May 8, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 5, 1424

MANSEHRA, May 7: Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Yar Mohammad Rind has said that a tea board would soon be established in Mansehra in which maximum representation would be given to tea growers and farmers of the area.

He said this while speaking to tea growers, nazims and elected representatives of people here on Tuesday during his visit to National Tea Research Institute (NTRI) in Shinkiari, about 13 kilometre from here in Pakhal valley.

PML (Q) provincial general secretary Sardar Mohammad Yousaf and MNA Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf were also present on  this occasion.

The minister who was accompanied by Federal Secretary  for Food and Agriculture Salik Nazir Ahmad and other senior officials of the ministry visited NTRI and tea gardens of Shinkiari on the directive of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to look into the possibility of establishing a tea board in Mansehra.

Mr Yar Mohammad Rind said that the establishment of a tea board in the area would help in solving the problems of the growers and also save huge foreign exchange being spent on import of tea. But he made it clear that it was not a job oriented  project.

Tea growers said tea should be cultivated in hilly areas and on the wasteland of the forest department. They demanded enhancement of interest free loans and called for extending the period of recovery of loans from tea growers by ADBP and the Bank of Khyber.

Earlier,  Dr  Mohammad  Ashraf,  member  crops  sciences   and Bakhtmand  Khan, director of the NTRI said that 150,000 acres were identified for tea cultivation in Mansehra and Batgram districts and in Swat.