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

[Majid Awan]

I've got plants from Barani Olive institute Chakwal

and Potohar land is very suitable

Plant is very resistant to water scarcity and weather

These plants can survive in central Punjab?

Weather, land you should be in touch with PARC/NARC every year they import plants from Spain/Italy we planted almost 500 plants last year near south punjab and few hundred in KPK, hopefully they will start producing fruit in a couple of years.

Sure sir I will try to search about it on their website if i could find it

 

[Syed1.]

These plants can survive in central Punjab?


Sure sir I will try to search about it on their website if i could find it

Central Punjab is the most fertile land in Pakistan, you can literally grow anything there. Why would you waste precious land to grow olive trees which are meant for infertile land.

 

[Majid Awan]

Central Punjab is the most fertile land in Pakistan, you can literally grow anything there. Why would you waste precious land to grow olive trees which are meant for infertile land.

Just few lines of plants like mango or orange trees.

 

[TNT]

I have a lot of mountainous land and want to cultivate but buying plants can cost alot. Tried to get from agri deppt but still nothing.

 

[M.Bison]

I have planted couple of plants 4 years ago .. now there yield is pretty much good

View attachment 586487 View attachment 586488

are you in punjab?

 

[Kabira]

I have a lot of mountainous land and want to cultivate but buying plants can cost alot. Tried to get from agri deppt but still nothing.

Keep track of government 50m tree olive program. It will likely be launched next year. I've read somewhere that 45% of ex-FATA land is ideal for olive plantation. But they will not handout them without investigating first. Punjab government have distributed half million saplings for free in potohar under certain conditions like these

"To a question, he said those farmers, who either possessed sufficient irrigation resources for the maintenance of an olive orchard, or aspired to avail the 70 per cent subsidy available to manage irrigation resources could get free olive saplings.

"If the grower opts to establish a drip irrigationsystem, then the applicant shall be eligible to avail a 60 per centsubsidy," he added."
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/359724-aug-31-last-date-for-getting-free-olive-saplings

These plants can survive in central Punjab?

Whole point of olive plantation is to support drought hit areas where traditional crops are hard to grow. One can buy olive plants privately but I doubt government will give it away in central punjab.

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

Keep track of government 50m tree olive program. It will likely be launched next year. I've read somewhere that 45% of ex-FATA land is ideal for olive plantation. But they will not handout them without investigating first. Punjab government have distributed half million saplings for free in potohar under certain conditions like these

"To a question, he said those farmers, who either possessed sufficient irrigation resources for the maintenance of an olive orchard, or aspired to avail the 70 per cent subsidy available to manage irrigation resources could get free olive saplings.

"If the grower opts to establish a drip irrigationsystem, then the applicant shall be eligible to avail a 60 per centsubsidy," he added."
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/359724-aug-31-last-date-for-getting-free-olive-saplings



Whole point of olive plantation is to support drought hit areas where traditional crops are hard to grow. One can buy olive plants privately but I doubt government will give it away in central punjab.

Balochistan is a good place for ranching too.

 

[ps3linux]

I have a lot of mountainous land and want to cultivate but buying plants can cost alot. Tried to get from agri deppt but still nothing.

Well there are few ways of getting around mountainous land depending upon temperature/rains and type of mountains. So I am outlining few along temperature/type of mountains

If the range is mostly stone then I am sorry tough luck, you might give a try to logging/timber wood again depending upon climate cedrus deodara (diyar a 30+years project) and rosewood (Shisham 21 years project) depending on land its billions worth project initial cost may be in lakhs but the return is in billions. We did import huge quantity of rosewood saplings from India 22 years ago now since last year we have started cutting them down (as they have matured for logging) two years of seasoning and each tree could be sold for 2-2.5 million PKR

Cedrus Deodara takes more time but mature/seasoned tree is worth almost 1.5 time that of rosewood.

If the climate is temperate to hot and there is earth in the range you can try olives and avocado. Better yet go to PARC/NARC in Islamabad Monday to Friday (between 9 - 3) meet any researcher there they will ask you about your area, and based upon that they will advise you what kind of trees/fruits you could raise there.

BTW: logging/timber is not on their radar, it is what we have done. There are lots of options fruits guava/dates/palm/avocado (localized)/olive/turkish fig/citrus seedless varieties or Mexican varieties / chinese variant of peaches/apple/grapes particularly the late fruit type. If you area is cold then peaches/plum/cherry/kiwi fruit (in experimental phase in Pakistan) even tunnel farming of ginseng (7-9 years project).

Possibilities are practically endless, what has limits is the imagination itself.

 

[War Thunder]

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

REHMAT MEHSUD

October 27, 2019

Locals in Bajaur district pack olives for onward delivery to the processing plant on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

“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.

https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1574971/pakistan

So can I get to see some Pakistani Extra virgin Olive oil (first cold pressed) on the shelves any time soon?

 

[Sulman Badshah]

are you in punjab?

potohar (chakwal)

Keep track of government 50m tree olive program. It will likely be launched next year. I've read somewhere that 45% of ex-FATA land is ideal for olive plantation. But they will not handout them without investigating first. Punjab government have distributed half million saplings for free in potohar under certain conditions like these

"To a question, he said those farmers, who either possessed sufficient irrigation resources for the maintenance of an olive orchard, or aspired to avail the 70 per cent subsidy available to manage irrigation resources could get free olive saplings.

"If the grower opts to establish a drip irrigationsystem, then the applicant shall be eligible to avail a 60 per centsubsidy," he added."
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/359724-aug-31-last-date-for-getting-free-olive-saplings



Whole point of olive plantation is to support drought hit areas where traditional crops are hard to grow. One can buy olive plants privately but I doubt government will give it away in central punjab.

Ive seen olive farms in AK running fine

 

[TNT]

Well there are few ways of getting around mountainous land depending upon temperature/rains and type of mountains. So I am outlining few along temperature/type of mountains

If the range is mostly stone then I am sorry tough luck, you might give a try to logging/timber wood again depending upon climate cedrus deodara (diyar a 30+years project) and rosewood (Shisham 21 years project) depending on land its billions worth project initial cost may be in lakhs but the return is in billions. We did import huge quantity of rosewood saplings from India 22 years ago now since last year we have started cutting them down (as they have matured for logging) two years of seasoning and each tree could be sold for 2-2.5 million PKR

Cedrus Deodara takes more time but mature/seasoned tree is worth almost 1.5 time that of rosewood.

If the climate is temperate to hot and there is earth in the range you can try olives and avocado. Better yet go to PARC/NARC in Islamabad Monday to Friday (between 9 - 3) meet any researcher there they will ask you about your area, and based upon that they will advise you what kind of trees/fruits you could raise there.

BTW: logging/timber is not on their radar, it is what we have done. There are lots of options fruits guava/dates/palm/avocado (localized)/olive/turkish fig/citrus seedless varieties or Mexican varieties / chinese variant of peaches/apple/grapes particularly the late fruit type. If you area is cold then peaches/plum/cherry/kiwi fruit (in experimental phase in Pakistan) even tunnel farming of ginseng (7-9 years project).

Possibilities are practically endless, what has limits is the imagination itself.

Thanks alot for the info. Actually my mountainous land is not rocky, there was a study conducted and its perfect for olives and other fruits like oranges, lemon, pear, peaches, apricots etc. My land is in dir and the problem is u cant have huge fruit farms without fence and security as ppl will destroy it and that is a huge cost. I was interested in olives because its bitter and no one bothers to take it. It also doznt require much water and maintenance.
I know they provide alot of help in ounjab but here i have submitted forms and affidavits and still not gotten a single plant.

 

[ps3linux]

Thanks alot for the info. Actually my mountainous land is not rocky, there was a study conducted and its perfect for olives and other fruits like oranges, lemon, pear, peaches, apricots etc. My land is in dir and the problem is u cant have huge fruit farms without fence and security as ppl will destroy it and that is a huge cost. I was interested in olives because its bitter and no one bothers to take it. It also doznt require much water and maintenance.
I know they provide alot of help in ounjab but here i have submitted forms and affidavits and still not gotten a single plant.

That is perfect weather for cherry/tea/plum/khubani/kiwi fruit/olives few trees of cedrus deodara/rosewood (shisham) and avocado. Even strawberry.

Visit PARC/NARC buy few trees/plants each somewhere in February, there is a project of experimental kiwi plantation in shinkiari. I am done through this year of donating trees so sorry I dont have any more left with me at any of our properties, next year I'll let you know if I have few dozen free.

 

[TNT]

That is perfect weather for cherry/tea/plum/khubani/kiwi fruit/olives few trees of cedrus deodara/rosewood (shisham) and avocado. Even strawberry.

Visit PARC/NARC buy few trees/plants each somewhere in February, there is a project of experimental kiwi plantation in shinkiari. I am done through this year of donating trees so sorry I dont have any more left with me at any of our properties, next year I'll let you know if I have few dozen free.

Thanks and yup all those can be planted. I have planted few samples and they are giving fruit. Apricots and plum have impressed me, also akhrot works well but its growth is slow. I am also thinking of seedless lemons next year. My relatives have also tried almonds and they worked perfectly.
The problem actually is a large scale plantation something like aroun 5 to 10 thousand plants. I heard there is an olive project in KPK and hope will get something done.

 

[Kabira]

potohar (chakwal)


Ive seen olive farms in AK running fine

Yeah that map isnt accurate as even GB gov is thinking about planting 3 million olive trees.

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

Has some one tried avocados? They grow in dry areas.