Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Friday expressed the government’s firm resolve to facilitate oil seed farmers attaining self-sufficiency in edible oil production and reducing imports.
Addressing the two-day Grand National Pak-Oilve Gala 2024, the minister said that agriculture sector development was a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth and development, adding that the sector during last financial year contributed about 6.5 per cent to national GDP growth. The event was organized by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, in collaboration with key development partners aimed at promoting and accelerating large-scale olive cultivation in the country to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in edible oil production. The minister said that the agricultural products of Pakistan including vegetables, fruits, rice and wheat were unique in taste and aroma and were in high demand, adding that local farmers and exporters could capture the international markets by improving their packaging, labelling and branding.
Rana Tanveer said that the edible oil import bill was the second largest bill after the import bill of petroleum products, adding that the initiative undertaken to promote and develop olive oil in the country would help in reducing the reliance on imported commodity. The minister said that the National Olive Gala would also help to highlight the significant progress and potential of edible oil production in Pakistan, besides showcasing the country’s growing capabilities in value addition of olive products. He said that the promotion of olive cultivation would provide employment opportunities for rural youth, and create entrepreneurship skills for them by encouraging its value addition, adding the it would also strengthen the government’s efforts to overcome climate-related challenges. The Minister expressed satisfaction over the progress made in olive cultivation on a commercial scale and said that the country was now able to produce different varieties of olive plants locally, which also helped to reduce the reliance on imported plants.