Third batch of 'Artificial Insemination Assistants' (AIAs) and 'Women Livestock Extension Workers' (WLEWs) being trained by the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Board (PLDDB) will be passing out on November 30 (Friday) at a simple but impressive ceremony to serve the livestock farmers for providing modern breeding and nutritional services.
Member National Assembly (MNA) and Pakistan Muslim League (N) Leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif will chair the ceremony in this regard, which is also expected to be attended by the Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, Secretary Livestock Punjab Irfan Elahi, PLDDB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Major General Muhammad Ali Khan (Retd). Third batch consists of two groups of 132 boys and girls each.
The Board is working on an ambitious project of training 2,000 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.
PLDDB CEO, Major General Muhammad Ali Khan (Retd) chaired a pre-event meeting at the Board's headquarter on Wednesday which was also attended by the General Manager (Fields and Capacity Building) Dr Naveed Niazi and other officials. Speaking on this occasion, PLDDB CEO said that in all 500 boys and girls from last two batches were working in eight districts of the province covering over 1000 villages. They have inseminated 55,000 animals during last few months besides ear-tagging and also built up a database of animals in these districts. Artificial inseminations being carried out by the PLDDB trained AIAs are showing good results and over 55 per cent animals have shown positive pregnancy.
These young men had been selected from Rajanpur, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Narowal, Sialkot, Bhakar, Mianwali and Muzaffargarh districts. Dr Niazi said these trained young men and women would be assigned to extend these services under the umbrella of Livestock Resource Centres (LRCs), number of which would reach to 4,000 after all the planned young men and women will be trained as AIAs and WLEWs.