Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) extended full co-operation to Cut Flower Growers Association (CFGA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the registration of the body with the department of industries. The decision was taken in a meeting held in the Regional Office of Smeda. A large number of cut flower growers and officials of the Agriculture Research Institute, Peshawar attended the meeting.
Project In charge Agriculture Research Institute Tarnab Farms Peshawar, Ziaullah Khan and Assistant Manager Smeda, Ishfaq Ahmed Afridi were present to respond to concerns of growers on production disease control techniques and marketing of flowers. The grower community of cut flowers informed about the recent problems faced by the growers. They said that the climate and soil of our region was highly suitable for growing Gladiolus, Lillium, Rose, and Tuberose.
International as well as national demand for flowers make it a highly profitable business and people with small landholding can also benefit from it. Beside registration of the association with department of industries, the Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Tarnab agreed for arranging a field of local growers to Rawala Kot, Kashmir and Chitral to study best practices of flower growers and study on Zafran production in Kashmir and field study visit to Bazi Khel and Salman khel Peshawar. Similarly, a series of training programmes on "Disease control Techniques in Flower" will be conducted by ARI Tarnab Farms in collaboration with Smeda.