Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Board (PLDDB) has planned to establish 'Livestock Resource Centres (LRCs) across the province to help livestock farmers to play their role in enhancing milk and meat production besides increasing their earnings.
'We have already established 400 such livestock resource centres in different villages of the Punjab province where young men and women trained by the Board are serving the livestock farmers, said PLDDB General Manager (Field Services and Capacity Building), Dr Naveed Niazi while talking to Business Recorder here on Tuesday.
Dr Niazi said that the Board was already working on a project to train 2000 young men as Artificial Insemination Assistants (AIAs) and 2000 women as Women Livestock Extension Workers (WLEWs) to provide modern breeding services and nutritional and other livestock related inputs to the livestock farmers of the province. These trained young men and women will be assigned to extend these services under the umbrella of Livestock Resource Centres (LRCs), number of which would reach to 4000 after all the planned young men and women will be trained as AIAs and WLEWs.
While under WLEWs project, Dr Niazi added in rural areas, livestock is mainly looked after by the women. Heat detection and insemination at proper time plays a key role in the efficient breeding of livestock. Through this project, a middle or primary pass rural woman will be trained and equipped as focal person for this initiative. Modular need based training is being given to these WLEWs, in their own localities.