SWAT: Swat Valley , a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is a very fertile and arable region in terms of fruits and after peach, persimmon is the most produced fruit here.
According to the statistics data of the Department of Agriculture, there are 5000 acres of land in Swat district, where persimmon orchards are spread and the annual production of this fruit is up to 15000 metric tons. But due to climate change and non-maintenance of these gardens according to international standards, forty to fifty percent of the fruit is lost or damaged every year.
Sahib Zada, a 60-years-old school teacher from Chikrai village of Swat District, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , is working to stop the waste of local persimmons ( Amlook) and trying to make the dry-fruit available in the market throughout the year.
He started the process of drying persimmons (Amlook) in order to preserve them for longer periods of time.
Sahib Zada told this scribe “Recent storms and the impact of climate change spoiled the majority of fruits for farmers, which led me to take this step to save the persimmons from being wasted.” added that we pick up the persimmons from the farmers and bring them to the home and after washing the fruit, we chop it into small pieces or peel it off and then leave it in the sun and wind to dry for 5 to 6 days.
He said that we have not only managed to save the persimmons from going to waste, but have also created jobs for our community and many people are working with us,” added that we also have given training to many women, who are now doing their jobs with dignity,” he further said.
The dried persimmon is also sent to various parts of the country and sold in shops at 1500 rupees per kg. It is particularly popular with visiting tourists who choose to purchase the dried fruit as a gift to take home.
Sahib Zada and his sons work hard to dry persimmon along with other fruits and vegetables but are worried about lack of proper marketing.
He said that we work hard but we do not get the fruits of our hard work, and added that “only one kg of dry persimmons is made from six kg fresh persimmons.” he said.
He demanded that if the government exports this dry fruit abroad, it can earn us a lot of foreign exchange and we will also get the full fruits of our labor.
