Pakistan: USAID firms project assists 449 peach farms
Swat relies heavily on the horticulture sector with 67 percent of the total peaches produced in Pakistan coming from Swat. In recent years however, calamities have wreaked havoc on agriculture, affecting sales and jobs in the region. The main constraints to growth include lack of infrastructure, poor access to inputs, market linkages, credit facilities, untrained workforce, and poor management practices affecting the quality and yield of the produce.
USAID’s assistance to the Pakistan's peach sector includes trainings, infrastructure, supplies, technical support, tools, and certifications for peach farm SMEs of Swat, under a cost sharing agreement. 449 peach farm SMEs that signed agreements with USAID Firms Project earlier this month received pre and post harvest trainings as part of the capacity building component of this assistance. 150 SMEs have received in-kind support in the form of pruning kits, harvesting kits, and corrugated cartons. Distribution to the remaining 299 will finish by the end of July. The tools and equipment will help ensure minimum damage to fruit during harvest, thereby reducing losses to the growers. To coordinate the effort, cluster leaders have been appointed who ensure a smooth flow of operations with farm SMEs within their clusters and work with them to increase output.
Together these interventions will help peach farm SMEs in adopting best management practices and peach farming techniques, attaining larger scale production, increasing yield, and tapping into competitive new markets. Atta Ullah, a local peach grower from Swat said, “These pruning and harvesting kits and all the other assistance from USAID will benefit the smaller farms and increase the revenue for these SMEs by 10 percent.” Another grower explained “We have learnt so many things we can do better. The training brings new management practices to us and is helping us access gains which were not possible before”.
To further strengthen the sector, USAID Pakistan Firms Project is providing assistance to these SMEs for competitive marketing and product placement, and creating linkages between SMEs from Swat and large-scale buyers and retailers. An existing peach pulping unit in Swat will also be up-graded with modern infrastructure to meet the demand of peach pulp.
For more information:
Haroon Shuaib
USAID Firms Project
Tel: +92 (51) 282 21 49-52, Ext. 3011
Mob: +92 344 448 5085
hshuaib@epfirms.com