Minister inaugurates KPRIISP, olive project in Bara

BARA: Provincial Minister Muhammad Sajjad Khattak inaugurated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Investment and Institutional Support Project (KPRIISP) and an olive horticulture initiative at the Bara Agriculture Training Center on Thursday.

The event was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister of Agriculture Major (r) Muhammad Sajjad Khattak as the chief guest. Other notable attendees included Secretary Agriculture Muhammad Javed Marwat, KPRIISP World Bank Project Secretary Muhammad Tahir, Director General Agriculture for Merged Districts Murad Ali Khan, Khyber District Agriculture Director Zia-ul-Islam Dawar, and Khyber Agriculture Extension Officer Sharafat Afridi.

Also present were Member of National Assembly (MNA) Iqbal Afridi, Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Abdul Ghani Afridi, MPA Sohail Afridi, director general soil conservation, director general agriculture research, and director general agriculture engineering.

Zia-ul-Islam Dawar provided a briefing on the ongoing projects. At the event, Additional Secretary Agriculture Muhammad Tahir Khan, assembly members, and other officials emphasised on the importance of maintaining high standards and timely completion of development projects.

They said that a better strategy would be developed to increase agricultural production.They highlighted that, with support from the World Bank, innovative farming methods such as walking tunnels, vertical farming, and kitchen gardening would benefit the farmers.

Zia-ul-Islam Dawar stated that the development of agriculture in the Khyber district was a priority. He noted that the project aimed not only to modernise agriculture but also to help farmers gain foreign exchange.