KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Abdul Bari Pitafi has said that the changing conditions of the world, especially the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, are creating ample opportunities for investment in the livestock sector in Pakistan. The livestock sector is being given importance all over the world for investment, and the Sindh government will give all possible facilities to the private sector to come forward for making investment in the livestock sector.

He was addressing the soft launch ceremony of "DALFA Cattle Show 2021" which will be held from March 21 to 23 at the Karachi Expo Centre.

The guests were welcomed by the Managing Director of Badar Expo Solutions, Zohair Naseer. In his opening address he also lauded the support of the Livestock and Fisheries Department, Government of Sindh, and the Livestock and Dairy Development Department of the Government of Balochistan as well as the Sindh Enterprise Development Fund. Zohair also expressed his gratitude for the representatives of various multinational firms, farmers and media persons for giving their precious time to attend the ceremony.

Abdul Bari Pitafi said that in view of the growing demand for food, the need to modernize the livestock sector had also increased. Expos like the DALFA Cattle Show provided new opportunities for the farmers, and such expos were also playing an important role in accelerating the growth of the livestock sector in Sindh.

He told the audience that Chinese investors were interested in setting up a modern slaughter-house in Sindh. The provincial minister termed the holding of "DALFA Cattle Shows" an important and supportive event for the development of the livestock sector in Sindh. He said that this unique expo held in Sindh had the honor of having the largest number of cattle breeds in any show in the world gathered under one roof.

He said that the Sindh government had been working on various projects for the development of the livestock sector. Attention was being paid to the development of vaccines at the local level. For this purpose, a modern laboratory had been constructed. The Sindh government was considering setting up an FMD plant on an island so that foot and mouth disease vaccines manufactured in Sindh could be exported on a large-scale.

He said that work was underway on bringing the famous Brazilian dairy breed to Sindh. The Sindh government, along with other provinces and the federal government, was also playing an active role in introducing new breeds in the country, resolving quarantine issues and modernizing the livestock sector.

Harris Mithani, patron-in-chief of the Dairy Agriculture Livestock Farmers Association, said that the DALFA Cattle Show would feature high-breed cattle, birds and domestic animals for which a special pavilion had been built. The three-day cattle show would feature a range of activities.

Aijaz Ahmed Mehsar (secretary of livestock and fisheries, Sindh), Inayatullah (additional secretary of livestock and fisheries, Balochistan), Agha Rafiullah (MNA from Malir), Naseer Hussain Kalhoro (DG of the Institute of Animal Health, Sindh), Mehboobul Haq (CEO of SEDF) and Farah Deeba (regional manager of BBoit) also spoke on the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021