Australia has been providing $1.5 million for Agriculture Sector Linkages Programme (ASLP) in Pakistan, which will be completed in two phases with the co-operation of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS).
Project Director UVAS, Hassan Mehmood Warriach, told APP here on Sunday, "ASLP is a key programme of the Australia-Pakistan Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2010-2015 which aims to collaborate strategically to improve livelihood systems for the rural poor in Pakistan and build linkages between agriculture sectors of Australia and Pakistan". Under the umbrella of ASLP are five projects (mango production, mango supply chain, citrus production, social sciences and dairy project, the project director added.
The dairy project being implemented in Punjab and Sindh is aimed at improving dairy production of small dairy farms by improving current extension services. Charles Sturt University, Australia is working in collaboration with the University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore, for implementation of the project, he said. The first phase of the project started in 2007 and the second phase is due to be completed in 2015, he elaborated.