SHIKARPUR: The Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO) has initiated a tree plantation drive to plant over 12,000 Moringa trees in Shikarpur, Larkana and Shahdadkot districts on Wednesday under a four-year European Union-funded Programme for Improved Nutrition (PINS) in Sindh. Moringa is often referred to as the “miracle tree,” “drumstick tree,” or “horseradish tree,” has small, rounded leaves that are packed with an incredible amount of nutritional value. The SRSO would implement the tree plantation drive in collaboration with Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and community organisations. “Moringa tree has the potential to reduce deforestation and Malnutrition. Being a fast-growing tree, it can easily grow from seeds or cuttings. They grow quickly even in poor soil and bloom within eight months after planting. It can be eaten in a salad or cooked with vegetables,” the SRSO project manager Nisar Ahmed Pathan said. “Moringa is a resilient tree. It can survive in a variety of climates and substandard soils,” he added. Moreover, he said that the Sindh Planning and Development Department has begun to implement the PINS, which addresses malnutrition through nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions across three districts, and would be completed by the year 2021. The programme’s reach will be enlarged to encompass another 10 districts to complement the multi-sectoral Accelerated Action Plan (AAP) with an aim to reduce the severe malnutrition in Sindh. “Moringa leaves possess vitamins, calcium, potassium, iron and proteins,” Pathan further said, adding that the people of rural areas could get other benefits as well including timber for furniture. He urged them to plant Moringa trees as much as possible. The seeds of the Moringa are being used in Ghana for water purification. Published in Daily Times, August 9th 2018.