Huge financial cost is one of the major hurdles in conducting high quality research which is necessary for checking the disease threat being faced by the poultry industry of Pakistan.
Dr Manzoor Ahmad vice-chancellor University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore told Business Recorder here on Thursday that "cost accrued for the treatment of even minor diseases usually increased the production cost of poultry products which adversely effect it's competitiveness in the international market.
In order to eliminate diseases from poultry sector it is necessary to conduct high quality research but lack of funds is hindering the efforts of researchers", he added.
He has asked the private sector of Pakistan to come forward for helping the educational institutions in conducting high quality research for avoiding disease threat to the poultry sector of Pakistan.
He added that poultry industry of the country, which has worth of 80 billion of rupees, is not spending due amount on research and development areas.
In order to establish Pakistani poultry industry on strong footings, before the implementation of WTO conditions, it is necessary to invest in research and development areas of this sector, he asserted.
He was of the view that poultry businessmen must allocate a certain percentage of their profit for research purpose.
At present, all research activities are being carried out on ad-hoc basis. It is unfortunate that not a single well-equipped fully loaded lab is available in the country, he said.
With a project of Rs 4 billion, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences has chalked out a 10-year plan to implement a number of projects for the betterment of poultry and veterinary sector.
With a project cost of Rs 90 million, the University is also undertaking a project regarding the quality of the Pakistani food, egg, chicken and meat etc.