Pakistan has a large potential for livestock and poultry development but the need is to develop it on modern lines to overcome the deficiency of meat, milk and eggs.
Livestock researchers should also help develop a mechanism to pass on their research findings to stakeholders including livestock and poultry breeders, said Senior Punjab Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad while chairing the technical session of the International Livestock and Poultry Congress at Awan-e-Iqbal.
He said the livestock sector had the potential to fetch more foreign exchange than any other sector of the economy and it can also help alleviate the rural poverty significantly.
He said the role of livestock sector in the rural economy of Pakistan is very vital as 30 to 35 million rural population of the country derive their livelihood from livestock production as a primary or secondary activity. By the grace of Allah Almighty, Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producer in the world.
"The need is to develop milk processing industry so that people could get pure milk at cheaper rates. We also have good number of animals, 27.33 million buffalos, 29.55 million cattle, 26.48 million sheep and 53.78 million goats are maintained for meat and milk production by the people," he said.
He said he hoped the holding of international congress would suggest ways and means to improve the livestock and poultry sector. "This will also provide an opportunity to all the stakeholders to sit together and ponder over how to improve and develop this sector so that people could benefit cheap meat and milk," he added. Doctors Muhammad Arshad, Talat Pasha and Makhdoom Abdul Jabbar also spoke. The minister awarded shields to the speakers.