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BACKGROUND: Muhammad Dilshad, a mango farm manager from Multan, talks about the benefits of USAID's technical and financial assistance to Pakistan's mango industry at the recent Mango Pack House Operations training conducted by USAID. As part of its Mango Program, USAID has provided state-of-the art equipment to 13 mango farms across Sindh and Punjab on a cost share basis. This equipment includes complete mango processing lines with hot water treatment, blast chiller and cold storage units, and other essentials. Simultaneously, USAID has also conducted training sessions in Sindh and Punjab to help farm owners, managers, and workers learn how to install, operate, and maintain this equipment. Other important aspects of trainings included GLOBALG.A.P protocols for maintaining personnel and equipment hygiene, food safety measures, and correct methods of mango post-harvest handling, processing, packaging, storage, and transportation to markets (domestic and international). All this is part of a larger program to help Pakistani mangoes meet the international quality standards and productivity requirements for high-volume exports to international markets. TRANSLATION: My name is Muhammad Dilshad and I am a Farm Manager. We are grateful to USAID for providing us with machinery and their experts who have been providing us with relevant knowledge and skills for the past three days, which has been a tremendous learning experience for us. The 1st day's training was about hygiene and we were given instructions for maintaining proper mango and equipment hygiene. On the 2nd day, we were briefed about machine operations. We really appreciate the machinery and the training that has been provided to us. The training regarding the maintenance of the machinery and the maintenance of hygiene will eventually benefit not only the farmers but also Pakistan, as our revenues would increase, unemployment would decline, and mango diseases will be prevented. The resulting increase in the income of landowners would result in a rise in income of poor people like me. I am very grateful for all the assistance that has been provided to us and I would request all farmers to make full use of the training and machinery that has been provided to them, which will help them store their produce for a longer period and then export it. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in these interviews are the speakers' views and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USAID, the United States Government or Chemonics International Inc.