Abbottabad: The Agriculture Departments of Abbottabad and Mardan, in collaboration with Model Farm Services Tuesday organized the inaugural Family Gur (Jaggery) Festival at the Agriculture Department office in Abbottabad.
Deputy Commissioner Abbottabad Sanaullah Khan inaugurated the event, which attracted significant participation from local farmers, citizens, and women.
Tehsil Chairman Lower Tanawal Junaid Khan Tanoli, Model Farm Services President Rashid Khan, District Agriculture Officers Mardan Amjad Khan and Malik Ijaz from Abbottabad, Field Officer Masood Tanoli, and retired agricultural officials participated in the event.
The festival aimed to encourage local farmers and showcase pure, chemical-free Gur products. Over 1,200 kg of gur were sold during the event. Additionally, stalls featuring olive oil and seeds for maize and wheat were set up.
Speaking at the event, Director of the Sugar Crops Research Institute, Mardan, Syed Asghar Ali, highlighted that sugarcane is cultivated on 92,000 hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with yields ranging from 560 to 1,000 maunds per hectare under modern farming practices.
"Farmers increasingly prefer jaggery production due to low sugarcane procurement rates", he added.
The initiative was praised by participants, who expressed a commitment to organizing similar events to promote Hazara's agricultural products across the province.