Amraiz Khan
The government is striving to make optimum use of natural resources in the livestock sector and in this regard joint cooperation is needed in various fields to uplift of national economy, said Punjab Minister for Livestock Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dareshk.
The minister was chairing an important joint consultative meeting held at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in collaboration with the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, Islamabad.
The aim was to formulate a national strategy to enhance the overall production of milk and meat. During the meeting, Secretary Livestock Capt (r) Saqib Zafar briefed about Punjab Livestock Growth Strategy and discussed the challenges livestock sector is facing which includes breed improvement, foot and mouth disease vaccine, FMD free zones, technology transfer and extension models. Minister for livestock directed the concerned to prepare a plan in collaboration with the federal government to enhance semen quality and production and further consultation was agreed in this regard. Addressing the participants, Livestock Minister Hasnain Bahadur Dareshk said that all the individual efforts be channelized to facilitate decision making for the development and promotion of the livestock sector. In addition, consultation with private experts, research institutes and business representatives in breed improvement, vaccine production and other fields should be ensured. Secretary Livestock Capt. (R) Saqib Zafar also briefed about the new initiatives taken at the provincial level including house job model, academic and research cooperation with Dalm University Denmark and upcoming livestock census. The Additional Secretary National Food Security assured all possible support for the betterment of the livestock sector and said that consultative meetings like this are of key importance in this regard.
The meeting was attended by Additional Secretaries including Livestock Secretaries, Director Generals, Pro-vice Chancellor, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Corporate Dairy Farm Association representatives and other livestock experts also attended.
