Efforts needed to boost olive production

LAHORE (APP): Increase in olive production can help generate income for the farmers and save huge foreign exchange being spent on its import. Consumption and demand of olive is increasing in the country with the passage of time and there is a need to make more vigourous efforts to increase its production. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) former member Rana Sarfraz Ahmed Khan who is also senior vice president of Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) said this while talking to APP here on Sunday. He said that olive is produced in various parts of the world including neighbouring countries like India, Iran and Afghanistan. Quoting surveys of experts and government institutions, he said that Pakistan has enormous potential of olive production. He said that Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has reported that climate, soil, average rainfall and other factors in Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Jehlum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Chakwal and Khushab etc suit olive cultivation. He said that farmers of Pakistan could not avail benefits of its production due to different reasons.
Lack of awareness is one of the main reasons, he added. He said that the farming community and the government institutions need to join hands to increase its production.

Govt urged to pay attention
to poultry sector
LAHORE (APP): Poultry sector is an important sector and over 70 percent of the total poultry farming of the country is being done in Punjab, which needs special attention of the authorities. This was stated by vice chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Prof Talat Naseer Pasha, in an exclusive talk with APP, here on Sunday. He said that 80 percent of egg production, 85 percent feed production and 100 percent of the poultry processing units have been established in Punjab, while poultry sector can play an important role in meeting agricultural shortcomings. He said the Punjab plays an important role in checking prices of mutton, beef and pulses; therefore, any adverse effects on poultry would have negative effects on main food items like sugar and wheat flour, he added. Prof Pasha said that in addition, poultry sector had provided employment to over 1.7 million people, dominantly to the rural youth.

‘Doing Business in Pakistan Conference’
on January 18
ISLAMABAD (APP): The Pakistan Britain Business Council (PBBC), in partnership with the Scottish government, the Scottish Development International and the Consulate of Pakistan in Glasgow, will host "Doing Business in Pakistan" conference in Glasgow on January 18. Pakistan HC to the UK Syed Ibne Abbas will attend the conference, said a message received here on Sunday. The conference would help encourage UK companies considering business opportunities in Pakistan. The conference will provide an excellent opportunity for delegates to meet the Pakistan high commissioner and ministers and would be informed about the business opportunities that were available in Pakistan. Given Pakistan's improved stability and its recent economic growth as announced in recent WB reports, PBBC and its members, partners and stakeholders believed that there was tremendous potential to develop business opportunities in Pakistan, particularly following the launch of CPEC projects.

NTC, Microsoft join hands to
modernise ICT services
ISLAMABAD (APP): National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) and Microsoft have agreed to cooperate on developing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) businesses and solutions for the government and corporate subscribers. Both the organisations inked Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) here in which NTC Managing Director Brig (R) Viqar Rashid Khan and Microsoft General Manager North Africa, East Mediterranean and Pakistan, Leila Sarhan were also present. Viqar said the NTC had made another historical achievement by partnering with Microsoft. He said over last three years as per vision of the prime minister to digitise Pakistan and under guidance of IT Minister Anusha Rehman, the NTC had made significant progress in providing modern telecom services in public sector. He said the NTC was committed to reaching out innovative solutions to automate government processes. The NTC had recently established first cloud based Tier-III National Data Center.
Besides, the NTC was the first telecom operator which had launched "NTC GoSmart App" and Machine to Machine (M2M) Services.