Pakistan Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr Muhammad Afzal has said livestock and poultry development policy is being given final shape to place it before the cabinet for approval.
Dr Afzal said this while addressing as chief guest at inaugural ceremony of five-day workshop on 'Application of Biotechnology for Livestock and Poultry Development.'
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore organised this workshop in collaboration with the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Faisalabad, Higher Education Commission, and the National Commission for Biotechnology Islamabad.
Delegates from all over the country are participating in the moot.
Dr Afzal maintained the government was attaching much importance to livestock sector, which contributed 11 per cent to the GDP while 6.6 million families were associated with this sector. In the WTO regime, there was dire need for developing livestock sector and enhancing its productivity. Vice-chancellor Professor Dr Manzoor Ahmad said on this occasion the use of biotechnology was a must for livestock development, while national development hinged on livestock and agriculture.
"UVAS is focusing on applied research, and use of biotechnology for development of livestock and poultry. The university has also developed collaborations with many national and international institutions, including Washington State University, NIBGE, CEMB, etc for joint educational and research programmes," he added.
NIBGE Director Dr Ahmad Mukhtar Khalid said the use of biotechnology helped increase productivity of livestock and in disease control in animals as well. Dr Irshad Hussain spoke about the objectives of the workshop.
Comments
Comments are closed.