Chitrali Farmers demands annually exhibition of Fruits, vegetables and cereals

The department of Agriculture has given up the centuries-old practice of holding the annual exhibition of agricultural products produce in Chitral with a negative impact on both quantity and quality of agricultural produce including
fruits, vegetables, and cereals.

Talking to news reporters on Wednesday, a number of farmers complained that the department has altogether neglected the need of holding the exhibition for the last one decade successively. Mr. Sahib Wali from Terich valley said
that the exhibition was virtually a congregation of farmers coming from all the nooks and corners of the district and it provided them a rare opportunity to share their experience.

He recalled that the dynasts of the formerly Chitral State arranged exhibitions of not only agricultural produce but also livestock and the best performers were prized with pieces of land to encourage them. He said that more than
ninety percent of the populations of Chitral derive their livelihood from farming directly or indirectly and it involves the women folk as work force. Mr. Wali said that the holding of the exhibition is as necessary as tournaments are held for the players
of different games but the government department is oblivious of such important event, which evokes the interest of the large chunk of the population.

The exhibitions were held on different tiers from village level through tehsil to district level in the past and it ensured the participation of almost every farmer to take part in the competition. An active worker of a local support
organization from Lotkoh valley, Farman Ali Shah said that the devolution of some departments of the provincial government including that of agriculture were devolved with a view to improve their efficiency but it has proved otherwise. He said that since the
devolution of the department, no such funds are available with it to hold exhibitions as its officers tell them.

Mr. Shah said that the farmers waited for the event throughout the year and prepared themselves for grabbing position, which resulted in the improvement of varieties by experimenting new ways and techniques. The interaction between
the farmers of the thirty-six segregated valleys of the district provided them with a chance of sharing their experience.

He recalled that quite a good number of fruits, specially pears, and apples, grown in Chitral won the first prizes in the national level exhibitions held in Karachi, Islamabad, and Peshawar.

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Posted by Sonia Bashir on Nov 24 2011. Filed under Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry