The Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences (FAHVS), Agriculture University of Peshawar (AUP), organised the third International two-day Workshop on Dairy Science Park (DSP). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Minister for Local government and rural development, Inayatullah Khan formally inaugurated the third Workshop. The Agriculture University Vice Chancellor, Professor Zahoor Ahmad Swati, Dean FAHVS/Chief Patron DSP, Professor M Subhan Qureshi, Academic, government and industry leaders, policy makers and farmers, from all four province of the country, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Afghanistan and Turkey participated in the event.
The international moot was the continuation to the first two workshops held, under auspices of the department, as all the three workshops were attended by over 500 participants. In opening remarks, KP Senior Minister and Vice Chancellor of the varsity, expressed their appreciation that renowned scientists from within the country and abroad attended the event, focused on a burning issue of self-employment and hygienic food production in the region.
Subhan Qureshi welcomed all the delegates and thanked them for sparing their valuable time to attend the event. He also thanked the organisers and then presented a brief overview of the DSP. The idea of DSP was envisaged by Professor M. Subhan Qureshi during Industrial Biotechnology Conference in Egypt during his in-depth discussion with Abdur Rehman Ilyas ICRISAT India, to exploit the potential of Livestock Resources in the war-and flood-hit zones of the Northern Pakistan. To materialize this dream the first international DS Parks was held on November 21-23, 2011 to sensitize the stakeholders from the public and private.
Inayatullah Khan chairing inaugural session sectors of the country for productive utilisation of livestock resources. SMEDA was consulted at various phases of the Park. A presentation was made before the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry which led to establishment of a Standing Committee on Livestock at KPCCI, a business desk at SMEDA and a working group on livestock at the University of Agriculture Peshawar.
The Second International Workshop on DSP November 18-20 was focused on the meat industry with the aim to produce hygienic and nutritious meat for the local and International Halal Market. He thanked the Higher Education Commission for sponsoring the first three events including the current workshop. He then explained the aim of the third conference and mentioned that it is right time to start business incubation on the basis of the ideas that generates in the research Institutions in-order to support the industry and create self-employment. In this regard the production of hygienic meat and milk can play a key role.
The DSP has established collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories to reduce risk to human health from animal industry. Moreover, collaboration has been established with China Academy of Science to promote collaborative research for industrial support and exchange of scholars under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Professor Qureshi proposed a business incubation center costing sum of Rs 250 million for infrastructure in addition to Rs 250 million as a Endowment Fund. He recommended development of quality control standards at farms, clinics, processing and market places. Endowment fund would be utilised for developing/replicating feasibility models and revitalizing the under-utilised assets in public and private sectors. The Endowment Fund will support industrial research projects under the Business Incubation Center. The Vice Chancellor applauded the presence of so many eminent scientists from Pakistan and other brotherly countries which guarantees that many useful ideas will be generated and the gap between the under-utilised small ruminants' resources in KP and FATA.
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