Livestock in the country are underfed, barring Pakistan to meet standards of international market, speakers agreed on Friday at a seminar. They were addressing the seminar on 'Livestock management under heat stress' arranged by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad's Faculty of Animal Husbandry in collaboration with Ghazi Brothers.
UAF's Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan chaired the session. Dr Zurong Wang of a Thai livestock market company CP Group, Faculty's Dean Professor Dr Muhamamd Sarwar and Ghazi Brothers' Country Manager Saqib Waheed were guests of honour. Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus and Professor Dr M Aslam Mirza also addressed on the occasion.
The Vice-Chancellor said that feeding animals was a real challenge and it needed to be effectively addressed. He said that in the hot weather, the animals needed especial attention of the farmers because scorching heat disturbed productivity. Special treatments, he said, were needed with the help of awareness and capacity building. Expressing concern over the low milk production in the country, he said that it was far lower than other countries despite the fact that there were 50 million livestock animals. He added that the Pakistan was a food sufficient country but water issues still remained disturbing.
Dr Zurong Wang told the audience about nutritional management of layer under heat stress. He said with the increase in temperature, energy intake of layers decreases. He said that hens could tolerate a constant temperature of 35°C but the fluctuation in the temperature had adverse impact on birds. Dr Muhamamd Sarwar briefed the audience about heat stress management in dairy sector, especially in cows. He said that a decrease in the fiber diet under scorching heat increases milk production in the cows. He called for avoiding high production diet in summer. Saqib Waheed said that his company was committed to develop the sector, adding that they were also providing scholarships for students in UAF's Toba Tek Singh Campus.
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