'Livestock development to help in poverty alleviation'

Professor Bashir Ahmad Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad has said that livestock is a priority development area for the government and the recent initiatives include development of livestock and dairy development board.
Pakistan Dairy Development Company can create vast employment opportunities and would certainly help in poverty alleviation in the country. Addressing the participants of national workshop on "Development of indigenous resources-the Sahiwal Cattle Breed" at new Senate Hall of the university.
He said that beautiful and productive breeds of livestock must be preserved and got patent as in advanced countries, this breed is playing a significant role in producing high yield.
Professor Bashir Ahmad emphasised that in an era of productivity and competition, whosoever will produce a cheaper product will be able to compete and we can not close our eyes any more. So we have to produce cheaper and qualitative products in general and milk products in particular than other nations of the globe.
Professor Bashir Ahmad said that despite of the fact that Pakistan is blessed with best breeds like Sahiwal but there are some imported breeds such as Holstein, Jersey and other which are being pumped into Pakistan in the form of semen and live animals.
They eat more and are prone to more diseases. He expressed his concerns that other nations are producing and selling breeds extracted from our Sahiwal breeds so, scientists should look into these issues and should put their focus on how to develop and preserve this unique national breed. Earlier, Animal Commissioner, Ministry of Food, Livestock and Agriculture, Dr Rafiq-ul-Hassan Usmani said that Government has prioritised livestock development as it would help in poverty alleviation of the country.
Member Animal Sciences, Dr Shahana Uroj Kazami appreciated the ABG department of UAF for conducting such national workshop. Professor Ihsan-ul-Haq Dean, Faculty of Animal Husbandry thanked the participants. Dr Sajjad Khan highlighted the objectives of the workshop and hoped that this workshop will come forward with workable suggestions for policy implementation and in preservation of Sahiwal breed in the country.