As part of its efforts to reduce reliance on public funding and achieve self-sustainability, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has decided to cultivate olive trees on a 250-acre land near Lahore Airport.
The decision was taken following the directives of Director General, Muhammad Tahir Wattoo. It should be noted that olives require warm weather conditions and Lahore could be the ideal place for cultivating edible olives.
Talking about this project, a spokesperson of PHA highlighted the importance of homegrown edible olives. He said that this project could generate substantial revenue as well as contribute towards food security by reducing the need for foreign currency expenditure on imported edible oil.
Furthermore, PHA recently set up Lahore’s largest government-owned commercial nursery. The facility, spanning over nine acres, houses a variety of seedlings, saplings, trees, shrubs, and other plant materials.
It will help the authority spend less money on horticulture procurement, which currently makes up a significant portion of its budget.
To further reduce its expenses, the PHA is working on setting up units for internal flowerpot production and repairing transformers. During a meeting, the Director General was apprised of the different initiatives that helped the authority enhance its revenue.
Furthermore, the meeting also deliberated over planting more trees to increase Lahore’s green cover.
