Pakistan livestock sector needs incentives for swift growth, says a report published by WealthPK. The report says, Livestock is an emerging sub-sector of agriculture playing a vital role in the economy of Pakistan. In FY 2020-21, this sector contributed 60.1 percent to the agricultural value addition and 11.5 percent in the GDP (gross domestic product) growth.
The total share of agriculture sector in GDP growth of Pakistan is about 19.2 percent. At least 38.5 percent of labour force is attached with the agriculture sector of which more than 8 million rural families depend upon livestock to derive 35-40 percent of their livelihood. During FY 2020-2021 gross value addition of livestock increased by 3 percent, worth Rs1,505 billion, more than the corresponding fiscal year 2019-2020 when it was Rs1,461 billion, WealthPK reported. Pakistan has renewed its focus on the livestock sector for faster economic growth, poverty alleviation and food security. Some of the regulatory measures taken by government are: awareness programmes for farmers for quality measurements, improvement in animal productivity per unit, animal breeding practices, artificial insemination, acquiring of qualitative ration to feed animals, value addition, management of cattle farms, products marketing, better medication and vaccination for animals, establishment of nucleus herds, and identification of breeds for better productivity etc.
