PESHAWAR
\nUSAID\u2019s Economic Recovery and Development Activity (USAID-ERDA) takes a crucial step for strengthening and modernizing fruits plants nurseries enterprises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its Newly Merged Districts (KP-NMDs) by signing 35 grant agreements in Peshawar.
\nDiverse agro-climatic conditions in KP-NMDs offer potential for a variety of fruits, yet the fruit industry in KP and its NMDs faces obstacles due to non-availability of true-to-type and disease-free planting material, said a press release issued here on Wednesday.
\nUSAID-ERDA is extending in-kind support to 35 fruit plant nurseries in districts Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Dir, Orakzai, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Malakand, Dera Ismail Khan, and Kurram.
\nShad Muhammad, Chief of Party for USAID-ERDA, highlighted the goal of the activity: \u201cTo strengthen and expand existing fruit plant nurseries enterprises, ensuring easy access for local farmers to high-quality fruit saplings.
\nBy providing in-kind support such as planting materials, lathhouse\/greenhouse establishment, and toolkits, we aim to empower the local agribusiness community and ensure easy access to farming community to certified and diseases free planting material.\u201d
\nJan Muhammad, Director General Agriculture Extension Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, emphasized the crucial need for fruit plant nurseries, stating, \u201cThe establishment and strengthening of fruit plant nurseries are imperative for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s agriculture.
\nThis initiative not only addresses the current scarcity of planting material but also holds the potential to significantly boost the agricultural sector by providing local farmers with high-quality, disease-free saplings.\u201d
\nBeneficiaries, like Gul Shaid Afridi and Muhammad Qayum Dir Lower, emphasized the positive impact on local communities.
\nAfridi stated, \u201cThis support will enhance our nursery\u2019s capacity and contribute to disease-free planting material, fostering growth of the fruit industry.\u201d
\nThe project will also provide capacity building, and handholding for nursery establishment and management, and will facilitate in establishing forward and backward linkages for selected grantees. Registration with the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD) is a key focus to ensure availability of certified planting material.
\nUSAID-ERDA\u2019s Senior Agriculture Specialist, Zia Ur Rehman, highlighted anticipated outcomes, including the promotion of the fruit industry in KP-NMDs, availability of disease-free planting material at local level, strengthening local MSMEs, and the creation of direct and indirect job opportunities.
\nThe grant program is envisioned to motivate entrepreneurs, attract private sector investment, and contribute to the economic development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its NMDs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR USAID\u2019s Economic Recovery and Development Activity (USAID-ERDA) takes a crucial step for strengthening and modernizing fruits plants nurseries enterprises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its Newly Merged Districts (KP-NMDs) by signing 35 grant agreements in Peshawar. Diverse agro-climatic conditions in KP-NMDs offer potential for a variety of fruits, yet the fruit industry in KP and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-381407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n