After the destruction and damages inflicted by the militancy and the recent devastating floods, the wretched farming community of Swat Valley has managed to come back on the path of progress and development with the help of a project of Italian government.
Italian government funded project "Technical assistance and support to fruit and vegetable growers in the Swat Valley (Pakistan) for the improvement of production and marketing in the horticultural value chain" has trained farmers in techniques to help them enhance their produce, decrease post-harvest losses, do proper grading and packing to enhance their exports and earn foreign exchange.
“The Italian project was launched at a proper time when the whole valley was affected by militancy and floods,” Secretary, Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperation Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr. Hussain Zada Khan said while addressing the closing ceremony of the project here.
He appreciated the Italian government for the project and said that the project provided encouragement to the people in the right way and said through this initiative a horticulture hub will be established in the area.
The project has successfully accomplished its activities, by providing continuous technical support to the rural population of the Swat District of the KPK.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sara Rezoagli, Deputy Head of Mission, Italian Embassy in Pakistan said that providing employment to youth would save them from indulging anti-social activities so the project not only helped the farmers of the valley but would result in employment opportunities to the youth.
Chairman, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, assured his support for the development of agriculture sector in KPK province particularly for the promotion of olive and horticultural crops to improve livelihood of the farming community.
Salahuddin Khan, District Representative, Farm Service Centre, Swat appreciated the role of Italian Experts in providing the various facilities in the area for the fruit and vegetable growers.
Dr. Rizwan Ahmad, P&D Director, Agriculture University, Peshawar said that they have conducted agro environmental survey in the area and training need assessment (TNA) and training of trainers (ToT) for extension staff and farmers.
Dr. Fazal Moula, Project Director (Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperation Department), KPK said that under the capacity building program of this project, they established farmers field school, conducted 16 trainings and 50-55 farmers registered in each session.
Dr. Ahmad Said, Chief Planning Officer, ALCD, KPK gave a detailed description of the promotion of local fruit and vegetable species while Haji Bakht Biland, Beneficiary FSC Kabal highlighted the benefits of facilities established under the project.
Dr. Domenico Bruzzone, Director Overseas Technical Unit for Development Cooperation, Italian Embassy in Islamabad appreciated the project activities and acknowledged the cooperation from all partners associated with the project.
He also thanked the Olive Team of PARC for promotion of olive cultivation in KPK. Dr.Salvatore Farfaglia, Project Coordinator (IAO) and other experts also addressed the participants.
On this occasion documentary film was also screened containing history of the Swat & KPK, area affecting with poverty and the techniques and technologies introduced under the project. Apples and other fruits varieties were also displayed at the site.
It is pertinent to mention here that the main purpose of the project was the income generating mechanism for small farmer's households, by supporting them all along the productive value-chain, from farm to fork: handling, grading, storing, processing, packaging and marketing, and to promote gender-oriented social and economic inclusion in the area: being the Swat District an agriculture based area, its fruit and vegetable production has always been the main source of livelihoods for its population.
The Project was planned and proposed to assist the recovery of the agricultural sector, severely affected with huge post-harvest losses (above 40% of the total District production) due to both the militancy (that determines a 2.2 M Swat inhabitants to be internally displaced) and the catastrophic natural disaster of the 2010 flood that, even more, has further added to worsening distress and the dire socio-economic conditions of the local population.
The Project was funded, as a grant, by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and implemented by the Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare, a technical assistance body of the said Italian Ministry based in Florence, and active in the field of agricultural sciences and technology transfer.
During its operational phase, since the late 2010, the Project has reached directly more than 5000 beneficiaries with its facilities being a reference for a growing farming Community of thousands of individuals, with a significant trickle-down effect on their poverty affected households.
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