Pakistan’s Livestock Potential

A nation is said to be lucky if it possesses natural

blessings. Pakistan certainly stands at a high position
in this regardfor it has a diverse climate and
natural resources including massive coal reserves, valuable
minerals, fertile land at both plain ield level and at high
altitudes, rivers and an almost 1120 kilometer long coastline.
The Agriculture sector is also a vital component of Pakistan’s
economy as it provides the raw materials to
downstream industries and helps alleviate poverty. In Pakistan, nearly
70 percent of the masses are engaged in
agriculture practices, contributing 19.8 percent to GDP. Agriculture,
moreover, remains by far the largest employer absorbing
42.3 percent of the country’s total labour force.
Unfortunately, livestock remains underutilizedin the country. For
example, Pakistan is endowed with rich ishing potential
which is not fully exploited. This may be due to the
use of conventional facilities.

Most of the ishing boats in use in Pakistan are made of

wood, and are unable to meet the demands of the
industry. There is thus a dire need to increase the
safety of these boats and to equip them with technologically
advanced tools that can be used for deep sea ishing. In
Pakistan, the Water and Power DevelopmentAuthority (WAPDA)
oversees the development of isheries. It is reported that
the production of ish can be increased through stocking
of hatchery-raised seeds (rohu, silver carp, grass carp, catla, mrigal
carp and common carp). About 23,000 mt of ish,
valued at Rs.118 million, are being caught by 5,000
isher folk for their. breeds i.e. Nili-Ravi and Kundi. Nili-Ravi
is the best dairy buffalo breed of the world. Most of these
animals are rearedby rural masses who lack the
advanced knowledge of animal husbandry and do not
possess the required capital to invest in prevention,
treatment and control of animal ailments. Moreover, the
livestock sector is plagued by many substantial issues.
 Livestock health is a limiting factor in increasing productivity.
Either there is lack of knowledge or the sector is plagued
by a paucity of capital to purchase treatment
stuff. The people also pay little attention to breeding
practices. Mostly bulls with low genetic potential are used
which restricts improvements in production. It is high
time we compare products from local breeds with the
rest of the world. In Pakistan, Sahiwal is ranked
as the best milking cattle breed, which yields about 8-10kgs
per day, with a fat content of 4.5 %, and an
average lactation period of 10 months. Comparatively this
is very low milk yield and can be increased by adapting
certain measures such as adequate nutrition and worm
control through regular drenching etc. Adequate
nutrition is another major challenge in livestock
production. Without providing the essential nourishment to animals,
we cannot increase hereditary potential. We need to
develop a national policy that stipulates decide how
much nutrients animals need to utilize their maximum
genetic potential. Anotherhindrance the livestock sectorfaces is
the lack of technologically well-equipped laboratories for
accurate diseases diagnosis. Moreover, limited facilities do
not reach farming communities in remote areas. Pakistan’s
population is increasing at an alarming rate while
Despite the poultry sector’s important role in the
country’s economy, not a single scientiic study is available
on its evolutionary history. The data available in this
regardis scattered and lacks reliability. Keeping in view the
increasing demand for animal products, there is a
dire need to develop workable plans. For that purpose,
attention must be focused on (a) conservationof pure
germplasm by establishment of resource centers throughout
the country (b) grass root level counseling and awareness
programs for farming community aimed at proper nutritional
plants for milk and meat breed to achieve maximum output(c)
nation-wise surveillance of infectious and non-infectious
diseases aimed at prophylactic approach for health animals (d)
starting programs aimed at improvement of genetic
potential by selective breeding between potential poor and
potential rich animals and (e) creation of transgenic
animals for better productive output.