Saturday, April 26, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 19, 1429    

Call to modernise livestock sector

Staff Reporter

Lahore—Pakistan has a large potential for livestock and poultry development but this development should take place with modernisation and technological advances at the forefront so as to overcome the deficiency of meat, milk and eggs in the country. Livestock researchers should also help develop a mechanism to pass on their research findings to stakeholders including livestock and poultry breeders, according to Senior Punjab Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad. The Minister made the comments while chairing the technical session of the International Livestock and Poultry Congress at Awan-e-Iqbal. He said the livestock sector had the potential to fetch more foreign exchange than any other sector of the economy and it can also help alleviate the rural poverty significantly.

“The role of the livestock sector in the rural economy of Pakistan is very vital as 30 to 35 million rural population of the country derive their livelihood from livestock production as a primary or secondary activity. By the grace of Allah Almighty, Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producer in the world. “The need is to develop milk processing industry so that people could get pure milk at cheaper rates. We also have good number of animals, 27.33 million buffalos, 29.55 million cattle, 26.48 million sheep and 53.78 million goats are maintained for meat and milk production by the people,” he said. The Minister was hopeful that the holding of international congress would suggest “ways and means to improve the livestock and poultry sector.

“This will also provide an opportunity to all the stakeholders to sit together and ponder over how to improve and develop this sector so that people could benefit cheap meat and milk,” he added.