Olive Grafting Revolutionizes Farming in Bajaur

Fakhar-e-Alam

Peshawar: As the government embarks on agricultural transformation, shifting from traditional to corporate farming, farmers in Pakistan are embracing novel technologies and techniques to enhance cash crop productivity, aiming for food sufficiency and economic stability.

This journey towards economic resilience is evident in the merged districts of erstwhile FATA, particularly in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where local farmers are adopting olive grafting to boost olive oil production.

With favorable land and climate conditions in the Malakand division, farmers like Barkat Shah are uncovering significant financial gains from their limited mountainous land.

His five-acre olive grove along the Mohmand-Bajaur road not only presents a stunning landscape but also provides him with confidence in achieving financial stability for his family.

“Bajaur’s climate and soil conditions are ideal for wild olive grafting,” Shah stated. He noted that the response from farmers has been overwhelmingly positive, thanks to the cost-effectiveness and high oil-yielding efficiency of the grafting technique.

Locally known as “Ustad” for his expertise in olive grafting, Haji Barkat explained that the process involves precisely joining a scion—a young, healthy olive variety—with a robust rootstock, typically an older olive tree that is resilient to diseases.

“This method enhances the health and productivity of olive trees, ensuring that farmers can maximize gains from their land,” he added.

Barkat elaborated on the careful procedure, which involves selecting a scion at its growth stage, cutting it and the rootstock for a snug fit, and securely binding them together.

This careful union results in a strong new branch capable of yielding high-quality olives in just four to five years. The optimal grafting period is between February to April and July to September.

Ziaul Islam Dawar, Director of Agriculture Extension, acknowledged the growing awareness among farmers in Malakand about olive grafting. “Growers are increasingly utilizing the best quality olive varieties,” he reported, highlighting that grafting rare varieties can produce high-yielding and disease-resistant olive trees within a few years.

He emphasized that this approach not only meets personal food and nutritional needs but also offers a sustainable income source for families while reducing the import burden on the national economy. “Proper grafting is essential to avoid unproductive trees and financial losses,” he advised.

Ahmad Said, former Project Director of the Promotion of Olive Trees Cultivation on Commercial Scale, pointed out that the entire Malakand division—including Bajaur, Dir, South Waziristan, Orakzai, and Khyber—is suitable for olive grafting.

 He revealed that approximately 4.4 million hectares of land in Pakistan’s KP, Punjab, and Balochistan provinces are suitable for olive cultivation, yet the country still imports 75 percent of its edible oil. In contrast, Spain, with 2.6 million hectares of olive cultivation, exports 45 percent of the world’s total edible oil.

According to Ahmad, about 70 million wild olive plants in KP, including 11 million in Bajaur, are suitable for grafting. So far, grafting has been completed on 400,000 wild olive trees, with earlier grafted trees on 400 acres in Bajaur already producing fruit.

He explained that one kilogram of olive fruit can produce 200 milliliters of oil, with 100 kilograms yielding 17 to 20 liters.

The price for extra virgin olive oil ranges from Rs2200 to Rs2500 per liter, while a single tree can provide a farmer with an income of Rs15,400 to Rs20,000 annually, with olive fruits easily selling for Rs120 per kilogram in the local market.

The rising interest in olive grafting is significant in light of the country’s economic challenges, as enhanced local production could offer a sustainable solution to meet domestic demand.

Under the KP government’s olive promotion project, over 250,000 wild olive trees have been grafted in the province, with successful olive orchards established on 150 acres in Bajaur.

Moreover, the federal government has launched the Promotion of Olive Trees Cultivation on Commercial Scale (POTCCS) project, valued at Rs 3.82 billion.

This initiative aims to naturally raise around 6.5 million wild olive plants in olive-rich mountainous and plains areas across KP, Punjab, and Balochistan. Additional efforts are underway to cultivate approximately 1.3 million olive plants and orchards on 14,000 acres in KPK and the Potohar region of Punjab.

The Punjab government has declared Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jehlum, Attock, and Khushab districts as Olive Valleys, emphasizing the urgent need to support farmers in these areas to fully benefit from this initiative.

In a time when Pakistan is grappling with economic challenges, promoting corporate farming, particularly in sectors where foreign exchange is heavily spent on imports, is essential.

Such initiatives promise not only positive economic impacts but also empower farmers to enhance their earnings, contribute to the nation’s economy, and achieve food security.

The feature was released by APP on October 20, 2024.