PESHAWAR: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under its USAID-funded project is promoting five value chains by establishing improved market structures and strengthened services in the merged districts.
A press release said the project “Restoring Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture in Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” is focusing on Khyber, North, and South Waziristan districts of KP.
It said the project had witnessed an increase in production and income. In South Waziristan, the sales value of growers increased by 95 per cent for tomato, 68 per cent for potato, and 13 per cent for apple.
The communication said the creation of 13 market structures was a milestone that would help provide place for market intermediaries to interact without risks of heat, rain and protection for their goods.
It said the FAO renovated livestock and horticultural markets, and installed packing and collection sheds, and auction floors for fruits and vegetables.
“Working on value chains development and strengthening forward and backward linkages among the target chain actors will gradually evolve into a robust local service delivery system and viable commercial markets improving local economic growth, and increasing incomes and job opportunities at the local level”, said Waleed Mahdi, International Program Coordinator, FAO KP. “The project has provided openings to the value chain actors,” said Ruqia Khattak, Value Chain Development Specialist-FAO KP.