and weather. Similarly, the consumption cycle is determined by the price and availability. Due to these reasons it is difficult to forecast the actual requirements for olives. Similarly, appropriate infrastructure, processing facilities and transportation also plays an important role in the marketing and profitability of olive fruits and its bi-products. Focus on healthy and certified cuttings/ bulbs, land preparation, sowing pattern, water management, fertilizer application, hiring of skilled personal, pest management, and varieties along with marketing is required to run business successfully.

The Olive cultivation business can be started at any capacity but due to its economic commercial viability the proposed project is designed as olive farming, spreading over a land area of 50 acres. The cuttings of olive / plants would be purchased from local private nurseries, agriculture research centres and agriculture extension departments and raised in conventional farming system. Olive plant is drought tolerant, therefore, the water requirement is much lower than apple, peaches and apricots and closer to almonds, pomegranates and grapes. Olive plantation may come as a boon for farmers in Barani areas. The wild trees in government owned forests should be grafted with European-type olive varieties in Pakistan.

The target market for the Olive Farm is local. Major buyers and processors of the olive are in larger cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad whereas; other potential areas of the country can also be targeted upon demand. In addition to local markets an enormous export market for the olive oil and its byproducts exists in Europe, USA, Middle East, etc.

*Areas Suitable for Olive Farming in Pakistan*

The wild species of olive are found abundantly in different parts of the country particularly in the provinces of Punjab, KPK and Balochistan which indicate that improved varieties can also be grown successfully. The survey of potential areas of Pakistan with suitable ecology for olive cultivation indicates that olive can successfully be grown in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Gujrat, Jehlum, Sialkot, Narrowal, Khushab, Mianwali, Swat, Dir, Malakand, Loralai, Zhob, Barkhan, Mastung, Khuzdar, Quetta, etc., with suitable management practices. Improved varieties of olive imported from Italy have been planted in Swat, Dir, Malakand, Loralai and Islamabad. In addition to Italian cultivars, four Turkish olive cultivars were also introduced and planted in Islamabad for evaluation studies. Some of these cultivars have shown good performance and giving good yield in Baluchistan and Islamabad.

*Olive Farm Management*

Olive fruit production in Pakistan is not an organized sector so there is need to understand its technical parameters which are explained below.

Plantation & Growth Requirements

Olive plants show its growth well on poor soils even without fertilizer. It can also thrive in rocky and shallow soils. There are few essential requirements for healthy growth of plants. Following are the requirements:


Hot dry summer
Being successfully grown under rain fed conditions (200-900 mm annual rainfall)
Winter chilling requirement (150-300 hours at temperature below 7°C)
Flowering temperature 25°- 30°C (March)
Varieties vary in temperature requirement
Italian – most cold tolerant (-8°C)
North African (Moroccan & Tunisian) most tolerant to high temperature (36°- 41°C)
Variety of soil type (from sandy to clay) best soil light well drained
Planting an Olive Tree

It is very important to grow the olive plants according to recommended standards as it affects the fruit bearing capacity of the plants. Plants should be planted in square system and distance should be 20×20 feet between the plants on the plain land and on sloppy land it may not be less the 15×15 feet.


Layout: Square system;
Planting Distance: 20×20 feet (in plain lands), 15×15 feet (in slopes or hilly areas);
Pit Digging: The measurement of pit should be 1m3 (3x3x3 feet);
Pit Filling: Pit must be filled by a homogenous mixture of soil, silt and FYM with the ratio 1:1:1. 2-3 irrigation must be applied for proper decay of FYM;
Plating of olive trees can be done in two seasons: spring and autumn. Spring planting should be preferred because of provision of longer growth period.
The distance between the plants is 20 X 20 feet and the space between the plants can be utilized for cultivation of other crops for initial six to ten years of age of the plants. However, it is recommended that such crops should be cultivated between the plants which have low height and require less irrigation.

Fertilizers on Production

Using fertilizers containing Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash, the yield of the crop can be maximized. Proper fertilizer application plays vital role in good growth and optimum fruit yield. Proper combination of FYM, Phosphorus, Potassium and Nitrogen provided balanced nutrients to fulfill needs of developing and mature fruiting trees.


Fertilizers of all kinds are available locally.
Pesticides of different natures are also available locally.
Water is available from canal or can be used from peter engine.
Irrigation depends on following three factors:


Age of plant
Soil texture and structure
Temperature and rainfall
Young plants require regular irrigation for three years, however, for bearing plants three to four irrigation / year are required. Olive Plant is drought resistant but for commercial cultivation regular irrigation is necessary.

*


!eon said:



From where these plants and their regarding information can be obtained ?

Click to expand...

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*Investment Required for Olive Farming in Pakistan*

Growing Olive trees is a profitable business and olive trees have more than 250 years of life and it can grow on barren lands. On an average an olive plant produces 20 to 35 kg of olive fruits per year which contain more than 20 % of oil contents. The olive fruit can be sold out in the market at the rate of Rs. 100/- to Rs. 200/- per kg and extracted oil can be sold at the rate of Rs. 700/- to Rs. 3,000/- per liter based on the oil variety and purity. Growing Olive in 50 acres with modern farm management techniques can be a long lasting business. It is recommended that land should be purchased in the suggested rural areas.

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## ghazi52

*Development of the olive in swat Valley *


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*Olive production and benefits*


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## ghazi52

*Olive Cultivation in Pakistan*

The olive, known by the botanical name Olean Europaea, meaning "European olive", is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in much of Africa, The olive tree, Olea Europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native, to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short, squat and rarely exceeds 8-15 m in height. The Pisciottano, a unique variety comprising of 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds this, height with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4-10 cm (1.6-3.9 inch) long and 1-3 cm (0.39-1.18 inch) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe 1-2.5 cm (0.39-0.98 inch) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that artificially turn them black. Olea Europaea contains a seed commonly referred in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.
*Agro-Climatic, Nutritional and Other Requirement for Olive Cultivation:* A deep fertile soil and temperatures averaging 50°F but not going below 14°F are desirable. Irrigation is often necessary although the plant bears drought to a great extent in irrigated areas. Olive trees need winter rest for 60-80 days to differentiate flower buds and an average temperature of 7°C. About 500-1000 hours are required in the winters depending upon the cultivars. The maximum absolute temperature should not exceed 20°C during November to February. It can tolerate gradual drop of temperature up to -10°C for a short period. The best olive production and fruit quality occurs in areas having mild winter and long warm dry summer. The neutral and light saline soils with 5% clay particles are suitable for the olive with the best soil pH range 5.6-8.5. It should not be less than 6 and more than 8. The plant requires nitrogen but Boron deficiency could cause a serious problem during its growth.

*Land Preparation:*

Soil should be well ploughed before plantation of olive. Pits of size 2.5 X 2.5 feet should be dug a month before plantation. It should be filled with Matti : Bhal : FYM at ratio of 1:1:1.
*Planting Time: *Trees can be planted during spring and fall. However fall is best if there is no likelihood of frost during winter.

*Planting Geometry: *

Trees are planted in square with equal line to line and plant to plant distance. 6x6, 7X7 or 8X8 meter distance yields best results. There may be 80 to 110 trees in an acre.
*Irrigation Requirements: *Although Olive is a hardy tree, yet it requires timely irrigation during the early two years. In Barani areas annual rainfall should be between 400-500 mm. If it does not rain, trees should be irrigated twice or thrice in a year.


Before Flowering
After Flowering
30-45 days before fruit maturing
*Fertilizer Requirement:

*Phosphorous + Potash at rate of 300 + 200/ Hectare at time of land preparation, repeated after 3-4 Years. Fertilizer requirement from sowing to flowering is given as below.





*

Harvesting of Fruit:*
Olive fruit matures during August to September. Harvesting is accomplished by following methods: Picking singly: Good quality oil, expensive mode shaking branches and collecting of dropped fruit

*Mechanically: *Machine grips trunk and shakes branches, 80% harvesting.

*Preparation of oil:*

Fruits are harvested during October when these are purplish, later on these are mechanically crushed to get oil.

*Management of Insect Pests and Diseases Attacking Olive Tree and Fruits:

*Pesticide recommended for the management of Insect pests and diseases are given below:













*Need for Olive Cultivation in Pakistan*


The total domestic consumption of edible oil is around 1.9 million tones, out of which 1.3 million tone is being imported from abroad. As many as Rs 28 billion are being spent on the import of edible oil every year. The total production of banola oil is around 450,000 tones, sunflower 77,000 tones, canola 32,000 tones and other seeds are 700 tons per year in the country. Hence, 70% oil is being imported against local production of 30%.


Bookleat 
http://atd.ztbl.com.pk/Documents/Publication/Brochures/zaitoon_ki_kasht.pdf

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## ghazi52

Olive Trees at Musa khel. Balochistan..

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## Bashido

Most awaited step ... We have more or less similar environment like Israel and Spain both are major exporter of Olive products. @ghazi52  thanks for bringing this thread.


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## my2cents

Can you guys tell me how much is the price of olive oil per litre in your market ?? How much is imported??

Here in India I buy it for about $12-15 per litre. We basically use it for salad dressings or flavourings. We don't use it for deep frying of our desi food.

It is mostly imported because of limited production of olive oil in the country. About 6000 tons is imported with growth of 25-50% annually.

India tops the chart for Heart disease. With increasing awareness of its benefits, adoption of olive oil is only going to go up.



ghazi52 said:


> *PLAN DEVISED TO PROMOTE OLIVE CULTIVATION*
> 
> 
> *
> 
> 
> *
> A well-knitted plan has been prepared for the promotion of Olive cultivation in the country and Azad Kashmir. *Overall demand of olive oil is 1.9 million tons of which 1.3 million tons were being imported from different countries for catering the domestic needs and requirements costing Rs 28 billion annually.*



I think your number are off. Total production of olive oil in world is *about 3 million tons*.


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## AZADPAKISTAN2009

Farming is quite interesting profession but requires alot of work and also buying land is quite expensive

I always felt Pakistan can also grow , Trees such as coconut tree for oil/and nutritional food source , it is also used in cooking purpose the weather in Pakistan is so perfect for it
Specially the coastal cities and Zones


But nice to see the Olive being grown locally , I did hear that the Olive grown out in Palestine area was /is is quite well known in market as well of course it is being reduced but the same variety could be grown in Pakistan


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## Sine Nomine

my2cents said:


> Here in India I buy it for about $12-15 per litre.


In Pakistan it's same figure in US$,15 to 17 USD$ per litre.


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## Pakistansdefender

BATMAN said:


> WTF foreigners are doing in this area? are they teaching Pakistanis how to irrigate a plant?


Why should they not. 
They are teaching proper pruning methods. 
Some verities produce fruit on old wood other on New. Proper pruning can effect getting capability of the tree. 
If not pruned, it would not produce much fruit and if wrongly pruned it would produce no fruit. 
And why would have have problems with foreigners. Our agriculture is practically in dark ages. 
We need new technologies and people who can guide us with modern methods.

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## Pakistansdefender

Hey some is from Barani institute. 
I need to use tissue culture lab.... 
Or I need some scientist their to do some tissue culture propagation for me. 
Do anybody know.... 
Please also focus on Balochistan. The government there seem not to work .
Seen the interview of new cm. He looks like he belong to the sloth family. He seems so dim and slow. 
Vast amount of land and no water. This is prefect for Balochistan .venter can give them package. 
In ptv they used to show programs for silk production, fish farm, mushroom farm etc... 
Something like that should start also in private Channels. 
Make it mandatory by law that such educational programs are shown by private TV channels.


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## SoulSpokesman

@Pakistansdefender

To add to what you said, sir, we must remember that olive trees (at least the cultivated varieties) are not really native to our parts of the world, the Mediterranean is. Taking advice and tech from Italians, Greeks, Spaniards etc who are leaders in this crop is nothing to be ashamed of. (I would have added Israel to this list, they are helping India in this, but that of course wont be kosher, so I omit)

Regards

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## New World



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## denel

my2cents said:


> Can you guys tell me how much is the price of olive oil per litre in your market ?? How much is imported??
> 
> Here in India I buy it for about $12-15 per litre. We basically use it for salad dressings or flavourings. We don't use it for deep frying of our desi food.
> 
> It is mostly imported because of limited production of olive oil in the country. About 6000 tons is imported with growth of 25-50% annually.
> 
> India tops the chart for Heart disease. With increasing awareness of its benefits, adoption of olive oil is only going to go up.
> 
> 
> 
> I think your number are off. Total production of olive oil in world is *about 3 million tons*.


Friend, i will tell you that maize oil is better than olive oil for heart conditions. You can check any scientific literature. No need to get the expensive olive oil. If your salad is good in terms of taste there is no need to use any flavouring.



ghazi52 said:


> *Olive Cultivation in Pakistan*
> 
> The olive, known by the botanical name Olean Europaea, meaning "European olive", is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in much of Africa, The olive tree, Olea Europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native, to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short, squat and rarely exceeds 8-15 m in height. The Pisciottano, a unique variety comprising of 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds this, height with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4-10 cm (1.6-3.9 inch) long and 1-3 cm (0.39-1.18 inch) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
> The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe 1-2.5 cm (0.39-0.98 inch) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that artificially turn them black. Olea Europaea contains a seed commonly referred in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.
> *Agro-Climatic, Nutritional and Other Requirement for Olive Cultivation:* A deep fertile soil and temperatures averaging 50°F but not going below 14°F are desirable. Irrigation is often necessary although the plant bears drought to a great extent in irrigated areas. Olive trees need winter rest for 60-80 days to differentiate flower buds and an average temperature of 7°C. About 500-1000 hours are required in the winters depending upon the cultivars. The maximum absolute temperature should not exceed 20°C during November to February. It can tolerate gradual drop of temperature up to -10°C for a short period. The best olive production and fruit quality occurs in areas having mild winter and long warm dry summer. The neutral and light saline soils with 5% clay particles are suitable for the olive with the best soil pH range 5.6-8.5. It should not be less than 6 and more than 8. The plant requires nitrogen but Boron deficiency could cause a serious problem during its growth.
> 
> *Land Preparation:*
> 
> Soil should be well ploughed before plantation of olive. Pits of size 2.5 X 2.5 feet should be dug a month before plantation. It should be filled with Matti : Bhal : FYM at ratio of 1:1:1.
> *Planting Time: *Trees can be planted during spring and fall. However fall is best if there is no likelihood of frost during winter.
> 
> *Planting Geometry: *
> 
> Trees are planted in square with equal line to line and plant to plant distance. 6x6, 7X7 or 8X8 meter distance yields best results. There may be 80 to 110 trees in an acre.
> *Irrigation Requirements: *Although Olive is a hardy tree, yet it requires timely irrigation during the early two years. In Barani areas annual rainfall should be between 400-500 mm. If it does not rain, trees should be irrigated twice or thrice in a year.
> 
> 
> Before Flowering
> After Flowering
> 30-45 days before fruit maturing
> *Fertilizer Requirement:
> 
> *Phosphorous + Potash at rate of 300 + 200/ Hectare at time of land preparation, repeated after 3-4 Years. Fertilizer requirement from sowing to flowering is given as below.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *
> 
> Harvesting of Fruit:*
> Olive fruit matures during August to September. Harvesting is accomplished by following methods: Picking singly: Good quality oil, expensive mode shaking branches and collecting of dropped fruit
> 
> *Mechanically: *Machine grips trunk and shakes branches, 80% harvesting.
> 
> *Preparation of oil:*
> 
> Fruits are harvested during October when these are purplish, later on these are mechanically crushed to get oil.
> 
> *Management of Insect Pests and Diseases Attacking Olive Tree and Fruits:
> 
> *Pesticide recommended for the management of Insect pests and diseases are given below:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Need for Olive Cultivation in Pakistan*
> 
> 
> The total domestic consumption of edible oil is around 1.9 million tones, out of which 1.3 million tone is being imported from abroad. As many as Rs 28 billion are being spent on the import of edible oil every year. The total production of banola oil is around 450,000 tones, sunflower 77,000 tones, canola 32,000 tones and other seeds are 700 tons per year in the country. Hence, 70% oil is being imported against local production of 30%.
> 
> 
> Bookleat
> http://atd.ztbl.com.pk/Documents/Publication/Brochures/zaitoon_ki_kasht.pdf


Good article; only question is adoption and incentive. Olive trees take a long time to mature for producing fruit.

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## denel

MUSTAKSHAF said:


> In Pakistan it's same figure in US$,15 to 17 USD$ per litre.


That is too expensive? Here good quality oil either from Portugal or Morocco is around $8/litre. 
Be careful, there are different grades; what is mostly sold in many countries is Pomace oil which is bad bad for consumption but people dont realise the difference in grades. When buying make sure it is not pomace.

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## Sine Nomine

denel said:


> That is too expensive? Here good quality oil either from Portugal or Morocco is around $8/litre.
> Be careful, there are different grades; what is mostly sold in many countries is Pomace oil which is bad bad for consumption but people dont realise the difference in grades. When buying make sure it is not pomace.


Thanks for Advice


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## Solomon2

Bashido said:


> Most awaited step ... We have more or less similar environment like Israel and Spain both are major exporter of Olive products -


So any news on how Pakistani olive oil tastes? 

Also, how durable are the trees? The U.S. used to grow olives in the southeast Atlantic states but bad weather - cold in winter, hurricanes in the summer - wiped the trees out every few decades. California does grow some olives but it seems their oils lose taste within a few months to a year.


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## my2cents

denel said:


> Friend, i will tell you that maize oil is better than olive oil for heart conditions. You can check any scientific literature. No need to get the expensive olive oil. If your salad is good in terms of taste there is no need to use any flavouring.
> 
> 
> Good article; only question is adoption and incentive. Olive trees take a long time to mature for producing fruit.



We call it corn oil here. Yes I am aware of the benefits of corn oil in lowering LDL cholesterol. We do use a variety of vegetable oils like corn, groundnut, sunflower, canola etc. Olive oil in my opinion is overrated and overpriced.

How long does the olive tree take to mature? Why not use grafting??


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## denel

my2cents said:


> We call it corn oil here. Yes I am aware of the benefits of corn oil in lowering LDL cholesterol. We do use a variety of vegetable oils like corn, groundnut, sunflower, canola etc. Olive oil in my opinion is overrated and overpriced.
> 
> How long does the olive tree take to mature? Why not use grafting??


ok. you are using US naming convention there.
Olive oil has its benefits but it is a matter of preference as it yields a lot of grades which can be used for multiple things.
Olive tree can take decades to mature; first 5 -10 years before you get fruit. Grafting is not possible on it.

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## niaz

SoulSpokesman said:


> @Pakistansdefender
> 
> To add to what you said, sir, we must remember that olive trees (at least the cultivated varieties) are not really native to our parts of the world, the Mediterranean is. Taking advice and tech from Italians, Greeks, Spaniards etc who are leaders in this crop is nothing to be ashamed of. (I would have added Israel to this list, they are helping India in this, but that of course wont be kosher, so I omit)
> 
> Regards




For your kind information, wild olive trees have existed in the Zhob valley of Baluchistan for a long time. During the British times Zhob town was known as Fort Sandeman. Perhaps that is how it is still shown in the Indian Geography books.

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## Indus Pakistan

Most of Pakistan [west of Indus] is perfect for Olive plant as the region has similar weather to the Mediteranean. What is required is the effort and skills.


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## lastofthepatriots

Kaptaan said:


> Most of Pakistan [west of Indus] is perfect for Olive plant as the region has similar weather to the Mediteranean. What is required is the effort and skills.



Uh. Not some areas of Baluchistan. It's get really hot. I remember reading that in the desert areas of Baluchistan, the temperature gets so hot that when the wind blows animals end up dying. That was something I read as a kid, so I'm not sure how true it is because I don't even recall the source.


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## Adnan81

Medicinal effects of Olive oil:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-olive-oil


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## Fledgingwings

A very info rich post.


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## denel

niaz said:


> For your kind information, wild olive trees have existed in the Zhob valley of Baluchistan for a long time. During the British times Zhob town was known as Fort Sandeman. Perhaps that is how it is still shown in the Indian Geography books.
> 
> View attachment 452155


A lot of folks dont realise, wild olives are wide spread across most of african continent (north and southern) and parts of western asia; similarly wild fig is in the same category. Sometimes for insulators we use wild olive wood here because it is extremely hard and resilient.

In greece, when a child is born, tradition dictates an olive tree must be planted in their name; plus the govt there deliberately plants millions of trees. Especially in Baluchistan/Sistan and other parts of iran, it can easily be grown. Similarly i have seen hundreds of trees in Azerbaijan just growing away and people do harvest them. 

It is one of those trees which outlasts a person by 2 generation at least and yields a lot of benefits. Oil; the residual oil is used for soap; a huge market just for it. 

Another thing we do here in our farm is orange/lemon peel; how many of you just throw it away; we distill citrus oils in our yard shed and sell them as our trees on our farm are without pesticide use and hence certified organic.

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## ghazi52

*Empowering local communities: Olive trees spell greener days for Lower Dir’s farmers*








Olive trees in Talaash, Lower Dir where local farmers process the fruit to make an income out of it. PHOTO: FAZAL KHALIQ/EXPRESS

LOWER DIR: 
With soil and climate highly-favourable for the olive tree, Lower Dir is home to millions of wild olive trees which bear no fruit and are thus extensively used for fuel. Agriculturists believe converting the wild trees into fruit-bearing ones can radically change the lives of locals and generate significant revenue for the country. 

With this aim, the four-year Programme for Economic Advancement and Community Empowerment (PEACE), funded by the European Union and implemented by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme, was launched in 2013 in all districts of Malakand Division—Swat, Shangla, Buner, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Chitral and Malakand Agency.

Under the project, local farmers were trained in converting wild olive trees into fruit-bearing ones, proper fruit processing and strategies to make their olive businesses profitable.

To date, the project has benefited hundreds of people. Local farmers say they were aware of the benefits of olives, but did not know the proper method of converting wild trees into productive ones and ways of processing the fruit.






“There are millions of wild olive trees in this region. We thought they were of no use except wood for fuel because we were not aware of the plant’s financial benefits,” said Zafar Ali, a resident of Amluk Dara Talaash, who has converted 300 wild olive trees and planted 400 new ones in his farm with the help of the PEACE programme.

“Now, we know the monetary benefits of olive trees and have been trained in the technicalities of wild tree grafting and proper tree management. In the next five years, Dir district will have a thriving olive industry,” he said.

Muhammad Israr is a Dheria Talaash native who has more than 10,000 olive trees of which 4,000 are in the bearing stage and produce 12 tonnes of fruit annually. “We used to employ traditional methods earlier and would lose much of the fruit during the harvest, however, after getting training we have learnt to process the fruit properly. This has minimised our losses and increased income,” he said.

According to the programme’s official, Amjad Ali, locals have been trained in how to add value to raw olives through advanced technologies of preservation and olive product development. Moreover, owners of olive trees in Lower Dir are now organised under the Business Interest Group and can reap benefits from the olive market.






According to Falak Naz Shah, the head of Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Tarnab’s food technology department, there are 80 million wild olive trees in Malakand and 18,000 of them have been turned productive through grafting.

He said farmers should be assisted by not just training but also by the provision of relevant tools and equipment, storage facilities and preservatives. “If the millions of wild trees are converted into fruit-producing ones, and the product processed and packaged properly, billions of rupees can be generated for the country,” he said.

By Fazal Khaliq

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## ghazi52

*Scope of olive cultivation in Pakistan *
By Muhammad Shoaib Ahmedani*, Shehbaz Ahmed Warraich**
*Ph.D. Scholar, department of Entomology, UAAR.
** Dean Faculty of Crop and Food Sciences, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi.



*1: Introduction:*





There is a lot of potential for olive cultivation in Pakistan. The estimates have revealed that if eight million wild olive trees present in different provinces are grafted and converted into the productive olive then there is a potential of earning a maximum of one billion dollars annually (Table-4). Similarly, we may earn a maximum of 9 billion dollars annually if olive cultivation is made on cultivable potential waste lands (Table-5). The olive appears to have been native to Asia, being one of the earliest trees cultivated by man. The trees belong to oleaceae family and comprise 30 genera with 600 species. The plant is xerophitic upon species of tree the olea-europea or Europium olive. Olive is an integral part of the diet of the people of the Mediterranean lands and is a source of fat in diet of these people. Olive oil is widely used in countries where fats are scarce. In Indo-Pak sub-continent a wild olive, olea cuspida is found within the northwest Himalayas and other adjoining hills but cultivated olive olea Europea is not grown anywhere on commercial scale. This plant is locally known as *Zytoon* in Urdu, *Showan* in Pushtu, *Khat in Brahavi* and *kow* in Punjabi, Sindhi and Saraiki. The importance of olive oil has also been narrated several times in the Holy Quran. During the mid of last century;( around 1950s), a number of grafted olive plants of several varieties were imported and planted in Kashmir, Simla and Kangra hills at Harnai, Fort Sandeman (Zhob) in Balochistan, Peshawar, Swat (NWFP), Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Jhelum (Punjab) districts. 


*1.1:OLIVE MAP*








*1.2: BOTANICAL PERSPECTIVE OF OLIVE*



*Genera*

Ø _Fraxinus_

Ø _Ligustrum_

Ø _Syringa_

Ø _Olea_ ( olive


*CULTIVARS OF Olea europaea*


Ø Nocellara del belice

Ø Nocellara

Ø Biancolilla

Ø Coratina

Ø Carolea

Ø Ottoberitica

Ø Leccino

Ø Pendolino

Ø Uslo

Ø Gemlik

Ø Domate

Ø Moraiolo



*1.3 OLIVE VARITIES*






*Alfonso*

These are very large purplish olives. They have a distinctive acidic bite.





*Arbequina*

These are very small, even tiny olives that are a medium brown color. They originate in Spain (the Siurana district in Catalonia) and are characterized by a small amount of pleasantly bitter flesh on each olive. They are always brine cured. This olive is also prized for making excellent olive oil.




* Ascolane*

From the Italian Cuneau district, this is a very large and meaty olive with a delicate flavor.





* Atalanti*

Named for the town of Atalanti in eastern Greece on the Aegean Sea. These green olives are rather pale/gray in color, medium round, and have a "zingy" flavor.





* Dry Cured*

Often cured in sea salt in order to draw out the moisture from the olive over a period of several weeks. After this period is ready to eat. Typically these olives are stored in a little olive oil.







* Elitses*

A Greek olive not unlike a French Nicoise olive. Its color ranges in color from purple to black. It is a small olive with little flesh.








* Farga Aragon*
A Spanish olive from the Aragon district. It is brine cured, deep brown, and tender fleshed.







* Gaeta*

A famous black olive from Greece. It has a moderately pungent and "deep" flavor.








* Kalamata*

A variety of Greek olives that originate from the city of Kalamata in the Southern Peloponnese of Greece. Kalamata olives are pickled in wine vinegar. The pickling process develops a very pronounced flavor of salt and vinegar. They have a very meaty flesh which is strong in flavor.





* Manzanilla*

This green olive originates in Spain in the Andalousia district. It is medium sized with a flavor reminiscent of almonds. It goes particularly well with tapas and sherry.





* Nafplion*

Named for the small seaside town in Greece, this is a small, green olive with a nutty flavor.







* Nicoise*

French Nicoise olive. Its color ranges in color from purple to black. It is a small olive with little flesh.









*1.4: OLIVE FROM RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE*




The divine revelation Quran deals some species of plants including Mustard tree or tooth brush tree, Acacia, Onion, Pomegranate, Grape, Fig, Euphorbia, Sweet basil, Gourd, Cucumber, Garlic, Lentil, Ginger, Heena, Cedar, Date, Manna, Tamarisic, Cactus-Bitter, Blessed Tree and Olive.

Olives have been mentioned seven times in the Quran and their health benefits have been propounded in Prophetic medicine.

Ø By the fig and olive And the mount of Sinai And the city of security We have indeed created man in the best of moulds (The Fig, Surah 95)

Ø “ Zaithun is a plant of useful characters neither of east nor west” (Sura Noor – 35).

Ø Allah is the one who sends water down from the sky therewith we brought froth plants of all kinds and from them the verdure and we brought forth from it the clustered grains, and from the palm trees its spathes with bunches of dates, the gardens of grapes, olive and pomegranates, similar and different look at their fruit when they bear it and their ripeing, varity in that their signs for people who believe (Quran 6:99)

Ø _And a tree (olive) that springs forth from Mount Sinai, that grows (produces) oil, and (it is) relish for the eaters._ ( 23:20 )

Ø He causes to grow for you the crops, the olives, the date-palms, the grapes, and every kind of fruit _(16:10-11)_


*The Prophet Muhammad* (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said: _Take oil of olive and massage with it – it is a blessed tree._

Ø Hazrath Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet (Pbuh) stated, “Eat the olive oil and apply it (locally), since there is cure for seventy diseases in it, one of them is Leprosy.” (Abu Naim)

Ø Hazrat Zaid Bin Arqam narrates, “ We have been directed by the Prophet (Pbuh) that we should treat the Pleurisy with Qust-e-Behri (Qust Sheerin) and olive oil.” (Tirmizi, sanadeAhmed, Ibn Maja)

Ø Hazrat Sayyed Al-Ansari narrates that the Prophet (Pbuh) said “Eat the olive oil and massage it over your bodies since it is a holy (mubarak) tree.” (Tirmizi, Ibn Maja)

Ø Hazrat Alqama Bin Amir narrates that Prophet (Pbuh) said, “ There is olive oil for you, eat it, massage over your body, since it is effective in Heamorrhoids (Piles).” (Ibn Al-Jozi, Zanbi)

Ø Hazrat Aqba Bin Amir narrates that the Prophet (Pbuh) stated, “You have the olive oil from this Holy (mubarak) tree, treat yourself with this, since it cures the Anal fissure (Basoor).”




In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, Was there the Tree of Life, Which bare twelve manner of fruit every month: And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2










A breath which comes from this world shakes the branches of the Tree of Life, Which spreads the fragrance of the future world in this world, And brings the holy souls alive. These souls come up waking each other . . And the Tree of Life rejoices. The Zohar III, 1731







There is a tree, the root of Transmigration, the Asvattha Tree everlasting. Its branches spread from earth to heaven, and the powers of nature give them life. 




Its buds are the pleasures of the senses. Far down below, its roots stretch into the world of men, binding a mortal through selfish actions. Men do not see the changing form of that tree, nor its beginning, nor its end, nor where its roots are? Bhagavad-Gita 15:1-5






1.4 SECRET OF OLIVE TREE



The secret of the olive tree is in two things: its fruit, the olive itself, and its massive underground root system that can extend over twenty feet. The roots are so extensive and strong that in times of drought, when other trees die, the zaytuna tree is still standing because it draws from deep within the earth when the heavens withhold their life-giving water. Another aspect of these roots is that they enable the tree to produce olives for hundreds of years: even after the tree looks as if there is no life left in it, it continues to produce olives.

Chemical composition of Olive: Oleic acid, stearic acid, Myristic acid, palmatic acid, linolic acid, arachidic acid and non-drying acid.


*Chemical composition of Olive: *Oleic acid, stearic acid, Myristic acid, palmatic acid, linolic acid, arachidic acid and non-drying acid









*1.5: OLIVE FRUIT TYPES AND NUTRIONAL VALUE*










Fresh olive at the picking stage. [To the lower right is a sectioned olive showing the stony endocarp (pit) surrounding the seed.
Fresh olive that is turning black on tree.
Pitted, canned olive treated with ferrous gluconate.
Pitted, canned green olive stuffed with pimento, a bright red Capsicum pepper cultivar. Fresh olives are soaked in lye (sodium hydroxide) to remove the bitter oleuropein. Commercially grown olives are picked green and are oxidized in air (aerated) to produce the black color. The black color of canned olives is stabilized with ferrous gluconate. Oxidation is prevented in green olives to preserve their color.

Unlike most unsaturated plant oils which come from seeds, monounsaturated olive oil is obtained from the pulp or mesocarp of the fruit. Virgin olive oil is obtained from the 1st pressing.

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## ghazi52

*NUTRITIONAL IMPORTANCE OF OLIVE* 


Ø 

The Vitamin E contained in Olives is the body's primary fat-soluble antioxidant. Anti-oxidants help to strengthen the body's immune system; reducing the severity of asthma, cancer, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, premature ageing, as well as delaying the effects of ageing.

Ø Olives contain compounds called polyphenols that appear to have significant anti-inflammatory properties. Imam as-Suyuti comments that in using olive oil as a balm, you fortify your limbs and as a result reduce inflammation.

Ø The juice of the olive, otherwise known as olive oil (Zayt), is a delicious source of antioxidants. This oil is monounsaturated, and it has a positive effect on the cholesterol level in our blood streams, by helping to reduce it. Monounsaturated fats are an important part of our diets. These oils act to keep cholesterol from sticking to our artery walls, and thus combating against diseases such as heart disease and strokes. Not only that, but they help to control blood sugar, a big plus in offering protection against Diabetes.


Ø Olives are also very light foods (ie contain low calories), but at the same time very filling; being able to quickly satisfy hunger. and lead to fewer total calories ingested at mealtime.

Ø The Zaytun oil can also be used on hands, hair and as a base for massage oil. 
Used as a balm, it fortifies the hair. It keeps the hair shiny and prevents dandruff.

Ø Used as a balm, it fortifies and moisturizes the skin, combating dry skin and softening it. It also combats against acne.

Ø Massaged onto the body, Olives fortify the limbs, combat against inflammation, and sooth away aches and pains from tired muscles and so on.

Ø Help against wrinkles and delaying the effects of old age.

Ø Help combat against strokes, heart-disease, High blood pressure, diabetes.

Ø It aids digestion and strengthens the bowels, as well as the stomach. Soothes Pain

Ø Drunk, the tea from Olive leaves help against High blood pressure.

Ø The decoction of olive leaves in water is effective against mouth and lip ulcers and allergic dermatitis also.

Ø The concentrated aqueous extract of olive leaves and fruits is very effective against dental cavities and application of this solution shows very good effects on Leukoplaquea in mouth.

Ø This solution is applied with vinegar on Alopecia, grows the hair and removes the Alopecia.

Ø It is also stated that the local application of this extract removes the scars of small pox and boils.

Ø The powder of seeds mixed with butter is effective in brittle nails.

Ø The pickles prepared from olive fruits is a good appetizer and removes constipation.

Ø The smashed leaves are applied locally to check excessive perspiration.

Ø The water extracted from the leaves with honey is used as eardrops and effective in various ear ailments. 

Ø The oil procured by burning of olive wood is effective against all fungal infection viz a viz, Ringworm, T.versicolor etc. in addition to Eczema, Psoriasis, Dandruff and Alopecia.

Ø The local application of olive oil on scalp is highly effective against dandruff. It grows the hairs and checks, the loss of hair.

Ø The application of olive oil in eyes relieves the inflammation.

Ø The massage of olive oil over the body tones up the muscles and organs, it relieves muscular pains.

Ø Some physicians also advocate the massage of olive oil for epilepsy.

Ø It relieves the Sciatic and arthritis.

Ø The ointments prepared from olive oil are very good healing agents. It heals the sinus and fistula very quickly. 25ml of olive oil mixed with 250ml of barley water, if taken internally, is highly effective against chronic constipation.

Ø It is a good Diuretic, hence is used in Ascites.

Ø It also removes the kidney stones.

Ø A conventional regimen is also available comprising of olive oil and other herbal rugs having potential against the Gall bladder stones. It is stated that this regimen dissolves and expels the Gall bladder stone.

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## SoulSpokesman

@niaz

Niaz sb,

Thanks.

Regards


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## denel

This is probably one of the most educational threads on this forum....

Keep it up, this is what this forum is for ... educating one another so that we can learn and teach others.

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## ghazi52

*Govt to spend Rs 280m for plantation of olive sapling*

April 23, 2018

LAHORE - The Punjab government under a five-year (2015-2020) plan, has arranged plantation of over 900,000 olive saplings in Potohar Region which has been declared 'Olive valley' and the government was on schedule in its target of planting two million olive saplings till 2020.

Talking to APP, Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) Director Dr Muhammad Tariq said that the olive saplings are provided free of cost to the eligible farmers of the region including Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum, Attock and Khushab districts. The programme was launched on the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif aimed at promoting local production of olive oil and curtailing import bill of edible oil sector, he added.

The growers are offered subsidy in accordance with the set rules and procedure and they are bound to fully comply with the recommendations of the Provincial Agriculture Department. He said for the purpose the Punjab Agriculture Department had imported high quality saplings from best recognized countries for the production of olive.

The eligibility criteria for the grant of free olive saplings extends to those farmers belonging to the region, who possess sufficient irrigation resources for the maintenance of an olive orchard, or who aspire to avail the 70 percent subsidy available, to manage irrigation resources. If the grower opts to establish a drip irrigation system, then the applicant shall be eligible to avail a 60 per cent subsidy.

"The area of Potohar region has suitable climatic conditions for olive cultivation as presence of wild olives at large area was already in the region. That's why the government decided to turn Potohar into olive valley," he said.

He further elaborated that olive is an environmental friendly plant and it also does not take the area of other crops. "An olive tree starts production after three to four years of its plantation while its productive age lasts for a long period", revealed Dr Mohammad Tariq.

"If we only utilise one third of our available area for olive cultivation, we would not only stop the import of edible oil rather but could become one of the largest olive oil producers", he said.

"Total world production of olive oil is 2.75 million tons and only one-third of Chakwal's cultivated area can produce 2 per cent of world olive oil that is 55,000 tons", he informed. Trees of olive laden with fruits at BARI are the proof that Potohar can be turned into "olive valley" easily. BARI has imported a machine from Italy to extract olive oil.

To stop Pakistan's import of edible oil, 2.37m hectares area is required for olive cultivation and for this task a hefty amount of budget is also needed.
*
A single plant of olive yields 15 to 35 kg *as it depends upon varieties, ecosystem and care while oil content remains 18 to 22 percent. "250 plants can be cultivated on a hectare and we can get 600 litres of olive oil from one hectare", maintained Dr. Tariq. The price of olive oil is Rs 500 per litre and a farmer can earn Rs 300,000 by growing olive on a hectare.

Interestingly, the pickle of olive can give a huge profit to its producer as *a farmer can earns Rs 1176,000 by preparing 4,000kg of pickle from one hectare.* "The economic return of olive is very high and its cultivation can bring a revolution in the lives of poor farmers", Dr. Tariq said.

He further informed that olive demands less care than that of other crops and its harvesting is also easy than that of other crops. The demand of olive oil is increasing day by day as it has great medicinal value, he added.

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## ghazi52

*Olive Nursery Techniques by BARI, Chakwal..





*

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

*BARI, Chakwal..*





__ https://www.facebook.com/

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## Taimoor Khan

We as a nation needs to add olive and it's products in our diet, purely because of its health benefits. I never have a meal without olives. It's good to know that now they are being produced locally in Pakistan.

My personal favourite is Greek Halkithiki specially when marinated and stuffed with garlic or jalapeño.


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## abbasniazi

No mention of Bahawalpur region which has large desert area, i belong to a farming background and was born and brought up in Rahim Yar Khan, we have a reasonably big house (8 kanals) in comparison to the small sizes in the urban areas now adays, we have variety of fruit and flower plants at our house including pomegranate, karonda fruit, Tamarind, mango, indian jujube(beri), Syzygium cumini (jamun) etc, we planted an olive tree as well and it grew like a monster and producing fruit as well this was a big surprise to me and a proof that olive could be successfully planted in Rahim Yar Khan.

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## ghazi52

It has been recently reported that the government is trying to convert *Chakwal valley* into an olive valley. For this purpose, two million olive plants will be distributed in Punjab over the next five years while an olive oil preparing factory is already functional in the region.

Pakistan’s water starved economy is dependent on water intensive crops such as sugarcane and rice (for more information read “Water scarcity and agri-export woes”, published on June 19, 2018). Olive trees are hardy plants with roots so extensive and strong that in time of drought they can survive by drawing water from deep within the earth. They are also able to produce olives for hundreds of years enabling the return on investment for setting up olive trees to be reasonably high and sustainable.

*A report by SMEDA estimates that on average, an olive plant produces 20 to 35 kg of fruit per year *which contain more than 12 percent oil content. Olives can be sold at the rate of Rs.73 per kg and oil can be sold at Rs. 500 per litre. Estimates suggest that the current there are 8 million wild olive trees present in different provinces, which if drafted and converted for olive production could present a potential of earning of $1 billion annually.

Since an olive plant requires at least 5 years before it can start bearing fruit, it is not feasible for farmers to opt for olive trees on their own. To promote its cultivation, the Punjab government has given a 70 percent subsidy on watering and cultivation and a 60 percent subsidy on installation of drip irrigation systems. The agricultural department has also promised to purchase olives so that farmers can sell their produce immediately.

However, this is not the first time an attempt has been made to create an olive valley. In 2016, Punjab government tried to create an olive valley in Potahar over 15,000 acres of land with a project cost of Rs 2.8 billion. Similarly, Pakistan Economic Survey FY18 lists olive forests in Punjab as part of its Green Pakistan Program, which is an initiative to revive forestry and wildlife resources to make the country more environmentally resilient. However, there has been little evidence of progress or results.

Though the government is providing some support for olive production, it also provides more lucrative assistance to main stream crops such as rice, sugar, wheat and cotton in the form of support prices and subsidies. There is little incentive for farmers to shift to the more prudent, profitable and long term sustainable production of olives. Yet, this shift needs to be made at least in part to decrease pressure on Pakistan’s water resources, decrease the edible oil import bill and tap into the lucrative Middle Eastern market that has high olive oil demand.

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## ABBASIA

ghazi52 said:


> It has been recently reported that the government is trying to convert *Chakwal valley* into an olive valley. For this purpose, two million olive plants will be distributed in Punjab over the next five years while an olive oil preparing factory is already functional in the region.
> 
> Pakistan’s water starved economy is dependent on water intensive crops such as sugarcane and rice (for more information read “Water scarcity and agri-export woes”, published on June 19, 2018). Olive trees are hardy plants with roots so extensive and strong that in time of drought they can survive by drawing water from deep within the earth. They are also able to produce olives for hundreds of years enabling the return on investment for setting up olive trees to be reasonably high and sustainable.
> 
> *A report by SMEDA estimates that on average, an olive plant produces 20 to 35 kg of fruit per year *which contain more than 12 percent oil content. Olives can be sold at the rate of Rs.73 per kg and oil can be sold at Rs. 500 per litre. Estimates suggest that the current there are 8 million wild olive trees present in different provinces, which if drafted and converted for olive production could present a potential of earning of $1 billion annually.
> 
> Since an olive plant requires at least 5 years before it can start bearing fruit, it is not feasible for farmers to opt for olive trees on their own. To promote its cultivation, the Punjab government has given a 70 percent subsidy on watering and cultivation and a 60 percent subsidy on installation of drip irrigation systems. The agricultural department has also promised to purchase olives so that farmers can sell their produce immediately.
> 
> However, this is not the first time an attempt has been made to create an olive valley. In 2016, Punjab government tried to create an olive valley in Potahar over 15,000 acres of land with a project cost of Rs 2.8 billion. Similarly, Pakistan Economic Survey FY18 lists olive forests in Punjab as part of its Green Pakistan Program, which is an initiative to revive forestry and wildlife resources to make the country more environmentally resilient. However, there has been little evidence of progress or results.
> 
> Though the government is providing some support for olive production, it also provides more lucrative assistance to main stream crops such as rice, sugar, wheat and cotton in the form of support prices and subsidies. There is little incentive for farmers to shift to the more prudent, profitable and long term sustainable production of olives. Yet, this shift needs to be made at least in part to decrease pressure on Pakistan’s water resources, decrease the edible oil import bill and tap into the lucrative Middle Eastern market that has high olive oil demand.



Pakistan is producing best olive oil which is being marketed by local companies like Bagh e Zaitoon Pvt Ltd and few others. The oil is of exception quality though it is high priced compared to cheap/low quality imported oils.

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## Maxpane

Wooow


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## ghazi52

*Rawalpindi: *The Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD) has formally approved “Olive Valley” for the Potohar region, reported a news source. A pilot project in this regard was launched back in 2017, which turned out to be more successful than anticipated as the olive trees planted back then yielded record production. This lead to PAD officially declaring Potohar region as Olive Valley.

The Agriculture Department has now decided to hire two project directors and two deputy directors for it. Under this project, 500,000 olive trees will be planted in the next year and the count will be made to reach 1 million in the next.

So far, nine million olive trees have already been planted in the Potohar region, which comprises Chakwal, Khushab, Jhelum, and other districts. For the extraction of olives, a factory was also set up at Barani Agriculture Research Institute in Chakwal.

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## ghazi52

Olive farming gets boost with arrival of 100000 plants from Spain, Turkey
 
February 22, 2019








Olive farming in Pakistan has received a strong boost with the arrival of 100,000 olive plants from Spain and Turkey.

The move is part of a project to promote cultivation of olive on commercial basis in the country.

A total of 550,000 plants will be imported under the project which is being implemented by the National Agricultural Centre.

The project for the promotion of cultivation of olive on commercial basis has been approved under the Public Sector Development.

Dr Bari said that a survey of the potential areas had been completed and it was found that these areas were best suited for olive plantation.

The olive cultivation will not only offer an ‘olive branch’ to peace in Fata, but will also serve as a source for livelihood of farmers in the entire Waziristan belt and agencies of Fata.

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## Azadkashmir

how does one apply for this in azadk. where do you go ? does government provide or the individual has to buy plants /seeds?. what about land rental for crops.


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## ghazi52

*It has been estimated that 45 percent of Fata land is suitable for olive cultivation. The highest appetite for cultivation of olive has been found in Bajaur followed by Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan.*

According to Dr Bari, there are tremendous benefits for promoting commercial plantation of olive in Fata which include improvement in environment, development of village entrepreneurship, employment generation, improvement in livelihood and value-addition.

*In Balochistan, the potential areas found suitable for olive cultivation were Zhob, Khuzdar, Loralai, Kila Saifullah and Musa Khel.*

In some of these areas, results of growing olive crop have been encouraging that prompted project officials to include Balochistan in the programme.

It has been decided to install drip irrigation to olive plants on 400 acres of land in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

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## Maea

Does anyone need olive plants. 
I can send you from Italy.


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## Pindi Boy

MikeAlphaEchoAlpha said:


> Does anyone need olive plants.
> I can send you from Italy.


For free ?


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## ghazi52

*Govt to install three olive extraction mills, 6 mobile units*








The government is set to install three olive oil extraction mills and six mobile oil extraction units across the olive producing areas in the county to facilitate the olive farmers as well as getting maximum benefits by the value addition of the local produces.


These extraction mills and mobile units would be installed during next crop season with a public-private partnership, which aimed at promoting the olive cultivation and oil production on large scale commercial basis, said Project Direct of Olive Development Programme in the National Agriculture Centre Dr Muhammad Tariq.

Talking to APP here on Wednesday, he said that promotion and development of olive on large scale commercial basis would not only help in reducing the country’s reliance on imported oil to fulfil its domestic requirements like palm and soybean, but also provide super hygienic edible oil to local consumers.

Besides, he said that development of olive on large scale commercial basis would also help in saving the precious national foreign exchange reserves of over 3.7 billion used on the import of edible oil which was costing the country average $ 3.7 billion annually.

Dr Tariq said that about 600,000 acres of land was identified in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Wana and Potohar Region for olive cultivation during next season, adding that olive plantation has so far been completed over 100,000 acres and planted over 5 million live plants.

He said that olive plantation had witnessed encouraging the trend in the country as average 500,000 to 600,000 olive plants were planted every year, adding that the olive was cultivated over 50,000 acres during last year.

Out of the total cultivated crop, about 50 per cent plants had reached to the fruiting stage and every year output was witnessing an encouraging increase, adding that if the ratio continued in same spirit economic benefits of Rs 25 billion would be injected in the national economy, he added.

He said that in order to ensure the maximum survival of the plants, drip irrigation system was also installed over 450 acres, besides work on developing the local nurseries of certified plants were also in progress to produce high yielding plants as according to the local ecological requirements.

The project director said that about 18 training programmes were organized and average 30-35 farmers were trained in each secession, besides organizing an international olive conference to share the international best practices and expertise with local stakeholders.

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## ghazi52

*
کی کاشت ( OLIVE ) زیتون :*

زیتون کا باغ لگائیں ۔ ہزار سال تک بھر پور منافع کمائیں 
ماہرین کہتے ہیں کہ اگر آپ پاکستان میں ایک مرتبہ زیتون کا باغ لگا لیں تو وہ کم از کم ایک ہزار سال تک پھل دیتا رہے گا. زیتون کن کن اضلاع میں لگایا جاسکتا ہے؟ زیتون کے باغات پنجاب سمیت پاکستان کے تمام علاقوں میں کامیابی سے لگائے جا سکتے ہیں. حتی کہ چولستان میں بھی زیتون کی کاشت ہو سکتی ہے.
لیکن فی الحال زیتون کی کاشت کے حوالے سے حکومتِ پنجاب کی ساری توجہ پوٹھوہار کے علاقوں پر مرکوز ہے.
*
زیتون کس طرح کی زمین میں لگایا جاسکتا ہے؟*
زیتون کا پودا ہر طرح کی زمینوں مثلاََ ریتلی، کچی، پکی، پتھریلی، صحرائی زمینوں میں کامیابی سے لگایا جا سکتا ہے. صرف کلر والی زمین یا ایسی زمینیں جہاں پانی کھڑا رہے، زیتون کے لئے موزوں نہیں ہیں.
*
زیتون کو کتنے پانی کی ضرورت ہے؟*

زیتون کے پودے کو شروع شروع میں تقریبا دس دن کے وقفے سے پانی لگانا چاہیئے. جیسے جیسے پودا بڑا ہوتا جاتا ہے ویسے ویسے اس کی پانی کی ضرورت بھی کم ہوتی جاتی ہے. دو سال کے بعد زیتون کے پودے کو 20 سے 25 دن کے وقفے سے پانی لگانا چاہیئے.ن کے پودے کب لگائے جا سکتے ہیں؟

زیتون کے پودے موسمِ بہار یعنی فروری، مارچ , اپریل یا پھر مون سون کے موسم یعنی اگست، ستمبر ، اکتوبر میں لگائے جا سکتے ہیں

*زیتون کے پودے لگانے کا طریقہ کار کیا ہے؟*

زیتون کا باغ لگاتے ہوئے پودوں کا درمیانی فاصلہ 10×10 فٹ ہونا ضروری ہے. اس طرح ایک ایکڑ میں تقریبا 400 پودے لگائے جا سکتے ہیں. یہ بھی دھیان رہے کہ زیتون کے پودے باغ کی بیرونی حدود سے تقریباََ 8 تا 10 فٹ کھیت کے اندر ہونے چاہیئں.
پودے لگانے کے لئے دو فٹ گہرا اور دو فٹ ہی چوڑا گڑھا کھودیں. اس کے بعد زرخیز مٹی اور بھل سے گڑھوں کی بھرائی کر دیں. اب زیتون کا پودا لگانے کے لئے آپ کی زمین تیار ہے.
پودے کو احتیاط سے شاپر سے نکالیں تاکہ گاچی وغیرہ ٹوٹ کر جڑوں کو ہوا نہ لگ جائے. گڑھے کی مٹی کھود کر پودا لگائیں اور اس کے بعد پودے کے چاروں طرف مٹی کو پاؤں کی مدد سے دبا دیں تاکہ پودا مستحکم ہو جائے. چھوٹے پودے کا تنا ذرا نازک ہوتا ہے اس لئے پودے کو پلاسٹک کے پائپ سے سہارا دے دیا جائے تو زیادہ بہتر ہے. سہارے کے لئے لکڑی کا استعمال نہ کریں کیونکہ لکڑی کو دیمک لگ سکتی ہے جو بعد میں پودے پر بھی حملہ آور ہو سکتی ہے.

*زیتون کی کون کون سی اقسام کہاں کہاں کاشت کی جا سکتی ہیں؟
*
پوٹھوہار اور اس کے ملحقہ اضلاع کے لئے درج ذیل اقسام کاشت کی جا سکتی ہیں.

نمبر 1. لسینو
نمبر 2. گیملک
نمبر 3. پینڈولینو
نمبر 4. نبالی
نمبر 5. آربو سانا
نمبر 6. کورونیکی
نمبر 7. آربیقوینہ

*
پنجاب اور سندھ کے گرم علاقوں سمیت دیگر گرم علاقوں کے لئے درج ذیل اقسام کاشت کرنی چاہئیں.*

نمبر 1. آربو سانا

نمبر 2. کورونیکی

نمبر 3. آربیقوینہ

یاد رکھیں زیتون کا باغ لگاتے وقت کم از کم دو یا دو سے زائد اقسام لگانی چاہئیں اس طرح بہتر بارآوری کی بدولت پیداوار اچھی ہوتی ہے.
*
زیتون کے باغ کو کھادیں کتنی اور کون کونسی ڈالنی چاہئیں؟*

کھاد دوسرے سال کے پودے کو ڈالیں. دوسرے سال کے پودے کے لئے:

گوبر کی کھاد . . . . 5 کلوگرام فی پودا ڈالیں . . . . اگلے سالوں میں ہر سال 5 کلو گرام کا اضافہ کریں
نائٹروجن کھاد . . . . 200 گرام فی پودا ڈالیں . . . . اگلے سالوں میں ہر سال 100 گرام کا اضافہ کریں
فاسفورس کھاد . . . . 100گرام فی پودا ڈالیں . . . . اگلے سالوں میں ہر سال 50 گرام کا اضافہ کریں
پوٹاش کھاد . . . . . . 50 گرام فی پودا ڈالیں . . . . .. اگلے سالوں میں ہر سال 50 گرام کا اضافہ کریں
*
زیتون کے پودے کو پھل کتنے سال بعد لگتا ہے؟*

عام طور پر 3 سال میں زیتون کے پودے پر پھل آنا شروع ہو جاتا ہے.

زیتون کے پودے پر پھل پہلے سبز اور پھر جامنی ہو جاتا ہے۔ سبز پھل اچار اور جامنی تیل نکالنے کے لئے استعمال ہوتا ہے
زیتون کے باغ سے فی ایکڑ کتنی پیداوار حاصل کی جاسکتی ہے؟

زیتون کے ایک پودے سے پیداوار کا دارومدار اس بات پر ہے کہ آپ نے پودے کی دیکھ بھال کس طرح سے کی ہے.

اچھی دیکھ بھال کی بدولت ایک پودے سے 60 کلوگرام یا اس سے بھی زیادہ زیتون کا پھل با آسانی حاصل ہو سکتا ہے.

لیکن اگردیکھ بھال درمیانی سی کی گئی تو 40 کلوگرام فی پودا پھل حاصل ہو سکتا ہے. انتہائی کم دیکھ بھال سے پودے کی پیداوار 25 سے 30 کلوگرام فی پودا تک بھی گر سکتی ہے. لہذا ماہرین زیتون کے باغات کی فی ایکڑ پیداوار کا حساب لگانے کے لئے 25 کلو گرام فی پودا پیداوار کو سامنے رکھتے ہیں.
اس طرح ایک ایکڑ میں موجود 400 (اوسط) پودوں سے 10000 ہزار کلوگرام زیتون کا پھل حاصل ہو سکتا ہے.

*ایک ایکڑ کے پھل سے کتنا تیل نکل آتا ہے؟*

بہتر یہ ہے کہ زیتون کے کاشتکار پھل کو بیچنے کی بجائے اس کا تیل نکلوائیں اور پھر اس تیل کو مارکیٹ میں فروخت کریں. زیتون کے پھل سے 20 سے 30 فیصد کے حساب سے تیل نکل آتا ہے. 20 فی صد کے حساب سے ایک ایکڑ زیتون کے پھل ( 10000 کلوگرام ) سے تقریبا 2000 کلو گرام تیل نکل آتا ہے.
فی ایکڑ آمدن کتنی ہو سکتی ہے؟ یوں تو مارکیٹ میں بڑے بڑے سپر سٹوروں پر آپ کو زیتون کا تیل کوالٹی کے حساب سے 800 روپے سے لیکر 1100 روپے ی کلو تک مل سکتا ہے. لیکن واضح رہے کہ یہ سارے کا سارا تیل باہر سے درآمد کیا جاتا ہے جس کی کوالٹی پر ماہرین کے شدید تحفظات ہیں. ماہرین کہتے ہیں کہ مختلف برانڈوں کا درآمد شدہ تیل جو پاکستانی مارکیٹ میں بک رہا ہے یہ خالص زیتون کا تیل نہیں ہے بلکہ اس میں کئی دوسرے تیلوں کی ملاوٹ ہوتی ہے .
گرین ایگرو کی معلومات کے مطابق چکوال میں تحقیقاتی ادارے کے پلانٹ سے نکالا جانے والا تیل کم از کم 2 ہزار روپے فی کلو کے حساب سے بک رہا ہے. واضح رہے کہ چکوال کا زرعی تحقیقاتی ادارہ کسانوں کو تیل نکالنے کی مفت سہولت فراہم کر رہا ہے.
اگر ریٹ واقعی دو ہزار روپے فی کلو گرام ہو تو آمدن کا حساب آپ خود لگا سکتے ہیں. گرین ایگرو نے آمدن معلوم کرنے کے لئے 800 روپے فی کلو گرام کے ریٹ کو سامنے رکھا ہے.

اس طرح سے 2000 کلو گرام تیل سے حاصل ہونے والی آمدن تقریباََ 16 لاکھ روپے بنتی ہے. اگر باغ کی اچھی دیکھ بھال کی جاے تو امدن دوگنا ھو سکتی ھے
یہ تو آپ جانتے ہی ہیں کہ زیتون کے پھل سے تیل کے علاوہ اچار اور مربع جات بھی بنائے جاتے ہیں. اور ویسے بھی جس درخت کی اللہ نے قرآن میں قسم کھائی ہے اس میں نقصان کیسے ہوسکتا ہے

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## ghazi52

Olive cultivation in Pakistan to receive boost.‬

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## ghazi52

*In Pakistan’s olive-rich tribal areas, lone oil plant begins operations*







Locals in Bajaur district pack olives for onward delivery to the processing plant on Tuesday, 
28 October 2019

REHMAT MEHSUD

Olive oil derived from improved plant varieties is intended for export by next year, officials say
Local olive farmers in the region are looking to cash in on the increase in interest and demand

PESHAWAR: The first ever olive processing plant set up in a Pakistani tribal district, in a region that borders Afghanistan, has started producing olive oil, the top district administrator said on Thursday.
Wild olive plants grow in the millions in the erstwhile tribal regions, but until about a decade ago, these plants had little commercial value and were used mainly for timber and fire-wood.
But following the grafting of 150,000 wild olive plants into cultivars, an artificially bred and improved variety of the plant, the olive oil processing plant in Bajaur is now in business. The cultivars are created through grafting, where a single bud from a desirable tree is slipped into the bark on a small seedling to produce farmer-friendly varieties of the plant that are resistant to diseases, have a low juvenile period and a longer fruiting life.









Olive fruits picked and ready for processing at Bajaur’s oil processing plant on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 (Photo credit: Bajaur agriculture extension department) 

“Oil production has started but in low quantity. I hope from next year, oil production will increase for commercial purposes,” Muhammad Usman Mehsud, deputy commissioner of Bajaur, told Arab News, and added that efforts had been intensified to begin exporting the oil from next year.
“The agriculture extension department intends to graft 1.6 million wild olive groves through improved olive varieties. Right now, we have up to 6,000 grafted olive plants bearing fruit,” he said.







Bottles of refined olive oil labelled “Bajaur Olive Oil,” on display, from the district’s first oil processing plant. Oct. 22, 2019 (Photo credit: Bajaur agriculture extension department) 



Olives, known locally as Zaintoon or Khuna, have 30 different species and a life span of between 900 to 1,000 years. According to experts in Pakistan, they are one of the world’s most drought resistant trees and thrive well where annual average rainfall is between 900 to 1,000 mm without irrigation.
Of the grafted olive species, 30,000 olive plants are already bearing fruit, Zia-ul-Islam Dawar, the district agriculture officer, told Arab News.
“One olive plant produces 60 to 70 kg of oil, while the processing plant has the capacity to produce 200 kg of oil per hour,” he said and added that his department planned on grafting wild olive groves under a government scheme known as the ‘Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Oil Production in Bajaur.’









Pickled olives from Bajaur’s first ever olive processing plant. Oct. 22, 2019 (Photo credit: Bajaur agriculture extension department) 



“The agriculture department has established new orchards on 160 acres of land in the district under various developmental schemes in the year 2018-19,” Dawar said, and added that the farmers too, are looking to cash in on the increase in business in the region.
One liter of olive oil costs approximately Rs. 1,600 ($10) in the open market.
Shah Khalid, a tribal elder and farmer, said the district’s tribesmen were enthusiastically participating in the planting and development of olive cultivars due to the increase in demand in local as well as international markets.









A bottle of olive oil, a product of Bajaur’s lone oil processing plant. Oct. 22, 2019. (Photo credit: Bajaur agriculture extension department) 



“More and more farmers are now inclined to establish olive orchards in Bajaur because they know about its skyrocketing price. I suggest the government should declare Bajaur Pakistan’s olive valley to spur a revolution in the economy and to woo more growers and investors,” Khalid said.

Parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the newly-merged tribal districts have conducive agro-climatic conditions for olive plantation, with 36,000 million wild olive trees growing in Pakistan’s mountainous tribal areas, he said.
Olive oil is used in Pakistan and around the world for cooking, eating, confectionary, cosmetics and for its many health benefits.

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## ghazi52

*Pakistan Plants More Olive Trees*

As part of a tree planting campaign, 120,000 olive trees are being planted in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Half of the new saplings to be planted were grown in nurseries on-site while the rest were imported from Italy. The olive plantation will cover a total area of 14,000 acres (5,665 hectares) in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area, which is located in the south-west of the country.

The recent olive tree planting drive is part of a campaign launched by the Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council (PARC), an agricultural research organization based in the capital Islamabad.

The project is part of ongoing efforts to transform barren land into cultivable plots and promote the province’s agricultural sector while introducing alternative crops for local farmers. There are also plans to build a new olive oil mill in the provincial capital Quetta.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s northernmost region, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan has announced plans to plant three million olive trees within a period of three months as part of an environmental conservation project. Parts of this region have experienced deforestation and negative environmental effects like soil erosion, landslides and flash flooding. Under the supervision of the forest and wildlife department, students of local schools and colleges are being encouraged to participate in the drive by planting olive trees.

Pakistan is not a traditional olive-producing country but a wild subspecies of the olive tree called _olea cuspidata_ does grow in different parts of the country. Since 1986 olive trees have been planted experimentally, starting with a project funded by the Italian government. Another government project to plant over five million olive plants was unsuccessful when only one percent of the saplings survived. However subsequent planting drives have borne fruit.






*Olive Cultivation at ARI Sariab*
Similar projects implemented in several provinces throughout the country aim to promote olive cultivation and increase the production of edible oils. They have included training programs for local farmers in olive cultivation, processing and pest control, and the setting up of oil extraction mills.

The Pothwar region in the northeastern corner of the country is being developed into an “olive valley” after being identified as a region suitable for olive cultivation because of its topography and climate. Under a current five-year project running until 2020 and also managed by PARC, 2.4 million olive trees are being planted there as a cash crop.

Olive oil is already produced in Pakistan along with a number of other products for sale on the domestic market like olive jam, chutney, pickles and olive-derived products like olive syrup, olive vinegar, olive sweets and olive tea.





..












*
*
Olive nursery in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa


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## ghazi52

*How to Start Olive Farming (Fruit Cultivation) in Pakistan*


Olive oil is an expensive item and is used by the people who are health and hygiene conscious. Beside this it is also used in different cosmetics and for massage purposes. Initially only imported olive oil and olive products were available in local market but now local companies / farmers have started producing Oil and other products in Pakistan. Now olive farmers can sell their yield in local market to manufacturer and olive exporters as well. The Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) located in Punjab’s Chakwal district, has already planted 473,265 olive trees in the region so far. The BARI reveals that the massive Olive Valley Project is not only providing olive saplings to local farmers, but also technical support on olive grove management and financial support for water resource development and drip irrigation.

Pakistan is a country conducive to small scale farming where olive cultivation provides an opportunity for enhancing income of under privileged. Olive cultivation is an upcoming opportunity in Pakistan since it requires very less water as compared to other crops. Beside this it can be cultivated on barren land which is normally un-utilized. It can play a major role in the economy of country as the price of olives is high in market. Fruiting age of Olive plants is about 250 years and a great immune power of plants which help to survive with less water and cold weather.

Since the olive sector in Pakistan is not highly developed, there are great variations in the production and consumption cycle of olive oil and its by products. The production is especially dependent upon the natural environment and weather. Similarly, the consumption cycle is determined by the price and availability. Due to these reasons it is difficult to forecast the actual requirements for olives. Similarly, appropriate infrastructure, processing facilities and transportation also plays an important role in the marketing and profitability of olive fruits and its bi-products. Focus on healthy and certified cuttings/ bulbs, land preparation, sowing pattern, water management, fertilizer application, hiring of skilled personal, pest management, and varieties along with marketing is required to run business successfully.

The Olive cultivation business can be started at any capacity but due to its economic commercial viability the proposed project is designed as olive farming, spreading over a land area of 50 acres. The cuttings of olive / plants would be purchased from local private nurseries, agriculture research centres and agriculture extension departments and raised in conventional farming system. Olive plant is drought tolerant, therefore, the water requirement is much lower than apple, peaches and apricots and closer to almonds, pomegranates and grapes. Olive plantation may come as a boon for farmers in Barani areas. The wild trees in government owned forests should be grafted with European-type olive varieties in Pakistan.

The target market for the Olive Farm is local. Major buyers and processors of the olive are in larger cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad whereas; other potential areas of the country can also be targeted upon demand. In addition to local markets an enormous export market for the olive oil and its byproducts exists in Europe, USA, Middle East, etc.

*Areas Suitable for Olive Farming in Pakistan*
The wild species of olive are found abundantly in different parts of the country particularly in the provinces of Punjab, KPK and Balochistan which indicate that improved varieties can also be grown successfully. The survey of potential areas of Pakistan with suitable ecology for olive cultivation indicates that olive can successfully be grown in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Gujrat, Jehlum, Sialkot, Narrowal, Khushab, Mianwali, Swat, Dir, Malakand, Loralai, Zhob, Barkhan, Mastung, Khuzdar, Quetta, etc., with suitable management practices. Improved varieties of olive imported from Italy have been planted in Swat, Dir, Malakand, Loralai and Islamabad. In addition to Italian cultivars, four Turkish olive cultivars were also introduced and planted in Islamabad for evaluation studies. Some of these cultivars have shown good performance and giving good yield in Baluchistan and Islamabad.

*Olive Farm Management*
Olive fruit production in Pakistan is not an organized sector so there is need to understand its technical parameters which are explained below.

Plantation & Growth Requirements

Olive plants show its growth well on poor soils even without fertilizer. It can also thrive in rocky and shallow soils. There are few essential requirements for healthy growth of plants. Following are the requirements:


Hot dry summer
Being successfully grown under rain fed conditions (200-900 mm annual rainfall)
Winter chilling requirement (150-300 hours at temperature below 7°C)
Flowering temperature 25°- 30°C (March)
Varieties vary in temperature requirement
Italian – most cold tolerant (-8°C)
North African (Moroccan & Tunisian) most tolerant to high temperature (36°- 41°C)
Variety of soil type (from sandy to clay) best soil light well drained
Planting an Olive Tree

It is very important to grow the olive plants according to recommended standards as it affects the fruit bearing capacity of the plants. Plants should be planted in square system and distance should be 20×20 feet between the plants on the plain land and on sloppy land it may not be less the 15×15 feet.


Layout: Square system;
Planting Distance: 20×20 feet (in plain lands), 15×15 feet (in slopes or hilly areas);
Pit Digging: The measurement of pit should be 1m3 (3x3x3 feet);
Pit Filling: Pit must be filled by a homogenous mixture of soil, silt and FYM with the ratio 1:1:1. 2-3 irrigation must be applied for proper decay of FYM;
Plating of olive trees can be done in two seasons: spring and autumn. Spring planting should be preferred because of provision of longer growth period.
The distance between the plants is 20 X 20 feet and the space between the plants can be utilized for cultivation of other crops for initial six to ten years of age of the plants. However, it is recommended that such crops should be cultivated between the plants which have low height and require less irrigation.

Fertilizers on Production

Using fertilizers containing Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash, the yield of the crop can be maximized. Proper fertilizer application plays vital role in good growth and optimum fruit yield. Proper combination of FYM, Phosphorus, Potassium and Nitrogen provided balanced nutrients to fulfill needs of developing and mature fruiting trees.


Fertilizers of all kinds are available locally.
Pesticides of different natures are also available locally.
Water is available from canal or can be used from peter engine.
Irrigation depends on following three factors:


Age of plant
Soil texture and structure
Temperature and rainfall
Young plants require regular irrigation for three years, however, for bearing plants three to four irrigation / year are required. Olive Plant is drought resistant but for commercial cultivation regular irrigation is necessary.


*Investment Required for Olive Farming in Pakistan*

Growing Olive trees is a profitable business and olive trees have more than 250 years of life and it can grow on barren lands. On an average an olive plant produces 20 to 35 kg of olive fruits per year which contain more than 20 % of oil contents. The olive fruit can be sold out in the market at the rate of Rs. 100/- to Rs. 200/- per kg and extracted oil can be sold at the rate of Rs. 700/- to Rs. 3,000/- per liter based on the oil variety and purity. Growing Olive in 50 acres with modern farm management techniques can be a long lasting business. It is recommended that land should be purchased in the suggested rural areas.

The total initial project cost for setting up Olive Cultivation farm is estimated at Rs. 50.93 million.


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## ghazi52

Olive oil made in Pakistan!
It is excellent. A great cooperation between aics cooperazione and Pakistan Ministry of Food Security. Soon available in shops locally.

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

Pakistan wants to increase the #Olive production as Pakistan has more land suitable for olive cultivation then Spain which is the largest olive producer in the world. Annually Pakistan imports $2 Billion worth edible Oil.

Government of #Punjab Launched a program to convert Potohar into a Olive Valley in 2015-16 under this project 1 Million Olive trees has been planted on the area of 800 Acres.







__ https://www.facebook.com/





.

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## ghazi52

*NHA, NBP sign MoU to plant olive trees alongside highways of Pakistan*

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between National Highway Authority and National Bank of Pakistan for Olive Tree Plantation along the Highways in the country.

Addressing the signing ceremony in Islamabad Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said the government is taking concrete measures to address challenges arising out of Climate change in the country.

She said the government is establishing green belts along motorways in collaboration with National Highway.

Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services, Murad Saeed has stated this after
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between National Highway Authority (NHA) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) was held here at NHA Headquarters on Wednesday. The minister said that groundbreaking of Pakistan’s biggest build-operate-transfer (BOT) project Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway would be held soon. Under the MoU, the NBP will provide 11,000 olive plants to NHA free of cost and these will be planted along Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) and other roads

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## Old School

With the rising olive oil price worldwide, this is the time we need to seriously think about promoting our olive oil industry. Olive oil can become our liquid gold.


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## Pakhtoon yum

ghazi52 said:


> Pakistan wants to increase the #Olive production as Pakistan has more land suitable for olive cultivation then Spain which is the largest olive producer in the world. Annually Pakistan imports $2 Billion worth edible Oil.
> 
> Government of #Punjab Launched a program to convert Potohar into a Olive Valley in 2015-16 under this project 1 Million Olive trees has been planted on the area of 800 Acres.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __ https://www.facebook.com/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .


Good then we can export it to China, central Asia, middle east and southeast Asia. All in all meeting our own requirements


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## HannibalBarca

Old School said:


> With the rising olive oil price worldwide, this is the time we need to seriously think about promoting our olive oil industry. Olive oil can become our liquid gold.





Pakhtoon yum said:


> Good then we can export it to China, central Asia, middle east and southeast Asia. All in all meeting our own requirements


Not really,
The Olive oil market is not like more you plant more you sell...
Top Markets of Olive oil are "Producers" Themselves...
And those same "Market/Producers" are already in competitions and behave like the OPEC...

Therefore Even if Pakistan do have a lot of Trees... They will mostly resell it as "Olives" to those same "Producers" to then transform it into Oil and Derivatives.
But unlikely since the World market is almost "Enough" for current quantities.

And Last, Olive Oil is like Wine... "Buyers" go by their "Area of Prestige" and "Olive Qualities" (ie Med sea),


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## PakSword

HannibalBarca said:


> Not really,
> The Olive oil market is not like more you plant more you sell...
> Top Markets of Olive oil are "Producers" Themselves...
> And those same "Market/Producers" are already in competitions and behave like the OPEC...
> 
> Therefore Even if Pakistan do have a lot of Trees... They will mostly resell it as "Olives" to those same "Producers" to then transform it into Oil and Derivatives.
> But unlikely since the World market is almost "Enough" for current quantities.
> 
> And Last, Olive Oil is like Wine... "Buyers" go by their "Area of Prestige" and "Olive Qualities" (ie Med sea),


The first priority for Pakistan is to save import bill of edible oil which is itself in billions of dollars. In 2016-17, Pakistan became the third largest importer of refined cooking oils (after China and India). Pakistan imports over 2.5 million tonnes of crude and refined cooking oil, and over 2 million tonnes of oil seeds every year.

If olive oil is cheap, people will stop buying other oils, such as corn, sunflower, coconut and sesame etc.

After that(if we are able to meet internal demand), Pakistan can target export of olives or olive oil to other countries.

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## HannibalBarca

PakSword said:


> The first priority for Pakistan is to save import bill of edible oil which is itself in billions of dollars.
> 
> If olive oil is cheap, people will stop buying other oils, such as corn, sunflower, coconut and sesame etc.
> 
> After that, Pakistan can export olives or olive oil to other countries.
> 
> View attachment 600170



But you can't be cheap enough, that's the thing. Olive oil will still be used for the same purposes as today.
Yes, Pakistan will be able to export, But not as some may think, at least when it comes to "Olive Oil".


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## PakSword

HannibalBarca said:


> But you can't be cheap enough, that's the thing. Olive oil will still be used for the same purposes as today.
> Yes, Pakistan will be able to export, But not as some may think, at least when it comes to "Olive Oil".


I have edited my comment a bit.. I don't think we can export in the next 5 -10 years.. The goal is to fulfill internal demand first. 

Pakistan is the third largest importer of refined cooking oils and every year imports over 2.5 million tonnes of cooking oil. 

You can do the maths, how much import bill will be saved..

Imports provide for 75% of the cooking oil requirement of the country...


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## HannibalBarca

PakSword said:


> I have edited my comment a bit.. I don't think we can export in the next 5 -10 years.. The goal is to fulfill internal demand first.
> 
> Pakistan is the third largest importer of refined cooking oils and every year imports over 2.5 million tonnes of cooking oil.
> 
> You can do the maths, how much import bill will be saved..



Our Type of Olive Tree gives at Top Prod around 8 years to 12 years.
As for cooking oil, Cooking with Olive Oil it's a bit "special" not that isn't good... But it will change the "taste" of your cooking... therefore Whatever is cooked WILL have a different taste, If Olive oil wasn't originally part of the dish...

So, first you will have to do a job to "Re-Educate" the population to get used tot he taste/ adapt the local dishes etc...

Yes, Having an interesting Olive oil production is an interesting project, but it has to be well though when it comes to consume it/export it... otherwise... They will end up as trees on the side road or fire wood...


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## PakSword

HannibalBarca said:


> Our Type of Olive Tree gives at Top Prod around 8 years to 12 years.
> As for cooking oil, Cooking with Olive Oil it's a bit "special" not that isn't good... But it will change the "taste" of your cooking... therefore Whatever is cooked WILL have a different taste, If Olive oil wasn't originally part of the dish...
> 
> So, first you will have to do a job to "Re-Educate" the population to get used tot he taste/ adapt the local dishes etc...
> 
> Yes, Having an interesting Olive oil production is an interesting project, but it has to be well though when it comes to consume it/export it... otherwise... They will end up as trees on the side road or fire wood...


To be honest, didn't take me more than a year to adopt olive oil in my home. Also, the taste is not too much different, in fact, I love food cooked in (1) Desi Ghee and then (2) Olive Oil more than in corn oil now, which I used to buy when I first arrived in UAE.

When there will be enough olive production, and no buyers outside of Pakistan, Government will increase the import duties on other oils so much so that the population will be forced to buy local oil. This is being done in other sectors too, where imported products are being made expensive, and the strategy is working.


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## Pakistansdefender

It is nit t


HannibalBarca said:


> Not really,
> The Olive oil market is not like more you plant more you sell...
> Top Markets of Olive oil are "Producers" Themselves...
> And those same "Market/Producers" are already in competitions and behave like the OPEC...
> 
> Therefore Even if Pakistan do have a lot of Trees... They will mostly resell it as "Olives" to those same "Producers" to then transform it into Oil and Derivatives.
> But unlikely since the World market is almost "Enough" for current quantities.
> 
> And Last, Olive Oil is like Wine... "Buyers" go by their "Area of Prestige" and "Olive Qualities" (ie Med sea),


It is not that bad .
I totally get your point . 
But look at turkey . They now proudly label olive oil as Turkish and eat and consume their own and also export all over the world so does isreal . They have even started eating it in breakfast. 
Even if we produce olive oil we would be able to decrease our 2 billion dollar import bill . Besides we can market it as an Islamic product and it is everyone's moral and patriotic duty in Pakistan to consume its on olive oil... Besides we are lucky as having a huge market next door, China . They would always buy as long as you have equality products . Pakistan should always work keep in mind the Chinese Market and how we can export meat, vegetable, oil and other consumables .



HannibalBarca said:


> Our Type of Olive Tree gives at Top Prod around 8 years to 12 years.
> As for cooking oil, Cooking with Olive Oil it's a bit "special" not that isn't good... But it will change the "taste" of your cooking... therefore Whatever is cooked WILL have a different taste, If Olive oil wasn't originally part of the dish...
> 
> So, first you will have to do a job to "Re-Educate" the population to get used tot he taste/ adapt the local dishes etc...
> 
> Yes, Having an interesting Olive oil production is an interesting project, but it has to be well though when it comes to consume it/export it... otherwise... They will end up as trees on the side road or fire wood...


Yeah we have collective taste for banspati and stuff . But that's what we do create a market and collectively change the taste of the society . Turkey has done that . Isreal has done that . Arabs have done that.
It's all about marketing . When you market it as healthy and Islamic thing everyone would go for it .
People in Pakistan don't have taste for Chinese carrots or different verities of garlic and onion . If you plant the small desi verity of garlic, we love its taste but it is totally uneconomical.
So society adept solwly and it is not even a bad product. It is even mentioned in quran


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## HannibalBarca

Pakistansdefender said:


> It is nit t
> 
> It is not that bad .
> I totally get your point .
> But look at turkey . They now proudly label olive oil as Turkish and eat and consume their own and also export all over the world so does isreal . They have even started eating it in breakfast.
> Even if we produce olive oil we would be able to decrease our 2 billion dollar import bill . Besides we can market it as an Islamic product and it is everyone's moral and patriotic duty in Pakistan to consume its on olive oil... Besides we are lucky as having a huge market next door, China . They would always buy as long as you have equality products . Pakistan should always work keep in mind the Chinese Market and how we can export meat, vegetable, oil and other consumables .





PakSword said:


> To be honest, didn't take me more than a year to adopt olive oil in my home. Also, the taste is not too much different, in fact, I love food cooked in (1) Desi Ghee and then (2) Olive Oil more than in corn oil now, which I used to buy when I first arrived in UAE.
> 
> When there will be enough olive production, and no buyers outside of Pakistan, Government will increase the import duties on other oils so much so that the population will be forced to buy local oil. This is being done in other sectors too, where imported products are being made expensive, and the strategy is working.



My take is not you guys should or should not, But to be prepared when you get into it.
Olive cultivation is an expensive Biz, fragile and need time for investment return.

That's why The first "Consumers" 'must be from your country, it's a must, You must not "Use" Export Potentials as viable "Point". For a long time Producers were among the only Consumers... That's why they stayed alive, despite difficulties.


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## PakSword

HannibalBarca said:


> My take is not you guys should or should not, But to be prepared when you get into it.
> Olive cultivation is an expensive Biz, fragile and need time for investment return.
> 
> That's why The first "Consumers" 'must be from your country, it's a must, You must not "Use" Export Potentials as viable "Point". For a long time Producers were among the only Consumers... That's why they stayed alive, despite difficulties.


No we are not looking for exports.. we can't. A country that imports 75% of its demand of cooking oil, and is a third largest importer, can't think about exporting.

Olive oil research started decade back. The current production is the result of trees planted a few years ago. A lot of work has been done. It's not like we have decided to start cultivating olives yesterday without studying the environment, seeds, demand etc.. the current strategy has years of work to back it up.

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## HannibalBarca

PakSword said:


> No we are not looking for exports.. we can't. A country that imports 75% of its demand of cooking oil, and is a third largest importer, can't think about exporting.
> 
> Olive oil research started decade back. The current production is the result of trees planted a few years ago. A lot of work has been done. It's not like we have decided to start cultivating olives yesterday without studying the environment, seeds, demand etc.. the current strategy has years of work to back it up.



If I have the chance to see/taste it, I will. 
That way I can compare it to the ones in the Med sea.


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## Bilal.

HannibalBarca said:


> Our Type of Olive Tree gives at Top Prod around 8 years to 12 years.
> As for cooking oil, Cooking with Olive Oil it's a bit "special" not that isn't good... But it will change the "taste" of your cooking... therefore Whatever is cooked WILL have a different taste, If Olive oil wasn't originally part of the dish...
> 
> So, first you will have to do a job to "Re-Educate" the population to get used tot he taste/ adapt the local dishes etc...
> 
> Yes, Having an interesting Olive oil production is an interesting project, but it has to be well though when it comes to consume it/export it... otherwise... They will end up as trees on the side road or fire wood...



My family have completely shifted to olive oil for cooking. It tastes fine, no difference.

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## ghazi52

*With an increase in the area under cultivation, Pakistan is passing through a silent revolution of olive oil production.*

The sector is rapidly moving the country towards self-reliance by introducing Pakistan’s national brand under the name of ‘PakOlive’ by 2021. The Pakistan Olive Oil Council will be established under the Ministry Of National Food Security and Research to suggest policy measures for the promotion of olive oil in the country. The government will also issue certifications for the marketing and branding of olive oil for the private sector.

“Certification is important as our local olive products can then become competitive in the international market,” said Dr Muhammad Tariq, national project director for the promotion of olive cultivation on a commercial scale in Pakistan. Furthermore, utilising marginal lands will help grow a cottage industry for olive products, he explained.

*The project targets plantations of over 50,000 acres in the country by 2022. The available potential area for olive cultivation is about 10 million acres in Punjab, particularly the Pothwar region, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and erstwhile Fata, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan.*


By 2024, the country will have about 3m fruit-bearing plants producing roughly 1,415 tonnes of oil with an estimated value of Rs4.416bn

Given its potential for growing olive plantations, Pothwar has been termed as an ‘olive valley’ where over 1.2 million olive plants are being grown on an area of 11,125 acres, engaging about 1,300 farmers. More than half the plants will start bearing fruit in 2019-20’s cropping period, producing 5,118 tonnes of olive oil. By 2024, the value of oil olive production will increase to Rs1.727 billion.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, over a million olive plants are being grown on an area of 9,391 acres engaging 768 farmers. The production of olive oil is estimated to reach the value of Rs1.458bn in 2024.

In Balochistan, over half a million plants are being grown over an area of over 9,391 acres and it is expected that by 2024, the value of oil will be Rs1.160bn.

In Islamabad Capital Territory and AJK, over 50,000 plants are being grown on an area of 455 acres of land engaging 228 farmers. The value of oil by 2024 is expected to be Rs71 million.

Thus, by 2024, the country will have about 3m fruit-bearing olive plants producing roughly 1,415 tonnes of olive oil with an estimated value of Rs4.416bn. The climate change ministry also plans to plant 1m olive plants.

Edible oil is an every-day use food item. Pakistan has been chronically deficient in its production. More than 80 per cent of the domestic requirements are met through imports. Since the early-1970s, its imports have increased at the rate of 12.5pc annually and the trend is worsening.

In 2017 alone, more than $3.2bn was spent on the import of oil, oil meal and oilseeds to meet domestic needs. Pakistan imported 3,000 tonnes of olive oil worth Rs1.241bn during 2017-18.

Dr Tariq explained that utilising marginal lands will help the cottage industry of olive products grow. Thus, livelihoods will be improved through employment generation opportunities created by olive value-chains developed in less-favoured regions of the country.

Olive forests resist drought and help absorb greenhouse gases when the capability of other trees decrease, making them more efficient in taking in carbon dioxide.

They also provide permanent crop cover that not only saves land from erosion and further degradation but also minimises silt load to downstream water reservoirs. Olive orchards require less water, fertilisers, pesticides and fuel energy as compared to other major annual oilseed crops.

Olive oil processing mills have been established by both public and private sectors in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The largest processing mill has been set up in Chakwal and can extract 600kg of olive oil per hour.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, processing mills are operating in Tarnab (500kg per hour), Nowshera (500kg per hour), Sang Bhatti (500kg per hour), Swat (200kg per hour) and Bajaur (200kg per hour). In Balochistan, a 200kg per hour processing mill has been set up in the public sector in Loralai, and two by the private sector located in Khuzdar (200kg per hour) and Kila Saifullah (50kg per hour).

International linkages with the Madrid-based International Olive Council have also been established, and recently, Iran and Morocco have shown interest in collaborating with Pakistan in this sector.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, March 2nd, 2020

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## ghazi52



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## Old School

I am fully on olive oil for the last 30 years. Olive tree can survive almost a thousand year. Let us do something about it. There is a great potential..

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## Malik Alpha

I cant imagine my life without Olives especially the green ones. Cant wait to try Pakistani Olives In Sha Allah

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## American Pakistani

Excellent work. Pakistan should aim at about 1 billion$ annual income from olive and olive oil exports.


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## jupiter2007

Turn KPK and Balochistan into Olive territory.

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## ghazi52

..


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## ghazi52

*Olives Gardens in Chakwal
*
Chakwal is the mini Spain of Pakistan. Spain, world largest #olive producer, has 2.4 m hectares while Pakistan has 3.5 m hectares suitable for olive. Italy introduced olive in Pakistan around 1986. Pakistan imports over $ 2 billion of edible oil per year.







__ https://www.facebook.com/









In Spain


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## Pakistansdefender

ghazi52 said:


> *Olives Gardens in Chakwal
> *
> Chakwal is the mini Spain of Pakistan. Spain, world largest #olive producer, has 2.4 m hectares while Pakistan has 3.5 m hectares suitable for olive. Italy introduced olive in Pakistan around 1986. Pakistan imports over $ 2 billion of edible oil per year.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __ https://www.facebook.com/


Very excited to see this. Post more videos of farms please.


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## ghazi52

Pakistansdefender said:


> Very excited to see this. Post more videos of farms please.


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## ghazi52

*Pakistan to become clean, green through olive cultivation*

ISLAMABAD -Pakistan will become clean and green through olive cultivation and processing in coming years. PSDP “Olive”, funded by the government of Pakistan, is playing a pivotal role in promoting olive, its oil processing and value addition.

In the this context, a seminar on “One day training programme on olive oil processing and value addition” was held at BARI Chakwal on 08/07/2020 under the aegis of PSDP Olive in which scientists and trainers from public and private sector trained the participants from different components across the country components including Punjab, KP, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK. The major focus of the training was to make participants abreast of technologies and machinery functions for export quality olive oil and to develop different recipes of olive for safe storage and delight.


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## ghazi52




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## ghazi52

*Olive cultivation in Pakistan*

There is numerous doable for olive cultivation in Pakistan. The estimates have published that if eight million wild olive bushes present in numerous provinces are grafted and transformed into the productive olive then there is a possible of earning a most of 1 billion bucks yearly. Similarly, we may earn a most of nine billion dollars annually if olive cultivation is made on cultivable doable waste lands. The olive appears to had been native to Asia, being one of the crucial earliest timber cultivated via man. The trees belong to oleaceae circle of relatives and include 30 genera with 600 species. The plant is xerophitic upon species of tree the olea-europea or Europium olive.

Olive is an integral a part of the nutrition of the folk of the Mediterranean lands and is a source of fat in vitamin of those other folks. Olive oil is broadly used in nations the place fats are scarce. In Indo-Pak sub-continent a wild olive, _olea cuspida _is found throughout the northwest Himalayas and other adjacent hills however cultivated olive olea Europea is not grown anywhere on commercial scale. This plant is in the community referred to as Zytoon in Urdu, Showan in Pushtu, Khat in Brahavi and kow in Punjabi, Sindhi and Saraiki.

Pakistan isn’t a traditional olive-producing country however a wild subspecies of the olive tree known as _Olea cuspidata_ does develop in different parts of the country. Since 1986 olive timber have been planted experimentally, starting with a venture funded by means of the Italian government. Another govt challenge to plant over five million olive vegetation used to be unsuccessful when just one percent of the saplings survived. However subsequent planting drives have borne fruit.






*Significance of olive oil*

The significance of olive oil has also been narrated several times within the Holy Quran. During the mid of final century;( round 1950s), various grafted olive plants of several varieties were imported and planted in Kashmir, Simla and Kangra hills at Harnai, Fort Sandeman (Zhob) in Balochistan, Peshawar, Swat (NWFP), Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Jhelum (Punjab) districts.



*120,000 olive trees are being planted in Pakistan’s*

As part of a tree planting marketing campaign, 120,000 olive trees are being planted in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Half of the new saplings to be planted had been grown in nurseries on-site whilst the rest had been imported from Italy. The olive plantation will quilt a complete house of 14,000 acres (five,665 hectares) in Balochistan, Pakistan’s greatest province on the subject of house, which is located within the south-west of the country.


*History of Olive in Pakistan*

Olive used to be offered first time in Pakistan by means of PARC right through 1986 beneath an Italian Project titled “Fruit, Vegetable and olive Project” funded by Government of Italy. After this project a common survey used to be conducted to estimate the choice of naturally befell wild olive specie “Olea Cuspidata” and found more than 80 Million wild Olive plants in different district of Pakistan. Under every other olive venture of federal government 5.five million olive crops have been most sensible worked however less than 1% plants survived in the results of top operating because of control of most sensible worked plants.


*Current standing of the Project*

The project “Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation” used to be awarded to government of Pakistan by the Italian govt below the Debt Swap Agreement. The project is in operation through PARC, s sturdy coordination device in KPK, Baluchistan, FATA and Punjab provinces. The intention of the project is to extend the local production of edible oils by way of cultivating olive specially to utilize culture-able waste lands in Punjab, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and FATA.

Main objectives of the olive promotional undertaking are to amplify the cultivation of olives in selected / recognized areas thru new plantation in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Potohar. To promote oil cultivation and use of olive oil. To arrange quite a few new olive processing amenities (four oil generators) entire with supporting infrastructures and kit. To stimulate PPP’s for long run control of newly established orchard and oil turbines to verify sustainability and to supply coaching, conduct technical research and supply help to farmers.


*Importance of Olive*

Olive is excellent supply of fit to be eaten oil and may be used for table objective particularly for pickles. The olive has no longer simplest nutritional and medicinal price but its fat content is also unfastened from ldl cholesterol. It is also used in meals preservation, textile industry and beauty preparation in conjunction with number of different functions. Olive oil is among the few widely used culinary oils that contain about 75% of its fats in the form of oleic acid (a monounsaturated, omega-nine fatty acid). Olive fruit because of its dietary and medicinal significance is a blessing of Almighty/Allah. Olive has been referred in noble method at many puts within the Holy Quran and its importance has been certified via many announcing of Holy Prophet.


*Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council (PARC) and Olive*

The recent olive tree planting force is a part of a marketing campaign launched via the Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council (PARC), an agricultural analysis group based in the capital Islamabad.

The undertaking is a part of ongoing efforts to become barren land into cultivable plots and advertise the province’s agricultural sector while introducing choice vegetation for local farmers. There are also plans to construct a brand new olive oil mill within the provincial capital Quetta.


*Olive Cultivation projects in Pakistan*

*Gilgit-Baltistan*

Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s northernmost area, the federal government of Gilgit-Baltistan has introduced plans to plant 3 million olive timber inside of a length of three months as a part of an environmental conservation mission. Parts of this area have experienced deforestation and damaging environmental effects like soil erosion, landslides and flash flooding. Under the supervision of the woodland and wildlife division, students of local schools and faculties are being inspired to participate in the force by planting olive trees.

Similar projects carried out in several provinces right through the rustic goal to advertise olive cultivation and building up the manufacturing of safe to eat oils. They have included coaching programs for local farmers in olive cultivation, processing and pest keep an eye on, and the setting up of oil extraction turbines.


*Pothwar region: The Olive valley*

The Pothwar region in the northeastern nook of the country is being developed into an “olive valley” after being recognized as a area appropriate for olive cultivation because of its topography and local weather. Under a present five-year project operating till 2020 and also managed by way of PARC, 2.four million olive trees are being planted there as a cash crop.

Olive oil is already produced in Pakistan along side quite a few other products on the market on the domestic marketplace like olive jam, chutney, pickles and olive-derived products like olive syrup, olive vinegar, olive chocolates and olive tea.

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## Path-Finder

I had no idea you had a thread on it. Or I forgot.

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## ghazi52

*Pakistan’s olive oil producers prepare to enter global market*

The country's olive production is expected to reach 16,000 tonnes by 2027

Pakistani olive oil producers are preparing to enter the global market as 27.5 million olive trees on more than 30,000 acres of land have been planted.

The plantation extends through Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad and AzadKashmir, said a report published

Pakistan has 10 million-acre suitable land for olive plantation, almost double than Spain, which is currently the largest olive oil producer in the world.

With an increase in the area under cultivation, Pakistan is passing through a silent revolution in olive oil production. The sector is rapidly moving the country towards self-reliance by introducing Pakistan’s national brand under the name of ‘Pak Olive’ by 2021

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

400,000 Olive Trees will be planted in Balochistan this year to promote low water-consuming farming, aimed to fight water scarcity in the province.

The saplings would be provided to farmers for free, offering farmers an alternative crop to boost their incomes.

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1310534913129496581

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## Pakistansdefender

ghazi52 said:


> View attachment 670535


Is this pakistan?where? 
Who is senaible enough to make a proper farm and do olive in linea. It would be a place to see in few years.

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## ghazi52

Pakistansdefender said:


> Is this pakistan?where?
> Who is senaible enough to make a proper farm and do olive in linea. It would be a place to see in few years.



No, but want to see this in Pakistan....

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## ghazi52

*Tour Of Zatoon Plantation In Chakwal*

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## ghazi52

__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=769400217122070

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

*Over 2.3 million olive plants to be cultivated during current drive*


The Frontier Post
December 28, 2020


ISLAMABAD: In order to promote olive farming on large scale for reducing the reliance on imported edible oil as well as to encourage high value agriculture, about 2.3 million olive plants to be cultivated during current season.

These plants to be cultivated under current autumn olive cultivation drive across the potential areas in the country, said Project Director of Olive Cultivation on Commercial Scale in Pakistan Dr Muhammad Tariq.

While talking to APP here on Monday, he said that olive cultivation drive have been carried out twice in a year, first in spring season and other in autumn to promote olive cultivation and bring barren and sami- agriculture land under high value crops production.

Average 500,000 to 600,000 olive plants per annum is being cultivated, he said adding that survey teams have also started their feasible studies in order to identify the area for coming cultivation drive.
He further informed that besides promoting olive, as many as 10 plants producing nurseries have also been established in collaboration with public and private sectors to fulfill the local needs.

From these local nurseries about 1 million plants would be obtained this season, he said adding that these plants would be 100 percent certified by the Federal Seeds Registration and Certification Authority.

Dr Tariq further informed that olive cultivation in the country has been gaining momentum as local output during the current season projected to cross 11,000 tonnes, showing a significant development towards reducing reliance on the imported edible oil as well as to exploit the export potential of this particular agriculture produce. 


“The country is expecting to extract about 13,000 tonnes of extra virgin olive worth millions of dollars that would help to boost the farm income with less investment and use of inputs,” he added.
Sofar olive has been successfully cultivated over 27,000 hectares of land across the country and it was set to extend its cultivation to over 70,000 hectares to turn the marginal lands into productive for enhancing the income of small scale growers, he added.

This initiative would help to bring the sami-barren and marginal lands under cultivation of high-value crop in far off areas of the country, he said adding that besides it would help to eliminate poverty by bringing the most vulnerable communities in safety nets through agriculture interventions.


Under the olive cultivation project, he said that farmers were provided about 550,000 plants during last year and this year over 675,000 more plants would be distributed among them to promote its cultivation at large scale.

Dr Tariq said that, government intended to provide more 2.2 million plants and bring about 50,000 hectares under olive cultivation by end of 2022-23, adding that if continued with same spirit, the country would be included in the list of potential exports of extra virgin olive oil.


Besides cultivation of olive, he said government was also focusing to establish processing units for oil extraction and so far 09 extraction units have been installed in different places to facilitate the growers.
Meanwhile, the provincial governments of Punjab and Balochistan have also installed 3 units respectively in different districts, where as the private sector was also active and had installed its mobile plants in Faisalabad and Chakwal.

Dr Tariq said that government was paying special attention to promote olive cultivation in Balochistan and provided about 700,000 plants to growers and it was cultivated in 22 districts, adding that out of the total cultivated plants about 30 per cent have started to produce fruits.

In order to facilitate the local growers of Balochistan, 5 oil processing units have been installed there, besides the farmers were also provided training of value addition of the product and processing. 

This year, he said that government had organized two-day International Olive Conference in Khuzdar, which was virtually participated by experts from Greece, Italy and Spain, he said adding that local scientists and experts also took part in the event.

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## ghazi52

*How Olive Oil Producers are Profiting in Pakistan - BBC*

•Dec 1, 2020


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## ghazi52




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## ghazi52




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## ghazi52

*KP soil ideal for olive plantation: Governor Shah Farman*

By The News
Jan 8, 2021

PESHAWAR, Jan. 8 (The News) - Governor Shah Farman Thursday through video link attended meeting on olive tree plantation drive under Ten Billion tree Tsunami Project (10-BTTP) and said the KP soil was ideal for the purpose.

The meeting was arranged by the Planning, Development and special initiatives, Government of Pakistan.

KP minister for Forest and Environment Ishtiaq Ormar, representatives of Food Security, 

Environmental Protection, Planning Committee and other federal and provincial departments were there as well. The KP governor was requested to join the meeting for guidance in starting and the olive plantation in 10 BTTP, said an official handout.

Governor Shah Farman informed the participants about the huge potential of qualitative production of olive in the province.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agriculture and Forest departments were all set for the project and ready for olive plantation in the province.

The governor told the meeting that KP was very suitable for olive growing as huge area of land was lying barren and could be utilized for the olive plantation instead of other trees. He said that through cooperative farming, the youth were being engaged in olive plant growing for financial gains.

Shah Farman emphasized upon federal government departments to play a pivotal role in promotion of olive plantation and cultivation.

He told the meeting that Pakistan was already producing international standard olive and several countries, including Saudi Arabia, were keen to invest in this sector, adding it would generate job opportunities at the local level besides increasing export of olive.

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## ghazi52

More than nine advanced oil extraction plants have been installed in the country to harness the increasing olive oil production on a commercial scale for farmers.

The oil extraction units were installed under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to promote olive cultivation to reduce reliance on imported edible oil for catering domestic requirements.

According to an official of the PDSP, three out of nine plants have a capacity of extracting 600kg oil per hour, while six have a capacity of extracting 100kg per hour.

“So far, olive trees have successfully been cultivated over 27,000 hectares of land across the country whereas cultivation is to be expanded over 70,000 hectares to turn marginal lands into productive lands for enhancing the income of small scale growers,” he added.

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## ghazi52

*Olive (Zaitoon) Plantation (oil and others) In Pakistan Can Give Boost To Economy*

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## ghazi52

Another milestone achievement takes its true course of action.Few years & #OliveTreeTsunami will bring overhauling uplifts in multiple sectors of Pakistan. Economy,exports, environmental responsibility & local job markets,all will flourish with a simple yet potential maneuver.

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## ghazi52

__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=553278568977539

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## ghazi52

*History of Olive in Pakistan*

*History of Olive in Pakistan*

Olive was introduced first time in Pakistan by PARC during 1986 under an Italian Project titled “Fruit, Vegetable and olive Project” funded by Government of Italy. After this project a general survey was conducted to estimate the number of naturally occurred wild olive specie “_Olea Cuspidata_” and found more than 80 Million wild Olive plants in different district of Pakistan. Under another olive project of federal government 5.5 million olive plants were top worked but less than 1% plants survived in the result of top working because of management of top worked plants.





*Current status of the Project*

The project “Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation” was awarded to government of Pakistan by the Italian government under the Debt Swap Agreement. The project is in operation through PARC, s strong coordination system in KPK, Baluchistan, FATA and Punjab provinces. The aim of the project is to increase the local production of edible oils by cultivating olive specially to utilize culture-able waste lands in Punjab, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and FATA.


Main objectives of the olive promotional project are to expand the cultivation of olives in selected / identified areas through new plantation in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Potohar. To promote oil cultivation and use of olive oil. To set up a number of new olive processing facilities (4 oil mills) complete with supporting infrastructures and equipment. To stimulate PPP’s for future management of newly established orchard and oil mills to ensure sustainability and to provide training, conduct technical studies and provide assistance to farmers.


*Importance of Olive*

Olive is good source of edible oil and is also used for table purpose particularly for pickles. The olive has not only nutritional and medicinal value but its fat content is also free from cholesterol. It is also used in food preservation, textile industry and cosmetic preparation along with variety of other purposes. Olive oil is one of the few widely used culinary oils that contain about 75% of its fat in the form of oleic acid (a monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid). Olive fruit due to its nutritional and medicinal importance is a blessing of Almighty/Allah. Olive has been referred in noble way at many places in the Holy Quran and its importance has been certified by many saying of Holy Prophet.

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## ghazi52

March 15, 2021

An olive plantation campaign has been launched by the federal government in Nowshera.
Prime Minister Imran Khan kick started the campaign on Monday. He was accompanied by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Special Assistant on Climate Change Amin Aslam.

7,500 olive saplings are being planted at Nowshera Amangarh plantation site.

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## ghazi52

*Pakistan can adopt Chinese technology to cultivate olive plantation*

March 17, 2021

SOURCEnation.com.pk






According to the Chinese Economic Net, Pakistan has immense potential of olive plantation due to the availability of favorable land and can adopt the latest Chinese technology for the cultivation of olive plants. It adds that China can be one of the potential markets for Pakistani olive production in the future, which could also help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries. The GOP is also working to increase olive cultivation in the country under its ‘10 Billion Tsunami Tree’ initiative.

BEIJING – Pakistan has immense potential of olive plantation due to availability of land and favourable environment in the country. If olives are planted on Pakistan’s arable land, the country could become one of the world’s leading olive oil producers and exporters.

Experts believe that Pakistan can adopt the latest Chinese technology for the cultivation of olive plants.
China could be one of the potential markets for Pakistani olive production in the future, which could also help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries, according to experts. Currently, olive brands from Spain and Italy are highly recognized in the Chinese markets, according to a report published by CEN on Tuesday.
The government of Pakistan is increasing olive cultivation in the country. Olive plantation under ‘10 Billion Tsunami Tree’ initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government is one of such projects aiming to increase olive products, reduce the impacts of climate change and to support poverty alleviation.

While addressing the launching ceremony of olive plantation campaign in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also stressed that olive plantation would help address the country’s food security, climate change, unemployment and will save our foreign exchange.

“Olive Tree Tsunami will not only ward off the increased conversion of land into deserts but a national resource of healthy edible oil will emerge as well,” a senior provincial official said. Under the program, four million olive plants would be grafted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to produce olive products. An area of 27 hectares had been selected for the plantation of olives in Amangarh, Nowshera.

The agriculture experts said that olive cultivation in Pakistan has become a success. Olives have been cultivated for the last three decades in the country, however, the proper screening of olive varieties in recent times has improved the cultivation of the plants.

Pakistan has 12.72 million hectares of land, which is cultivable for olive plantation. Out of this area, four million hectares is the most suitable land with proper irrigation systems. Currently, olives are cultivated at 35,000 hectares of land. Pakistan extracted 11,000 tons of extra virgin olives during the last season.

Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, Potohar region in Punjab and Khuzdar in Balochistan contain the most suitable land for olive cultivation.

The experts have called upon Pakistan and China to deepen and expand cooperation in the agriculture sector under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

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## denel

ghazi52 said:


> *Pakistan can adopt Chinese technology to cultivate olive plantation*
> 
> March 17, 2021
> 
> SOURCEnation.com.pk
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> According to the Chinese Economic Net, Pakistan has immense potential of olive plantation due to the availability of favorable land and can adopt the latest Chinese technology for the cultivation of olive plants. It adds that China can be one of the potential markets for Pakistani olive production in the future, which could also help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries. The GOP is also working to increase olive cultivation in the country under its ‘10 Billion Tsunami Tree’ initiative.
> 
> BEIJING – Pakistan has immense potential of olive plantation due to availability of land and favourable environment in the country. If olives are planted on Pakistan’s arable land, the country could become one of the world’s leading olive oil producers and exporters.
> 
> Experts believe that Pakistan can adopt the latest Chinese technology for the cultivation of olive plants.
> China could be one of the potential markets for Pakistani olive production in the future, which could also help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries, according to experts. Currently, olive brands from Spain and Italy are highly recognized in the Chinese markets, according to a report published by CEN on Tuesday.
> The government of Pakistan is increasing olive cultivation in the country. Olive plantation under ‘10 Billion Tsunami Tree’ initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government is one of such projects aiming to increase olive products, reduce the impacts of climate change and to support poverty alleviation.
> 
> While addressing the launching ceremony of olive plantation campaign in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also stressed that olive plantation would help address the country’s food security, climate change, unemployment and will save our foreign exchange.
> 
> “Olive Tree Tsunami will not only ward off the increased conversion of land into deserts but a national resource of healthy edible oil will emerge as well,” a senior provincial official said. Under the program, four million olive plants would be grafted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to produce olive products. An area of 27 hectares had been selected for the plantation of olives in Amangarh, Nowshera.
> 
> The agriculture experts said that olive cultivation in Pakistan has become a success. Olives have been cultivated for the last three decades in the country, however, the proper screening of olive varieties in recent times has improved the cultivation of the plants.
> 
> Pakistan has 12.72 million hectares of land, which is cultivable for olive plantation. Out of this area, four million hectares is the most suitable land with proper irrigation systems. Currently, olives are cultivated at 35,000 hectares of land. Pakistan extracted 11,000 tons of extra virgin olives during the last season.
> 
> Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, Potohar region in Punjab and Khuzdar in Balochistan contain the most suitable land for olive cultivation.
> 
> The experts have called upon Pakistan and China to deepen and expand cooperation in the agriculture sector under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).


My question is why not look forwards North African countries like Tunisia/Algeria/Morocco where this has been done for over 1000+ years with water conservation being primary.

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## Path-Finder

denel said:


> My question is why not look forwards North African countries like Tunisia/Algeria/Morocco where this has been done for over 1000+ years with water conservation being primary.


Italy is helping which is probably using advanced methods.

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## denel

Path-Finder said:


> Italy is helping which is probably using advanced methods.


Actually this is where the italians tend to mislead people. If you want best technology and growing techniques - you go to spain.

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## Path-Finder

denel said:


> Actually this is where the italians tend to mislead people. If you want best technology and growing techniques - you go to spain.


indeed.


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## HAIDER

denel said:


> Actually this is where the italians tend to mislead people. If you want best technology and growing techniques - you go to spain.


Tunisian olive oil is the best. First cold press always have light bitter taste.

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## denel

HAIDER said:


> Tunisian olive oil is the best. First cold press always have light bitter taste.


Absolutely, every region or village tends to have different oil taste. Personaly, i love raw fresh.

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## HAIDER

denel said:


> Absolutely, every region or village tends to have different oil taste. Personaly, i love raw fresh.


It will be very hard to find in Pakistan.even in US , but here few test people run, for example leaving in fridge over night, pure olive oil turn solid freeze. But some producer decline this test and again its region issue. Majority cases we see 2nd and 3rd press mixed with some oil, for example, Italian mix sunflower oil in second and third press, but US law is strict they have to mention the delusion. In Pakistan, doubt will be easy to find out.


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## denel

HAIDER said:


> It will be very hard to find in Pakistan.even in US , but here few test people run, for example leaving in fridge over night, pure olive oil turn solid freeze. But some producer decline this test and again its region issue. Majority cases we see 2nd and 3rd press mixed with some oil, for example, Italian mix sunflower oil in second and third press, but US law is strict they have to mention the delusion. In Pakistan, doubt will be easy to find out.


If you go to greece, you will see that italians are buying oil from there, albania and bulgaria; then they repackage it and mix it up.
Stay away from italian oil. Personally, i get local or if i get portugese 50kg barrel. you cannot store for long as here it tends to go rancide.

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## HAIDER

denel said:


> If you go to greece, you will see that italians are buying oil from there, albania and bulgaria; then they repackage it and mix it up.
> Stay away from italian oil. Personally, i get local or if i get portugese 50kg barrel. you cannot store for long as here it tends to go rancide.


I avoid Italian and Greece olive oil, but like taste of Portuguese . Packed olive oil has average 1 year of shelf life if it's open then max 2 months in dark area. It is recommended not keep in warm/hot or avoid exposing to light ... which i don't understand.

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## denel

HAIDER said:


> I avoid Italian and Greece olive oil, but like taste of Portuguese . Packed olive oil has average 1 year of shelf life if it's open then max 2 months in dark area. It is recommended not keep in warm/hot or avoid exposing to light ... which i don't understand.


Correct - however, the exported greek oil tends to get filtered because 'EU' wants the taste of bitterness gone.

When I visted greece, i went to friend's orchard - it was really good vs the store

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## HAIDER

denel said:


> Correct - however, the exported greek oil tends to get filtered because 'EU' wants the taste of bitterness gone.
> 
> When I visted greece, i went to friend's orchard - it was really good vs the store


A store owner from Palestine told me, what you buy is not the best quality, fresh olive oil from first cold press is totally different compared to shelf ones, he claim majority of suppliers do adulteration and customers are not aware at all.


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## denel

denel said:


> Correct - however, the exported greek oil tends to get filtered because 'EU' wants the taste of bitterness gone.
> 
> When I visted greece, i went to friend's orchard - it was really good vs the store





HAIDER said:


> A store owner from Palestine told me, what you buy is not the best quality, fresh olive oil from first cold press is totally different compared to shelf ones, he claim majority of suppliers do adulteration and customers are not aware at all.


totally different. it is liquid gold.

the residue - you can get via solvents but then push it into soaps etc.

I have several dozen wild olives - it is local and found across the entire region. I tried to plant a few regular olive trees but did not have luck. Figs are abundunt here and as this region experienced a lot of drought, i have been adding lot of drought resistant trees - figs, acacia (naturally occuring), citrus tends to do really well here plus a local variety of apricots.

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## ghazi52

Pakistan will plant 50 Million Olive Trees under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami.

4 Million Wild olive trees would be grafted to make them Fruiting trees.

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## ghazi52

*Olive cultivation best investment for forex gains, food security: PM*


Writer......Syeda Sadia Shahid
March 17, 2021







https://www.aboutpakistan.com/news/...investment-for-forex-gains-food-security-pm/#
The largescale olive cultivation would prove as the best investment for Pakistan, said Premier. 
The Prime Minister, Imran Khan while talking at the occasion of launching the olive plantation drive in Nowshera said that the plantation was the key solution to save the coming generation from the rising pollution level in big cities of the country. Pervez Khattak, the Defense Minister, Farman Shah, the Governor of KPK, Mahmood Khan, the Chief Minister of KPK, Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Climate Change, and others were present at the ceremony. 

In Nowshera, more than 7500 olive trees are being planted as part of the 10 billion Trees Program. The Prime Minister that the country is facing severe problems of food security and Olive cultivation will greatly help to resolve the issue. 

He said that Spain is a country that is leading in the production of olives but Pakistan does have more potential in this regard and if proper strategies are formed, Pakistan can lead the world in olive production. 

The prime minister said the planation of the olive trees will generate big opportunities for employment in the country. Prime Minister emphasized adopting the Miyawaki Japanese technique for the plantation of trees through this technique which is being adopted in Lahore and Islamabad. Through this technique, a dense plantation in a limited time is possible. 

He further said that situation of pollution is alarming in Peshawar and after launching this technique, the issue of pollution can be tackled at a minimum time. 

The Prime said that a lot of money is spent on the import of edible oil and the production of olive trees can be helpful in saving a big amount of foreign exchange. During the visit to the sight, the PM was briefed about the potential of the olive plantation. 

According to the data available, the expected economic return of 4 million olive plants after six years will be about Rs.10.8 billion annually with a total income of Rs.54 billion after 10 years. The production of oil at the beginning of the sixth year will be around 7.2 million liters with the average fruit production at 15 Kg.

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## ghazi52

*Olive Festival 2020 | Valley of Olive*
Kalar Kahar, Pakistan

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## ghazi52



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## ghazi52

*Tunisia offers expertise to boost olive plantation*
Our Correspondent
October 23, 2021








ISLAMABAD: Tunisia has offered Pakistan its expertise and help in developing olive plantation in its different regions and extraction of olive oil. Tunisian ambassador Borhene El Kamel maintained Friday that his country is ready to collaborate with Pakistan for the large-scale cultivation of olive.

At a reception in honour of Abdellatif Ghedira, executive director, International Olive Council (IOC), Borhene recalled that some regions in Pakistan particularly Baluchistan have Tunisia like climate environment, and it is ready to share its technical expertise and know-how in the field of oil cultivation.

Ambassador Borhene reminded that olive oil is considered the healthiest cooking oil in the world being cholesterol-free and having a lot of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It prevents heart diseases.

He revealed that it is beneficial for fighting obesity, diabetes, haypertension, Alzheimer and much more. “Olive oil has also amazing benefits for skin, hair and nails. Pakistanis who suffer from insomnia, use olive oil for deep sleep,” he said.

A prominent former Tunisian diplomat Mounir Fourati, director-general Pakistan Foreign Office Murad Wazir Khan, parliamentary secretary Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas were also among the guests. Olive cultivation in Tunisia has carried out dates back to the 8th century BC, even before the founding of Carthage and now Tunisia is one of the leading world olive oil producers and exporters.

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## ghazi52

Fakhar Imam said that by becoming a member of OIC, Pakistan can achieve its full potential with respect to olive production. He said that 36,000 acres of land is currently under olive production in Balochistan, KPK and Punjab. The Minister hoped that by increasing the production of olive with the help of OIC, the value-added industry of olive can thrive in Pakistan.

Fakhar Imam said that we need to learn from the examples of countries like the Netherlands that export $24 billion of flowers and is the biggest player in the flower industry worldwide. He said that Pakistan has immense potential to become one of the biggest players in mangoes yet our production of mangoes is 1.7 million tonnes of which only 7-8% is exported. He said that through cooperation with OIC, Pakistan can also become one of the major growers of olive in the world.

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## jupiter2007

ghazi52 said:


> Fakhar Imam said that by becoming a member of OIC, Pakistan can achieve its full potential with respect to olive production. He said that 36,000 acres of land is currently under olive production in Balochistan, KPK and Punjab. The Minister hoped that by increasing the production of olive with the help of OIC, the value-added industry of olive can thrive in Pakistan.
> 
> Fakhar Imam said that we need to learn from the examples of countries like the Netherlands that export $24 billion of flowers and is the biggest player in the flower industry worldwide. He said that Pakistan has immense potential to become one of the biggest players in mangoes yet our production of mangoes is 1.7 million tonnes of which only 7-8% is exported. He said that through cooperation with OIC, Pakistan can also become one of the major growers of olive in the world.



Smart plantation and using advanced agricultural techniques to increase production. 30% to 40% of land can converted as agriculture land in Balochistan for olive, palm and coconut plantation.


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## Thorough Pro

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HAIDER said:


> It will be very hard to find in Pakistan.even in US , but here few test people run, for example leaving in fridge over night, pure olive oil turn solid freeze. But some producer decline this test and again its region issue. Majority cases we see 2nd and 3rd press mixed with some oil, for example, Italian mix sunflower oil in second and third press, but US law is strict they have to mention the delusion. In Pakistan, doubt will be easy to find out.

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## python-000

ghazi52 said:


> Training on olive pruning and micropropagation is being conducted at BARI, Chakwal by Italian experts
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> Italian olive scientists also visited Tissue culture lab at BARi and gave briefing on olive propagation techniques to BARI scientist
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> Ambassadors of various Countries including Tunisia, Morroco, Kenya, Nigeria,Sudan and Mauritius visited BARI Chakwal on 03.02.2018. The Ambassodars esp of Tunisia & Morocco showed great interest and expressed their will to collaborate with BARI in Olive sector.


we must increase the olive trees in whole Pakistan...


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## ghazi52

*Olive Oil Extraction Unit in Pakistan | BARI Chakwal*

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## ghazi52

*Is olive oil not good for cooking?*


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## Path-Finder



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## ghazi52

.,.,
Pakistani olive oil farmers eying cooperation with China​
The Frontier Post









BEIJING (APP): China’s demand for Pakistani olive oil is high and as long as Pakistan has market demand or export demand, cooperation with China is absolutely imperative, said Zhou Ning, Marketing Director at Green Organic Food.

In addition to market, Pakistani farmers need Chinese agricultural technology and investment. Syed Yousaf Ali, a farmer with a 100-acre estate said that he is now using a Chinese machine that picks olives of different sizes. “Compared with other agricultural machines around the world, Chinese machines are inexpensive.”

Farhan Pasha, the scientific officer in charge of the olive program at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute, on the other hand, talking to China Economic Net (CEN) hoped to cooperate with China in terms of cold-pressing technology, pest control and other agricultural technologies.

Against the backdrop of successful cultivation of cash crops such as chili peppers, a joint venture between China and Pakistan for olive cultivation and processing is also a viable solution. Dr. Ramzan Ansari believes that it would be a win-win result for both countries if they receive assistance from China and start production here.
On a macro level, the cooperation between the two countries in the olive industry holds even greater potential. Dr. Ramzan Ansari suggested that some areas with high agricultural potential, including the Potohar region, could become exclusive agricultural zones under the China Pakistan Economic Corridoor (CPEC).

Pakistan’s nascent olive oil industry, although a late starter, has played a visible role in Pakistan’s food security and even economic recovery, as Inam ul Haq said, “If we can stop importing olive oil and make ourselves self-sufficient, then it will be an olive revolution for us. “

Pakistan’s annual vegetable oil consumption amounts to 5 million tons, while the share of some less-consumed vegetable oils such as mustard oil is about 400,000 tons. Thirty percent of the demand is satisfied by domestically produced oilseeds, while the remaining seventy percent is met by imports. Due to the increase in import prices, it is a severe test for Pakistan’s foreign trade deficit and foreign exchange reserves.

Pakistan, which has a large area of land suitable for growing olive trees, has been producing olive oil since 2010 with the help of countries such as Italy and Spain. Currently, it produces about 1,500 tons of olive oil and 830 tons of table olives per year, all of which are consumed domestically. Pakistan has set a target of producing 16,000 tons of olive oil by 2027.

Syed Yousaf Ali has been growing olives since 2006. In his opinion, the olive tree has low requirements of land.

Another farmer, Malik Shafiq, described the olive tree as a “tough plant”. It was an uneven wasteland when he started planting it a decade ago. “It is not affected by the worst weather conditions. It can grow in the wasteland, and the cost is half that of other crops.”

Farhan Pasha said that the main areas in Pakistan fit for olive cultivation are Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, in addition to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan has 10 million acres of land suitable for olive cultivation, which is almost twice as much as Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer. As olive trees are able to survive in dry, arid conditions not fit for other crops normally, they don’t compete with other fruit trees, grain crops or oil crops in these areas.

To encourage olive cultivation, the Pakistani government has planned to issue olive oil marketing and branding certification to the private sector. The goal of it is to plant over 50,000 acres in the country by 2022. Now, Pakistan is the only South Asian country to be included in the International Olive Council.

Inam ul Haq, who works as a horticulturist at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute in Chakwal, said that the local government has spared no efforts to subsidize olive cultivation. “Since 2015, the Punjab government has been providing subsidies to local gardeners to turn the Potohar region into ‘Olive Valley’, that is, providing olive saplings free of charge for plantation.”

In the past five years, nearly 1.4 million olive trees have been planted in Potohar region, covering almost 9,000 acres of land. The project has made use of less fertile and undeveloped land. In addition, the government has offered up to 70% subsidy on the installation of solar power systems and nearly 60% subsidy on drip irrigation systems, with an estimated 800 families getting benefits and turning their less fertile land into olive groves.

The government has also provided 50% subsidy to agricultural machines that may be needed during harvest seasons, such as shakers.

The advantages of growing olive trees are obvious. On the one hand, they can meet local demand for edible oil while reduce trade deficit, on the other hand, they mitigate climate change and effectively address the challenge of water security. It is no wonder that provincial governments have introduced subsidies to encourage olive cultivation.

Due to its favorable climate and geographical location, the quality of olive fruit produced in Pakistan is among the best around the world despite its late start.

According to Inam ul Haq, the quality of olive oil produced locally in Pakistan is almost the same as that of well-established olive producing countries. Farhan Pasha said that Pakistani olive oil from Quetta won the highest grade at a recent competition held in Italy.

At present, there are several traditional methods used in the harvesting of olive fruits, including knocking, hand harvesting and chemical ripening harvesting. In Pakistan, hand harvesting is mainly adopted. We’ve seen other countries have adopted mechanical harvesting, but we haven’t,” said Malik Shafiq.

Dr. Ramzan Ansari, who is in charge of olive research at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute, sees agricultural machines are what Pakistan lacks.

“Marketing is a completely different sector. A farmer can’t do everything by himself. What he can do is either marketing the product or adding value by processing the fruit. If business investors enter this sector and do value-added production and then marketing, it can make positive contribution to this sector and the society,” Syed Yousaf Ali said.

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## ghazi52

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*Olive revolution*

Pakistan's Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project launched by the PTI government has sparked a silent olive revolution in the country. 

Pakistan, now the 19th member of the International Olive Council, is producing about 1,500 tons of olive oil per year and 830 tons of table olives, according to Juan Vilar Strategic Consultants. It is also helping tackle some of the effects of climate change such as soil erosion and desertification and bringing new opportunities to farmers.
Pakistan has the potential to be a world leader in olive production. 

PTI's Ten Billion Tree Tsunami initiative has spurred rapid olive cultivation in Pakistan with the import of 100,000 olive seedlings from top olive producing countries like Spain, Italy and Turkey. Pakistan’s climate is conducive for olive production, as the olive trees grow fast in regions with moderate winters following long hot summers.

Source: South Asia Investor Review.

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## ghazi52

.,.,
Kapip , Wild Olive Reserve Forest
Zhob, Balochistan..

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## Sulman Badshah

ghazi52 said:


> .,.,
> Kapip , Wild Olive Reserve Forest
> Zhob, Balochistan..
> 
> View attachment 843916


Zhob is beautiful and mainly a greener area in contrast to many other Balochistan area

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## ghazi52

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Italy promotes olive culture with €1.5m project​
Sees potential in Pakistan to improve olive production, make exports

APP
June 20, 2022

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ISLAMABAD: *Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese on Sunday said that Italy was playing a vital role in promoting “olive culture” in Pakistan for improving the olive value chain.

Talking to APP, the ambassador said Pakistan had all the potential to cultivate olive and Italy would cooperate with the South Asian nation with an assistance of €1.5 million.

He elaborated that the olive culture meant the supply value chain and processing, without which development in the sector would not be easy. Replying to a question, the envoy revealed that the “olive culture” project worth €1.5 million would be executed over a period of 26 months in suitable areas by Ciheam Bari International in cooperation with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research through the Pakistan Oilseed Department.

“It represents the continuation of all work done by Italy in the past, with a holistic approach encompassing all stages and stakeholders,” he said.

The ambassador was of the view that Pakistan had a lot of potential for olive production and it could earn foreign exchange by increasing the olive output and using it for commercial purposes.

Calling the quality of Italian olive the best in the world, he suggested that Pakistan could import olive from Italy. Olives are an integral part of the entire Mediterranean civilisation without which life and culture will be incomplete.

The envoy stressed that Italy had always supported Pakistan’s journey in the field and “we are happy to continue with the aim of developing a sustainable, modern and rich olive culture.”

He said it would not only provide quality edible oil for the people in Pakistan but would also help reduce the import bill. Rather, “we look forward to the times when Pakistan would be among the leading olive producing and exporting countries in the world”.

Talking to APP, Ciheam Bari International Olive Culture Project Coordinator Marco Marchetti said that there was a need to work more on the olive supply chain in Pakistan, as the lack of which could not reap the benefits.

He pointed out that the consumption of edible oil in Pakistan was 4.5 million tons, for which the market needed to introduce the best olive oil for human health.

Marchetti underscored the need for introducing technology, including creating awareness among farmers, for the promotion of olive oil culture. “There is a need to reduce the cost of production in the olive supply value chain with the acquisition of technology and to give opportunities to the local farmers to sell olive in the market at a good price,” he said.
“Olive culture has been around for thousands of years in Italy, where we have been associated with the Mediterranean civilisation and where olives have been cultivated for thousands of years.” Marchetti called on the organisations and institutions related to the local agriculture to pay special attention to the promotion of olives.

Qualified human resources, technical assistance, quality and safety standards, reference laboratories for oil certification and phytosanitary labs are very much needed in Pakistan to establish a full value chain of safe and highly nutritious tasty food that improves health dramatically. He emphasised that olive contributed to mitigating the impact of climate change as a smart tree against soil erosion and water consumption, inducing a low carbon footprint.

“These are added value benefits in Pakistan, which has the potential to be a world leader in olive production,” he said. The Italian technical assistance for Pakistan started 40 years ago with the adaptive research schemes to assess the viability of modernised cultivation of the crop (in the 1980s and 1990s).

It was followed by the launch of first significant olive crop investment (2012-15) through the Pakistan Italian Debt Swap Agreement, resulting in 2,000 hectares of plantation in the marginal and wastelands. In 2016, the olive cultivation was introduced in the Programme for Poverty Reduction, sponsored by the Italian government and executed by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), through which three oil extraction units were being established on a public-private partnership basis with the farming communities.

Recently, in March 2022, a key project called “Olive Culture Holistic and Multi-Professional Mechanism for Pakistani Olive Oil Value Chain” has been launched.

_Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2022._

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## ghazi52

.,.,.,
Pakistan is fast losing its forests cover. In 2010, it had 648kha of tree cover, extending over 0.74% of its land area. It lost 63.2ha of tree cover, equivalent to 23.5kt of CO2 emissions in 2021, according to a Global Watch report. Forests fires have reduced KP’s green cover further. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Department, 14,300 acres of forests were burnt from recent fires in the province.

To offset this destruction, experts urge people in Pakistan to consider grafting to generate money from these trees. “This will not only save our forests from being cut down, but provide a sustainable food chain, create jobs for hundreds of thousands of people and reduce dependence on oil imports,” said Dr Abdur Rahman, Project Director at the Agriculture Research Center, Tarnab Peshawar.

The research center estimates that there are over 50 million wild olive trees in Malakand division alone, which if grafted, could help Pakistan generate millions of dollars. Pakistan ranks among the top five edible oil importing countries, despite having the potential to produce its own product. According to the Bank of Pakistan’s data, Pakistan spent $4 billion during the 2021 importing edible oil. Pakistan imports 75 percent of its edible oil to meet the country’s demand, of which 94 percent is palm oil, most of it coming from Malaysia.

Pakistan also imports 2.2 million tons of oil seeds every year. Rahman said edible oil seed production is disappointingly low. “Our oil seed production is less than 27 percent.” Pakistan imports canola, sunflower, soybean and olive oil. Canola oil is imported from Canada and Australia, sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia, and soybean oil from the United States and Argentina.

The government launched a ‘Green Revolution’ in 1960s to increase grain production to meet food demands of the growing population and make the country self-sufficient. It introduced modern techniques, seeds, fertilisers and seeds. As a result, the country’s wheat production increased by 25 percent between 1961-69. To promote olive cultivation on a commercial scale, the government set olive farms in Shinkairi, Abbottabad, Mansehra and Malakand division.

Currently, the Federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments are focusing on the promotion of cultivation of olive plants at the commercial scale. The federal government has distributed over 70,000 olive plants among farmers. However, lack of facilities, poverty and urbanization and lack of awareness regarding the importance of forests is making it hard for these programs to take off.

*Hurdles for farmers*

“People chop and use wild olive as fodder for animals and fuelwood at homes because this is the only option they have,” said Engr Fida, a resident of Maidan area in the Dir Lower district. He said people have no option but to cut them -- they can’t afford the costly cylinder to refill fuel every few days. Without these crops he said they also can’t arrange fodder for their cattle, which is a lifeline for many.

According to World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan has 4.54 million hectares of land with forest cover, which is well below the recommended threshold of 25 percent. Pakistan loses 0.2 to 0.5 percent of its forests every year, which it is losing sources to store greenhouse gases from the environment. In a report by Justice Jawad Hasan of the Lahore High Court, citing the National Environmental Information System, found that forest cover had reduced from 3.59 million hectares to 3.32 million hectares.

The massive deforestation due to highest rate of deforestation, unplanned urban sprawl, lack of facilities and negligence on part of policy makers has rendered Pakistan vulnerable to climate change.

The German Watch has ranked Pakistan among top ten countries globally most affected by climate change in last 20 years. In its report 2020 report, Climate Risk Index, found that Pakistan has suffered massive economic losses and witnessed extreme weather, floods, droughts and heatwaves since 1999.

An assessment from the Asian Development Bank found the socio-economic costs of environmental degradation is $7 to $14 billion per year. Keeping in view the worsening climate, rising levels of greenhouse gases, droughts, heatwaves and sudden rains inflicting unprecedented damage to infrastructure, experts call for adopting environment-friendly steps and strategies.

“We should save our forests from deforestation [and] plant trees with highest carbon sequestration control warming,” said Professor Dr Hizbullah Khan from the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar. He lamented that government and residents are resorting to planting non-native trees in an attempt to recover the greenery that has been lost. These strategies are doing more harm to the environment then what the government had expected.

Dr Haroon Khan, head of the Climate Change Cell, at Agriculture University Peshawar, said people were planting Eucalyptus trees, which are not only lowering groundwater levels but rendering the mountains dry. “This is a non-native tree that is taking a toll on local flora and fauna. It doesn’t allow other plants to grow due to which native trees that were panacea to deteriorating environmental have almost lost,” he said.

*Industry potential*

Wild olives are found in Swat, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Shangla, Bajauar, North and South Waziristan, Kurram, Abbottabad, Mansehra and parts of Chitral. “It has great potential, that not only rid the province of unemployment but provide quality olive oil at cheap rate apart from reducing import bill,” said Israr Khan, a resident of Talash area of Dir Lower district. Khan has learned grafting techniques under a programme financed by the Pakistan Oil Seed Development Board and has grafted over 0.4 million wild olives so far in his hometown.

Aware of the opportunities the olive industry can offer, he said broken dry wood can be used for small industry like toymaking and can generate millions. He said he is aware of the challenges grafting entail; it takes three to four years for an olive plant to start giving fruits and most farmers are poor who cannot wait so long. However, if this industry can save over four billion dollars annually in imports, spending a few billion rupees to provide facilities and assistance to protect wild olive forests by grafting would be worth it for Pakistan, he said.

Khan is optimistic about the growth and transformation of the sector. He believes it has the potential to provide jobs to thousands of poverty-stricken farmers if they can set up olive nurseries and learn to graft. In the meantime, processing and packing plants can be set up. The government is already targeting culturable waste lands, said Rahman, and so far they have planted quality olive seeds on 11,000 hectares of land. The target for the project is 1.2 million trees and the government has identified 10.17 million hectares of waste land to use for cultivation.

“We do not encourage planting olive on fertile land and in areas where water in is abundance,” Rahman said. Land that is marginal and unable to grow wheat is preferred for olive plantation. “As many as 134 trees are planted on one acre of land that give around two tons of seeds from which 200 to 300 litres of high-quality oil can be extracted.”

The federal government has also installed a processing plant at different parts of KP to facilitate farmers at the center in Peshawar. Plants are also being set up privately in Malakand division. Plants are being imported from Italy and Spain which also providing technical assistance to promote plantation and grafting of olives.

“Olive trees requires less water, care and with highest carbon sequestration ratio,” said Said Ahmad, Chief Planning Officer, Agricultural Department. Keeping in view potential of the country, the International Olive Council has recently granted full membership to Pakistan. If these 70 million wild olives are grafted, the whole nation will harvest its dividends for centuries.

_Fawad Ali is a freelance writer. All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer._

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## ghazi52

,.,.,.
Pak-China olive cooperation possesses immense potential​China Economic Net
July 24, 2022

FUZHOU, July 25 (China Economic Net)- “As one of the main olive producing areas in China, the processing industrial chain in Fujian Province is still far from perfect. The supply of high-quality olives is in short supply; besides, the by-product market also contains unlimited potential. Namely, the market space is huge. 

In the future, if we can introduce excellent olive varieties from countries along the Belt and Road, including Pakistan, and carry out planting and processing technology exchanges with them, undoubtedly it will be a win-win situation,” noted Chen Rui, General Manager of Fujian Baihejiang Industrial Development Co., Ltd., in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net.






Olives in Fujian Baihejiang orchard [Photo provided to CEN]

Edible olives are rich in nutrients, providing protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals. Its content of vitamin C is 10 times that of apples and 5 times that of pears and peaches. Pakistan, which has a large area of land suitable for growing olive trees, can produces about 1,500 tons of olive oil and 830 tons of table olives per year, all of which are consumed domestically. Now, Pakistan is the only South Asian country to be included in the International Olive Council. Farhan Pasha, the science officer in charge of the olive program at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute, told CEN that the main areas in Pakistan fit for olive cultivation are Balochistan, KPK and Punjab, etc. Pakistan has 10 million acres of land suitable for olive cultivation, which is almost twice as much as Spain, the world's largest olive oil producer.

Nevertheless, the cultivation and processing of edible olives in Pakistan is facing a series of challenges, which also brings opportunities for agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan in this field.

According to Farhan Pasha, Pakistani olive growers often need to use costly imported fertilizers or pesticides when faced with pests and diseases, but this is beyond the purchasing power of most ordinary farmers. Therefore, if China provides effective measures to increase production or control pests and diseases, this will be the most ideal result. Chen put forward a specific plan for this, “Biopesticides are our best choice due to ordinary pesticides may cause soil hardening or pesticide residues. Even the most common biological materials such as well-proportioned ginger and pepper spray can have a very good sterilizing and insecticidal effect. In terms of pest control, we use breeding beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, to kill pests.”






A Pakistani farmer picking olives [Photo provided to CEN]

As for fertilizers, Chen emphasized that in most cases, his olive orchard chooses organic bio-fertilizers, such as chicken and sheep manure, which are of great help in increasing production. 

At present, there are two main varieties of edible olives, in his orchard, with a total planting area of about 2,500 mu (about 166.67 hectares). In the past five years, the annual output has been about 500,000 kilograms, and the annual output value can reach 50 million yuan. Among them, Meixiang No. 2 has outstanding yield, with each tree can bear 250-400 kilograms during the annual picking season in August.

“Under the framework of CPEC, we have cooperated closely with China in many fields, so in this respect they can provide high-level support in terms of agricultural technology. At present, in our olive growing area, when the orchard is too humid due to climate and other reasons, pests always arise freely. So, if we can collaborate, we need to transform advanced technology learned from high-level agricultural jargon into easy-to-understand knowledge that can be conveyed to our farmers,” mentioned Dr. Ramzan Ansari, who is in charge of olive research at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute.






Olive by-products of Fujian Baihejiang Industrial Development Co., Ltd. [Photo provided to CEN]

Experts believe, as agriculture is one of the key sectors in Pakistan’s economy, both countries should deepen and expand cooperation in the agriculture sector under CPEC. Pakistan can adopt the latest Chinese technology for the cultivation of olive plants. 

Against the backdrop of successful cultivation of cash crops such as chili peppers, a joint venture between China and Pakistan for olive cultivation and processing is also a viable solution. Inam ul Haq, who works as a horticulturist at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute in Chakwal, has included Chinese investment in his plans. “In the future we plan various joint ventures with Chinese counterparts as we can take advantage of their expertise, since the world understands their knowledge and praises them." Dr. Ramzan Ansari suggested that some areas with high agricultural potential, including the Potohar region, could become exclusive agricultural zones under CPEC.

In addition, professionals from both China and Pakistan have high expectations for the olive by-product processing industry. “Taking Fujian as an example, main olive by-products include juice, syrup, honey, preserved fruit, tea, vinegar, beverage. Among them, olive tea is made from olives and black tea with ingredients such as ginger and olive salt, which is very popular with the local people. In addition, the olives can increase the aroma of the tea, making the aroma more lingering,” Chen told CEN.






Various olive by-products from Pakistan [Photo provided to CEN]

“The processed products of olives have very high added value, such as pickled olives, olive tea, olive sugar, and the like. The residue left after processing olives can also be used for livestock feed. We can cooperate with Chinese research institutes or enterprises, and I hope our government can play an active role in policy guidance and industry support. 

By now, we have introduced pickled olives to some Chinese dealers, who are very interested in it and expressed that they will seize the opportunity to promote cooperation between the two parties,” Syed Yousaf Ali, an owner of olive orchard at Sehgal farmhouse Kallar Kahar, echoed confidently.

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## ghazi52

..,
Plan to incentivise farmers for olive cultivation​ Rasheed Khalid
The News
August 06, 2022
*
Islamabad *: Dr. Muhammad Tariq, Project Director, Olive Promotion Cultivation on Commercial Scale in Pakistan, Ministry of Food Security and Research. has said that Pakistan spends $4 b per annum on the import of edible oil and oilseeds every year which can be reduced by cultivating olive on 4 million hectares of uncultivated land in the country that is suitable for olive production and where water can be explored.

In an interview with this correspondent, Dr. Tariq said that pruning in December and using fungicides and insecticide sprays in February are very crucial to getting better yield from olive plants. Drip irrigation helps in getting optimum production from the cultivated land. It would reduce 25 % of our olive oil imports, rather we may be able to export our olive products to the world.

The scope of olive plants can be increased as its leaves will be used in producing organic dyes for colouring food as well as leather industry thereby checking the pollution generated by tanneries. The residue obtained after extracting oil from olive fruits is rich biomass for agriculture or can serve as feeds for poultry and livestock. Oil cultivation will also stop soil erosion.

Dr. Tariq enumerated other offshoots including jobs for the people, especially in tribal areas. We can have factories producing olive pickle, olive tea, and other nutraceutical products used in cosmetics, he continued.

He revealed that NARC provides olive oil extraction services to clients with a minimum of 20 kg of fruit free of cost. There are 28 oil extraction machines of different capacities in Pakistan in the public sector while 2 units are operating in the private sector in Punjab and Balochistan.

He said in the Phase II programme, training in value-added products will be provided to develop cottage industry in rural areas. Olive has no competition with any crop as we are developing it on uncultivated land. He said the country has millions of wild olive trees we call Kahu and we have planned to graft 5 m Kahu trees this year.

In the next three years, Dr. Tariq, said we intend to plant olive saplings on 75,000 acres. Four to eight most widely adopted registered varieties in the world depending upon availability will be distributed to farmers free of cost. Different varieties should be planted for cross-pollination in every field which is essential for better yield and production, he added.

Pre- and post-harvest kits and fruit processing units will be provided to farmers on a matching grant basis, he said adding that our next target will be establishing reference laboratories to certify olive oil for export or local sale.


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## ghazi52

,.,.

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