Mango growing area in Pakistan increases to 180,000 hectares
"In the past, mango growers were not taking too much interest in improving mango cultivation areas because these were not highly paid. Now they are ambitious to enhance the cultivation area as they are earning handsome amounts by exporting this fruit", he informed us.
According to crop reporting sources, mangoes orchards were located on an area of 117,000 hectares in the province during year 2011-12 while the cultivation area increased to 180,000 hectares in 2015-16. The mango crop is turning into an industry and offering handsome returns to growers, he added.
Responding to a query about the enhanced area of mango, the MRS in-charge ireported that different programmes including the Australia-Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (ASLP), USAID, and the Punjab Agriculture department provided much needed facilitation for quality fruit, imparted training to growers on how to manage orchards and follow export standards. The income of growers has increased significantly and this is the basic reason behind the increase in cultivation areas, he added.
source: nation.com.pk
