MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Agriculture Department has achieved more than 90pc target of provision of 750,000 citrus and deciduous fruit trees to farmers and other interested citizens across the state at less than half of the market price during the ongoing spring plantation drive, an officialsaid.

Tariq Mahmood Banday, director general of the department, told Dawn that since the climate and topography of the statewas suitable for cultivation of almost all varieties of fruit plants, in addition to vegetables and herbs, his department had been religiouslypersuading farmers to grow orchards for substantial commercial gains.

“Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has a clear vision in this regard. Even before assuming this office, he had been instrumental in the establishment of orchards across the territory to help the orchardists earn a respectable living on the one hand and the local population consume organic fruits on the other,” he said.

According to Mr Banday, since the last week of January when the ongoing spring plantation drive commenced his department had started providing 750,000 (mostly grafted) saplings of lemon, different varieties of orange, loquat, mango (citrus fruits) plum, apple, peach, pear, apricot, pomegranate, fig, guava and walnut (deciduous fruits) to fruit farmers and other citizens through its 228 extension centres in all 10 districts.

Over 90pc target in ongoing spring plantation drive achieved, says official

“We have so far sold out 90pc of our stock and hopefully the remaining trees will also be disposed of before the close of the plantation campaign next week,” he said.

The AJK agriculture department chief said 142,000 saplings had been provided to the orchardists at 50pc discount on ‘first come first served’ basis while the rest had been or were being provided at full price which too was almost half of the open market price.

For example, he said, while an apple sapling in the open market was being sold at Rs200, the agriculture department was selling the same at Rs80 (full price) and Rs40 (subsidised price).

Mr Banday said his department had itself produced 45,000 saplings of apple and walnut in its seven nurseries while the remaining saplings had been procured from nurseries of the national and provincial agriculture research councils in Pakistan.

He said the department had been persuading all buyers to grow at least 25-30 plants of any variety of their choice so that they could reap good fiscal benefits of fruit farming.

In response to a question, he said the field extension staff of his department had been providing full technical assistance to the orchard owners from cultivation to harvesting stage.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2023