According to the census of 2006, the share of livestock in agriculture GDP has increased by 24.2 percentage point as compared to livestock census of 1996, Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, said in a press conference held here on Wednesday.
He said that livestock is an important source of livelihood in the rural economy. "Its share in agriculture GDP in 1996 was 25.3 percent. But now it has increased to 49.5 percent", he maintained adding that the livestock census is undertaken regularly by Agricultural Census Organisation after every 10 years.
The census exercise was carried out in 1976, 1986, 1996 and in 2006. The census was done on sample basis and data of 1.003 million households was collected. According to census of 2006, livestock the population of almost all the animals' has increased as compared to the 1996 census.
The population of cattle has increased to 45 percent, buffaloes' 35 percent, sheep 13 percent, goats 31 percent, camels 13 percent, horses 3 percent, mules 18 percent, donkeys 20 percent and the population of domestic poultry has increased to 18 percent.
As concerned the provincial-wise distribution of different species, the data of 2006 census shows increase in population of the animals as compared to 1996. The 2006 census shows that population of cattle has rose by 20 percent in NWFP, Punjab 49 percent, Sindh 23percent and Balochistan 8 percent.
Buffaloes showed an increase of 7percent in NWFP, 65 percent in Punjab, 27 percent and 1percent in Balochistan. Sheep recorded an increase of 13 percent in NWFP, 24 percent in Punjab whereas it is 15 percent and 48 percent in Sindh and Balochistan respectively.
Goats and Camels showed an increase of 18 percent and 7 percent in NWFP, 37 percent and 22 percent in Punjab, 23 percent and 30 percent in Sindh, and 22 percent and 41 percent in Balochistan respectively. Horses head increased by 22percent in NWFP, 47 percent in Punjab, 13 percent and 18 percent in Sindh and Balochistan respectively.
Similarly mules and asses got an increase of 43 percent and 13 percent in NWFP, 41 percent and 52percent in Punjab, 12 percent and 24 percent in Sindh and 4 percent and 11 percent in Balochistan respectively.
The minister told the journalists there that the milk production in Pakistan has also increased Gross annual production of milk from cows has increased to 42percent and from buffaloes 32 percent. The total increase in milk production is counted 36 percent as compared to 1996.
The minister said that in 2005-06, the country exported 3.82 thousand tons of beef and 4.01 thousand tons of mutton. "But now we have to import the meat from Thailand and China as our demand of meat has increased due to increase in urban areas income level. Our demand of meat is 10 percent but production is 6 percent", the minister said. He said that the private sector like Nestle has imported some animals for the value addition of milk.
About the bird flu cases reported in some areas of Islamabad, Karachi, Abotabad and Mansehra, the minister said that the government is launching a project to control bird flu throughout the country. The cost of the project is Rs 1.18 billion and it would be launched in July 2007. The project would counter H5NI virus or bird flu through establishing laboratories, increasing surveillance and awareness about the epidemic at grass root levels.