LAHORE:Punjab Agriculture Secretary Nadir Chattha on Friday said that practical steps were being taken to transform the Pothohar region into an olive valley in a true sense.
Presiding over a meeting here, he said a plan was being prepared for olive cultivation on another 5,000 acres in the Pothohar region. Apart from this, a plan to provide 10 modern extraction plants for olive oil extraction was under consideration, he said.
He said that 300 kg of oil extraction within one hour would be carried out by these plants and with the use of modern oil extraction plants, oil of high quality and according to international standards would be obtained.
By importing modern extraction plants, the farmers of Pothohar Oil Development Zone would be able to get full benefit, he added.
In the meeting, Secretary Agriculture, Punjab Nadir Chattha assigned the task to the relevant formations to conduct a complete survey of olive groves in Pothohar region.
The secretary was told that a complete survey of the total olive plan
ts in the field was being conducted. As a result of the survey, information about the average age of the plants and the average yield per plant would be available and the gardeners would be able to get information about the olives. Healthy and good-sized plants would be provided. Healthy nursery plants would perform well in the field. Plants in the nursery would be certified by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department.