South Waziristan Olive Growers Face Losses as Government Oil Extraction Machine Falters
Farmers say 520kg of olives yielded just 22 litres of oil, blame poor maintenance and lack of trained staff; demand immediate repairs
WANA: Olive growers in Lower South Waziristan say they are suffering financial losses despite increased production, as a government-installed oil extraction machine is allegedly malfunctioning, preventing farmers from getting the expected yield from their harvest.
According to the affected growers, they brought 13 bags of olives to the extraction facility, each weighing approximately 40 kilogrammes. However, the machine produced just 22 litres of oil from a total of 520kg of olives.
The farmers said that in previous years, around 22 litres of oil could be extracted from 100kg of olives grown in Wana. This time, however, they blamed the machine's poor performance for a sharp decline in output. One grower claimed to have suffered a loss equivalent to approximately 75 to 80 litres of olive oil.
The growers also alleged that the facility had neither a trained machine operator nor a responsible agriculture department official to supervise its operations. According to them, the machine had been entrusted to a young boy with no formal training in operating the equipment.
They said they had repeatedly approached officials of the agriculture department over the machine's condition and the low oil yield, but no effective action had been taken to address their complaints.
Farmers said the lack of a reliable local extraction facility had forced them to transport their olives to other districts for processing, adding to transportation costs and reducing their earnings.
The affected growers urged the Deputy Commissioner of Lower South Waziristan, the Director of Agriculture and the Director General of Agriculture to arrange an immediate technical inspection and repair of the machine.
They also called for the appointment of trained operators and the permanent presence of a responsible official at the facility to ensure its proper functioning. The farmers said olive cultivation had the potential to create employment opportunities and increase local incomes in Wana.
However, they warned that unless the government-run extraction facility was properly maintained, growers would continue to struggle to secure a fair return on their year-long efforts.
