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Cactus Tour in Pakistan
CGIAR Drylands System
excerpt
Since the 1980s, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, we documented lost knowledge of how indigenous communities used peyote in the past and identified Potential uses of cactusFor example:
- livestock and animal feed;
- Fruits and vegetables, the young shoots of which can be eaten fresh or cooked;
- A natural source of red dye recognized by health authorities around the world;
- Processed foods, among which cactus-based concentrated juices, wines, semi-processed foods and food supplements have potential markets;
- Cosmetics industrywhich can be an important source of income;
- Medicinal value: It has good effects on the treatment of gastritis, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and obesity.
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas and International Livestock Research Institute Scientists and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and Pakistan National Agricultural Research Center, by the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems and you sayThe Pakistan Agricultural Innovation Program, funded by the Pakistan Agricultural Innovation Program, has conducted a series of farm demonstrations and farmer field activities at the Chakwal Research Action Base in Punjab to showcase the multiple uses of cactus crops, including feeding livestock with chopped cactus mats.
Cactus Pear Introduced into Pakistan in recent years Cactus Networkan international Cactus technology network, was founded in 1993 by FAO and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. Network members from multiple countries will first ship cactus branches and leaves to India, where different cultivars will be evaluated based on criteria of suitability and adaptation to local conditions. Based on the initial findings, the varieties that stand out will be identified and then shared with farmers in India and Pakistan.
A variety of cactus seedlings have been grown and shared among the local dryland farming community. Farmers are now focusing on growing the cactus plants larger so they can harvest more cacti each year.
It is hoped that over time, the prickly pear crop will be used as silage to reduce feed gaps during the driest times of the year when other crops fail to survive and livestock mortality is highest. Using these high-energy, nutrient-rich cactus plants not only helps reduce the risks posed by extreme climate change and natural resource depletion, but also provides farmers with an alternative source of income through the sale of prickly pear fruit and prickly pear seed oil to cosmetic companies. Cooked prickly pear leaves are also suitable for human consumption, thus helping to improve food security in communities in Pakistan’s arid regions. As the benefits of prickly pear spread from one community to another, scientists are helping farmers improve methods of growing, harvesting and processing this game-changing crop that has been resurrected from the mythical hellfire.
This study was conducted in CGIAR Dryland Systems Research Program under South Asia Flagship And got CGIAR Fund Donors.
For more information, please contact:
Mounir Louhaichi, Senior Rangeland Scientist, ICARDA, FAO-ICARDA Cactusnet Liaison, m.louhaichi@cgiar.org
Read the full article: CGIAR Drylands System
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