Italian Consul General, Danilo Giurdanella has indicated Italy’s inclination to explore olive oil cultivation possibilities in Sindh. Italy has already assisted in olive cultivation in Punjab and KPK. Italy is already helping Pakistan in the cultivation, extraction, and processing of olive products in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Now, Italy also plans to cultivate olive fruit in the southern province where parts of land and climate are suitable for a productive yield.
Italy helping Pakistan realize olive industry potential
Since 2012 under a project called ‘Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation,’ Italy has helped Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, and Balochistan to grow olive plants.
The project was supervised by the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), experts from Barrani Agriculture Research Institute helped execute the project.
The Consul General Danilo Giurdanella further discussed the presence of wild olive species in some areas of Sindh and expressed their willingness to initiate a dialogue for planning a tentative base-case for olive cultivation in the province.
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Addressing a presser in Karachi, he said, “The Italian government is already cooperating in olive cultivation, processing of olive fruits, and extraction of extra-virgin olive oil in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and we can also look into the possibility of growing olives in Sindh where suitable land and climate is available.”
The existence of wild olive species in areas of Sindh such as Gorakh Hill and Kirthar Mountains had the potential of being used as edible olive production, the Italian diplomat explained. He also suggested that by using grafting extensive olive cultivation could also be carried out in these areas for industry-level production.
KLF 2017 – Italy Reads Pakistan 2017 – The Consul of Italy Gianluca Rubagotti, Mrs Amina Saiyd, founder and Director of KLF and Ms Bina Shah pic.twitter.com/1v7XSESjUU
— Italy in Karachi (@ItalyinKarachi) February 11, 2017
“There is no reason why olives can’t be grown in the Sindh province. We are ready to explore this possibility and assist the local (provincial) government in this regard,” he said further.
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He added that Italian agricultural experts and food processing industry people could be invited to assist the authorities since they were already involved with helping farmers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with olive growth and production.
He expressed delight over the growing cooperation between Italy and Pakistan on numerous fronts. The Consul General mentioned also how Italy is becoming a vital export destination for Pakistani goods and services, with Pakistan posting a trade surplus with Italy in the period 2019-2020.
GVS News Desk