Chitral’s onion seeds getting popularity across Pakistan
GH Frooqui
CHITRAL: Onion seeds produced by an organization in Chitral are getting popularity across Pakistan as well as abroad because of its high quality, officials of the organization said.
The officials of the Magnus Kahl Seeds (MKS) Chitral were briefing Afaq Ahmed, the director general of the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department Islamabad, during his visit here.
MKS manager Aftab Ahmed and production head Sajjad Ali told the DG that the onion seeds in Chitral are of high quality mainly because of the climatic conditions of the area where humidity in the air is not high that is important for the production of best quality onion seeds.
The officials said they along with their staff regularly visit different areas across Chitral and help farmers grow onion and collect the flowers to separate the seeds for onward processing and supply out of Chitral.
The DG was also taken around different sections where onion seeds of different varieties are processed after collection from the fields and packed for supply to different areas.
DG Afaq Ahmed said he was pleased to know that such an organization was working in a remote and backward area such as Chitral and producing quality onion seeds.
A number of women also work in the organization.
Saliha Ahmed, who holds a master degree in botany and hails from Brep Upper Chitral, told ChitralToday that she was unemployed after completing education and the MKS provided her the job. She said she learnt a lot about onion seeds after joining the organization. She said she was now also promoting kitchen gardening in her own area.
Salma Bibi from Chitral town said she works as a packaging assistant in the organization to earn a living for her family.
The staff at the MKS demanded that the organization should be expanded by opening its branches in different parts of Chitral.
DG Afaq Ahmed assured the management that he would arrange training for the staff working in the organization to improve their productivity.