100 farmers trained in medicinal sapling plantation

KALAYA: The forest department trained 100 farmers to increase the production of medicinal plants in Orakzai tribal district.

The Directorate of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP), merged districts chapter, had organised the three-day training for the farmers of Orakzai.The purpose of the training workshop was to boost the production of saffron, black cumin (kalonji), and stevia, which are naturally found in the Orakzai forests.

The programme focused on empowering the local community by enhancing their skills in the protection, harvesting, post-harvest grading, value addition, and value chain management of medicinal and aromatic plants.

During the session, Orakzai NTFP Centre in-charge Noor Shad Ali gave a detailed presentation on the conservation, harvesting, and value addition of medicinal and aromatic plants.Irfanullah, an Agriculture Officer from the Department of Agriculture (Extension), provided insights into modern recommendations for winter medicinal plants and briefed farmers on the latest research related to the value chain.

Talking to reporters, Noor Shad Ali said that in line with the public agenda of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and under the special directives of Secretary of Climate Change, Forest, Environment, and Wildlife Department, the three-day training programme offered by the Directorate of NTFP was aimed at providing employment opportunities to the local community and raise awareness about preventing deforestation.Assistant Director NTFP, Shehryar Khan, along with Noor Alam Khan from District Kurram, distributed toolkits to the trainees.