By Muhammad Luqman
Encouraged by the successful development of Pakistan’s first Olive Valley in Chakwal, the Punjab government has launched an ambitious initiative to expand olive cultivation across the entire Pothohar region in northern Punjab. The initiative aims to boost local production of edible oil and transform the area into a major olive-growing hub.
“Under the project, the Punjab government will provide an incentive of Rs 360 per olive sapling to farmers in Rawalpindi division,” said Dr. Muhammad Ramzan Ansar, Project Director of the Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training (CEFORT) at the Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal.
The incentives are part of a Rs 7 billion program launched by the provincial government to support agricultural development in northern Punjab. The package also includes subsidies for solar tube wells, drip irrigation systems, and other modern agricultural technologies.
Dr. Ansar said the initiative was designed to empower farmers. “This is a pro-farmer project. Olive growers can purchase certified plants from pre-qualified nurseries, cultivate them on their land, and claim subsidies after verification by the Agriculture Department,” he explained.
He highlighted Pothohar as the most suitable region in Punjab for commercial olive cultivation. In the earlier pilot phase — “Developing Pothohar into an Olive Valley” — farmers were supported to cultivate olives on 9,800 acres, with 1.32 million plants established. A federal PSDP project later supplemented this effort, raising the total number of olive plants in the region to 2 million.
Dr. Ansar said the recently announced Punjab Olive Oil Scheme, part of the “Sona Ugalta Punjab” initiative, aims to bring northern Punjab on par with central Punjab in agricultural and industrial development through olive cultivation and processing.
“Farmers participating in the scheme will receive a 50% government grant on the total cost of machinery and installation, while they will bear the remaining 50%,” he added.
For the first time, Punjab is providing four cold-press olive oil extraction units to farmers or registered associations at a 50% subsidy. These units will allow farmers to extract oil locally instead of traveling to BARI Chakwal, which currently operates a 600-kg-per-hour extraction plant.
“The increasing local production and sector development has already reduced olive oil imports by 50%. We expect Pakistan to become self-sufficient in olive oil production within the next five years,” Dr. Ansar said optimistically.
Farmers in the Pothohar region are already witnessing economic transformation. Previously barren lands are now yielding profitable returns through olive cultivation.
“Olive farmers are earning Rs 200,000 to Rs 250,000 per acre — more than the income from major crops like wheat and rice grown on fertile land in central and southern Punjab,” said Muhammad Yousaf Shah, President of the Olive Foundation of Pakistan.
He said that the number of olive farmers in Pothohar has risen to 1,000, and earnings can go as high as Rs 500,000 per acre for those adding value through branding, bottling, and processing products like pickles in addition to olive oil.
The success has also boosted land values dramatically. “Land once considered barren is now selling for up to Rs 400,000 per acre, compared to just Rs 50,000 previously,” Yousaf Shah added. “Olive has proved to be a blessing for northern Punjab.”
Alongside olives, farmers are increasingly planting other fruits including loquat, figs, blackberries, citrus, and grapes — all being cultivated commercially.
“Northern Punjab is on track to become the fruit basket of Pakistan,” he said.
(Muhammad Luqman is a Lahore-based senior economic journalist who has been writing on olive sector since 2012. He has contributed scores of TV reports and written articles for websites on this promising edible oil fruit plant in Pakistan).
