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Chitral, the
potential hub of temperate fruits
By Shamoon Sadiq
DAWN
Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB)
was established in August 2002 as an autonomous body
under the ministry of commerce to vitalise the
horticulture sector including interventions at the
whole value supply chain in order to increase exports.
In order to create substantial impact on exports of
horticulture products, it became imperative to have
product diversification, looking at other products
which have the export capacity and potential on
medium- term basis. Utilising the secondary data, it
was found that there is an ample potential for some of
the temperate fruits of NWFP and Balochistan which
could be tapped but required appropriate strategy and
interventions to overcome hurdles which impede their
exports.
The short-term strategic goal was to promote those
horticulture products which had the best potential for
enhancing exports immediately which were selected on
the basis of V3 strategy (volume, variety and value).
The prominent fruits and vegetables were mango, kinno,
dates, potatoes and onions mainly grown in Punjab and
Sindh.
Chitral district is the northern most part of NWFP
consisting of mountainous terrains connected with
other areas through
�Lawari Pass�
which is closed from December to April to all kinds of
road transportation due to heavy snowfall. The
cultivated land is mostly on slopes and valleys
scattered in distant areas linked with poor road
infrastructure. Farmers have limited farm holdings and
hence reliance on food such as cereals and fodder
crops for animal remains high.
The primary crops grown in this region are maize,
wheat, rice and potato. There are few commercial
orchards but most of fruits are grown in homes. The
major fruits grown in this area are apple, pear,
apricot, walnut, mulberry, pomegranate and persimmon.
By and large, the crops are grown mostly for
self-consumption and on commercial scale mainly for
local market. Their pear variety
�shagore�
has good potential for export.
The benefit of Chitral district is that it has an
ecological niche for some agriculture products that
have high value in down country markets. Secondly, the
products are grown when not grown in the down country,
in other words we can say
�off-season�
production which fetches high prices in the local
market. Due to minimal or no use of synthetic
chemicals, the area can be exploited for organic niche
market.
Various government and donor aided programmes have
been undertaken for the development of fruits and
vegetables in the region. Much of the impact has come
through the donor assisted programmes which has
changed the agricultural landscape of Chitral
district. Besides pre-harvest interventions, massive
infrastructure projects have been undertaken such as
provision of water courses and electricity through
micro hydel power to almost all villages. Many
programmes undertaken in the adjoining areas of
Chitral had provided rippling effect to this region
also; projects such as Kalam Integrated Development
Project, Malakand Fruit & Vegetable Development
Project, Dir District Development Project and Dir Area
Support Project.
But the major intervention has been provided by Agha
Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) during a period
of six years from 1999 to 2004 sponsored by SDC-IC and
implemented by AKRSP. The main components of their
programme included fruit nursery promotion for supply
of quality/disease free plants, establishment of model
orchards on scientific lines, introduction of IPM,
provision of new plant varieties and establishment of
farmers field school (FFS).
According to the local stakeholders, the government
support has had minimal impact. While agriculture
department has its presence in the area by providing
expertise and established R&D institutes and stations,
it could not provide the level of support as per the
expectations of the farmers/growers.
Irrespective of all kinds of donors and government
interventions, there are still crop production
limitations mainly due to the following reasons: Poor
land utilisation for plantation not commercially
orientated plantation
� low yields; lack of knowledge regarding
pollinators, use of proper root-stock & scion plants
affected by diseases and no integrated approach such
as IPM ; no idea of soil analysis for utilization of
proper and balanced fertiliser ; Non-availability and
lack of knowledge with regard to the use of improved
seed varieties and lack of storage infrastructure.
In order to achieve the targets of $500 million set
for 2012, PHDEB cannot confine to a few products such
as mango, kinno and dates. There is a need for product
diversification incorporating other potential fruits
and vegetables. Some of the temperate fruits of this
area which have export potential and are likely to
fetch premium prices are oranges, pears and apples.
It is suggested that in order to have a sustainable
programme there is a need to establish a task force
based in Peshawar having representatives from
different districts of NWFP including Chitral, Dir &
Swat. The force should meet on regular basis and have
the following mandate: to develop overall and
area/product specific strategies/action plans; to
utilise PHDEB�s
local human resource for planning and implementation
of projects and programmes; to coordinate with
provincial government for necessary support; to work
in close collaboration with existing development
institutions both public and private sectors; to
solicit financial support from donors and other
institutions to implement projects.
A two pronged strategy should be undertaken i.e. short
and long term strategy. The short- term strategy will
focus on support to marketing efforts for existing
fruits which has potential for exports such as apples,
pear, persimmon and apricot from Chitral; oranges from
Dir and other areas of NWFP; apples, peach and loquat
from Swat, etc.
The first step would be to create linkages between
farmers and exporters. This would require training of
farmers in quality production, timely harvesting, and
standardised packaging (normally provided by the
exporter/buyer). If needed, PHDEB would support in
marketing overseas by organising test marketing in
potential overseas markets.
The long- term strategy will focus on
�grow for export�
approach and will entail the following:
� reorient production according to export
market requirements and encourage contract growing
which includes new varieties, nurseries, model farms,
adoption of GAP, etc.
� develop necessary infrastructure such as cold
storages, pack houses (grading plants), value addition
industry, etc; and also complete the Batkhela
Collection Point project.
� improve support services efficiency which
would include better logistics, storage, packaging,
etc through private sector initiatives.
� institute regular training programmes for all
the stakeholders especially farmers regarding GAP
using FFS mode.
The writer is the CEO,
PHDEB
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