MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): On the instructions of the Secretary Agriculture and Livestock, a one-day training program titled Olive Grafting of High Varieties of Olives on Wild Kahu was organized at Chhatar Class under the management of the Department of Agriculture, Muzaffarabad.
Fruit and Vegetable Specialist Dr. Tariq Saeed and Assistant Horticulture Officer Syed Ghulam Murtaza Gilani provided verbal and practical training to the field staff and landowners on olive grafting.
Director General Agriculture Dr. Ijaz Khan specially participated in the training program and directed the field staff to start the olive grafting campaign with interest and dedication and to make landowners a part of this campaign.
At the local level, an Anjuman Dehqan should be established in which only landowners are represented, so that agriculture as a business can be promoted.
He said that there are millions of wild olives in Azad Kashmir, out of which the target of grafting 3 lakh plants has been set this season and it has been started.
Raja Zaheer Iqbal, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Muzaffarabad District, expressed special gratitude to the Director General of Agriculture and asked the landowners to work with the field staff of the Agriculture Department to make the program of grafting superior varieties of olives on the wild kahu plants present on their lands a success so that agricultural prosperity can be achieved in this area and the country.
The Director General of Agriculture inspected the olive gardens, vegetables and also held meetings with the landowners during the field visit to the Agricultural Extension Center, Dolai and Chhattar Class. Chhattar Class started the campaign by grafting olives with his own hands.
Chhattar Class village was declared an olive valley and this season, 5000 plants of Chhattar Class wild kahu will be converted into olives.
