The government in collaboration with other stakeholders and provincial governments will graft over 2 million wild olive trees during the current spring tree plantation drive to enhance the area under olive cultivation for increasing local output of edible oil.

In this regard, the olive plantation would be carried out over 8,900 acres across the country, besides the launch of a campaign on wild olive grafting across the four provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to attain oil for local consumption.

Talking to APP , National Project Director Olive Cultivation Program Dr Hassan Tariq said that the aim of the initiative was to bring wild olive trees, which were standing over millions of acres into edible oil production and increase the income of rural farming communities and exploit the huge existing potential of olive production.