Damascus, Activities of pistachio picking festival, which is organized by Syria Trust for Development and Aleppo City Council, in cooperation with the Directorate of Culture and the Union of Fine Artists began on Monday. The first day activities, which were held to shed light on the importance of pistachio's farming, included the farmers' participation in picking pistachio from its fields in the village of Abtin in the southern countryside of Aleppo, besides the participation of a number of fine artists with drawings that expressed the tree, and planting number of pistachio seedlings. Mrs. Hadeel Saleh, from Syria Trust for Development, referred to the Trust's efforts in cooperation with the Farmers' Union to support agriculture in general, noting that pistachio planting in the village of Abtin will be supported by establishing a production cooperative and providing it with a production line for cracking, peeling and roasting pistachios. Source: Syrian Arab News Agency