Currently, there is little to no availability of olive products in the local markets of Pakistan.
The ones that are locally produced come largely from small-scale private sector entities that process and package olives and olive oil.
If Pakistan was to produce olive products locally, it would save billions of dollars every year.
The incumbent government of Punjab under the vision of Chief Minister, Punjab aims to take olive and olive oil production to a level where Pakistan builds its presence in both local and international markets.
The government recognizes the potential benefits of olive farming for the country and therefore has allocated resources towards supporting this new emerging market.
The favourable climate and topographic conditions of Chakwal, Attock, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Khushab and Mianwali under the Pothohar Region have been recognized as the appropriate region for the government’s plan of the olive plantation.
Investment in olive plantation has been recognized as a priority by the Punjab Government because of its social, economic and environmental benefits. Planting olives will not only generate employment for the locals, minimize land degradation but also increase revenue through exports.
The success story of Malik Lal Khan from Lawa, Chakwal serves a perfect example of how olive plantation can potentially revolutionize farming in Pothohar region.
Malik was given 3,075 olive plants, on-site assistance for olive orchard establishment and management and facilitation through drip irrigation.
The plantation over 23 acres not only curbed water erosion of the marginal land but also turned it into an area of a high-value crop.
Olive plantation on severely degraded marginal land with very poor access at Lawa, Chakwal.
As olive is a new crop in Pakistan’s agriculture sector, an extensive research facility is needed to cope with problems and constraints of the industry.
Realizing this opportunity has enabled the Punjab Government to approve the establishment of a dedicated research facility titled “Centre of Excellence” for research, training, learning and innovation across the entire olive value chain.
Owing to the exhaustive research facilitated by the Punjab Government, it has been revealed that Pakistan has approximately 3.5 million hectares of land that can be used for olive production.
Total world production of olive oil is 2.75 million tons and according to estimates, only one-third of Chakwal’s properly cultivated area can produce two percent of the world’s total production; 55,000 tons that is.
Additionally, it is offering a 60% subsidy on the drip irrigation system to those growers who can manage it.
More than 800 participating farmers have so far been provided true-to-type, disease-free olive plants. As a result of these efforts, quite a few of the orchards have started fruiting.
-The writer is Head, Special Monitoring Unit at CM Office, Punjab.