PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s agriculture department organized a grand stakeholders’ meeting here in Peshawar on Wednesday.

The meeting was participated by farmers from newly merged districts together with the government’s representatives and microfinance institutions along with researchers, input suppliers and market agents.

The meeting discussed challenges and opportunities in rapid adoption of horticulture techniques in newly merged districts.

Presently, majority of farmers operate at subsistence level, but changing the conventional approach to farming can improve livelihood of people in the tribal region, something which the KP government is addressing through its Special Emphasis Program.

Speaking at the event, Agriculture Secretary Dr Muhammad Israr said, “As part of the program, we have piloted a project on tunnel farming to assist farmers in growing high-value crops during off-season, which will increase their income significantly.”

Piloted in Arang, district Bajaur, farmers participating in this pilot have been introduced to walk-in tunnels with which they can grow high-value crops off-season and earn a much higher income than they do through subsistence farming.

The discussion during the activity centered around the concerns of the farmers, exploring alternate resources of labor and input, micro-financing, and export strategies to create synergies among participants in furthering the initiative.

By bringing together key partners, the consultation sought targeted government support for agricultural development in newly merged districts.

Speaking on behalf of UNDP Pakistan, MAGP Program Manager Raluca Eddon said, “UNDP’s Merged Areas Governance Project collaborated with the KP government in designing this initiative which is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).”

She added that they believe strengthening farmers of newly merged districts will ultimately result in improving livelihoods of people in the region. DG Soil Conservation Yaseen Khan was also present on the occasion.