Stage set for Asian Buffalo Congress

The stage is set for a three-day Asian Buffalo Congress in the city tomorrow and the National Buffalo Fair on October 30, to be attended by 80 delegates from 25 countries and over 1400 from Pakistan. Secretary Livestock and Dairy Development, Punjab, Mohammad Jehangir Khan, highlighting salient features of the congress, told APP here on Monday, nearly 80 foreign and over 1400 delegates from Pakistan have confirmed their participation.
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, in collaboration with the Livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab and the Asian Buffalo Association (ABA) will arrange the mega event. He said the three working days would include presentations and posters. He said a national buffalos fair also coincides with the congress to be held at Buffalo Research Institute, Pattoki, on October 30.
President Asian Buffalo Association, Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, Dean Faculty of Animal Production and Technology, UVAS, said the theme is "Buffalo-Prospective Animal for Milk and Meat Enterprise". He said the main objective of the congress is to disseminate knowledge and share experiences for the benefit of sustainable buffalo production.
Dr Talat, who is the first Pakistani heading the ABA for a four-year term, said it would provide an opportunity to review growing scientific knowledge for improving buffalo production. "The outcome of the exchange of experiences will help greatly to improve buffalo farming for the benefits of the people," he added.
He said buffalo, in many ways, is a rare species which attracts researchers for its comprehensive understanding. He said public and private entities were essential for developing the sector by helping buffalo farming communities by providing them with technical support.
He said an increased demand for quality buffalo products such as milk, meat and processed food products world-wide had resulted in the development of new market opportunities. Pak Nili origin buffalo has been ranked the best in the world for excellent milk yield and dairy products. He said buffalo had been an integral part of livestock agriculture in this region for over 5000 years, producing milk, meat and hides.
Vice Chancellor UVAS Professor Dr Muhammad Nawaz said buffaloes were an economical and popular animal with farmers in Asia which was home to around 97% (165.4 million) of the world`s buffaloes (170.5 million). India has almost 59%, followed by Pakistan (15%) and China (13.8%) of the world`s buffalo population. Thus, three most populous countries of the Asian continent own almost 87% of the Asian buffalo wealth.