KHYBER
The drive of grafting of wild olive trees is in progress successfully across various parts of Khyber district, agriculture officials said.
The campaign has been underway under the special directives and keen interest of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Secretary Agriculture Dr. Muhammad Bakhtiar Khan, Director General Muhammad Naveed Khan, and Director Agriculture Khyber Zia-ul-Salam Dawar.
According to officials, grafting has already been successfully completed on 108,000 wild olive trees in remote mountainous regions of the district including Tora Wela, Paindi China, Bazar Zakha Khel, and Nari Baba.
The overall target of the campaign is to be 195,000 trees, they added.
Authorities expressed confidence that the initiative will significantly increase olive production in the area as previous grafting efforts in these regions have already yielded positive results, with wild olive trees successfully converted into productive plants.
Earlier, a ceremony was held in the mountainous area of Zakha Khel, tehsil Landi Kotal attended by local elders and Agriculture Department officials, including Agriculture Officers Raza Khan Afridi and Shindi Gul Afridi, where the campaign was formally inaugurated.
The Agriculture Department is also providing olive oil extraction machinery to support local farmers, aiming to boost income at the community level.
Local residents have welcomed the initiative and hoped that it will strengthen the local economy and contribute to the development of the agricultural sector in the region.
