Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : A signing Ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding was held at PARC HQs, Islamabad between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Islamabad and Pakistan Oilseed Department (POD) Islamabad. A delegation from Pakistan Oilseed Department (POD) Islamabad headed by Dr. Khair Muhammad Kakar, Managing Director, Pakistan Oilseed Department (POD) Islamabad visited PARC HQs for the purpose.
Talking about MoU, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan Chairman PARC told that the agreement intends to establish an international standard lab for certification of olive at NARC and other products under IOC (International Olive Council). The IOC seeks to promote the international trade in olive products, part of which it does by establishing and ensuring adherence to grading standards for those products. The Chairman further revealed that installation of a dedicated state of the art Olive Oil Extraction Unit along-with all accessories and development of a Model Olive Orchard on five acres with automated efficient irrigation system is also part of the understanding.
Dr. Khair Muhammad Kakar, Managing Director, Pakistan Oilseed Department (POD) Islamabad thanked Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman PARC who has kindly consented to get MoU signed which will be fruitful for up-lifting the agriculture of the country. Sharing his views on the occasion, Dr. Kakar said that POD in collaboration with Italian Government grant is going to launch a 20 million Euro project namely “Technical Vocational and Educational Training (TVET)” for capacity building and professional training in agriculture sector specially horticulture crops like Olive, Mango, Grapes and Dates etc. Training, capacity building and infrastructure development will also be organized at the federal and provincial level, he also added.