Livestock and Dairy Development Board (LDDB) is holding two brain storming sessions with progressive farmers and milk processors during the current month to evolve a strategy for improving the milk production and quality as well as ensuring proper rates to dairy farmers.
Chief Executive of the Board, Dr Muhammad Afzal will preside over both these meetings. Secretary Livestock Punjab, Babur Yaqub Fateh Muhammad will also attend these meetings. First such session is being arranged at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) on April 13 in which about 50 progressive farmers have been invited from across the country to discuss the problems being faced by the community.
In the light of these discussions future line of action would be adopted. LDDB's deputy project director, Dr Naveed Niazi told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that they have invited progressive farmers having over 100 animals to evolve the procedure for extending them support and enhancing milk production and quality.
Similarly, another moot will be held at the Lahore office of the Board next day in which milk-processing companies would be invited. Objective of this meeting is to find ways for supporting them in improving the quality of milk being processed by them, helping improve their milk collection system, devise some joint ventures for animal veterinary services being offered by these institutions and to ensure better return to the farmers supplying milk to these organisations.
These meetings are part of dairy development programme being implemented by the Livestock and Dairy Development Board (LDDB), Dr Niazi added. Under the rural livestock workers training programme, the Board would probably launch training of third batch of students in collaboration with the University of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (UVAS) in second week of the current month.
The Board had already arranged training of young men in veterinary services in two batches of 25 workers each. These passed out rural workers belong to Punjab, Balochistan, NWFP and Northern Areas and were given training under a programme of the Livestock and Dairy Development Board (LDDB), under which chillers are installed in different rural areas of the country to form a community of milk-producing farmers to enhance life of their products and earn appropriate income against it. At each chiller the community concerned will select a boy for training in veterinary services.