Population of livestock

Pakistan has a large livestock population of 50 million which is well adapted to the local conditions and
has some of the best tropical dairy breeds. Comparing the Livestock Census reports of 1996 and 2006
indicates that the populations of cattle and buffaloes has increased by 44 and 34 percent, respectively
(Government of Pakistan, 2009).. According to the 2006 census, Punjab has the largest buffalo
population, with 64 percent of the total, followed by Sindh with 26 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)
with 7 percent, and Baluchistan with only 1.2 percent. Punjab also has the largest cattle population, with
48 percent of the total, followed by Sindh with 23 percent, KPK with 20 percent, and Baluchistan with 7
percent.

Productivity of livestock

Although Pakistan has a huge population of dairy animals but this huge population of animals suffer
from low productivity. The annual milk production per animal per lactation period is only 1300 liters.
The average cattle and buffalos' milk productivity is not more than 4 liters to 5 liters per day for the
whole duration of the lactation cycle; approx. 8 milk producing animals of Pakistan are equal to 1 animal
of the developed world.

The main reason for such a low production is traditional dairy farming practices in the country. Such
practices keep this sector at subsistence level and hinder in profitability of dairy farming. Moreover, the
overall animal herd of Pakistan is thinly spread across thousands of square km, characterized by
smallholder fragments and dominated by small-scale farming. Only 0.1% of families have herd sizes of
more than 50 animals per farm. This major contribution to the country’s dairy farming sector is from the
smallholders who are scattered and distributed over large area throughout Pakistan. This also limits the
possibility of investment, innovation and use of machinery in this sector.

Another reason is the imbalance feed for the livestock and lack of water.

There is shortages of fodder and water at most times of the year. It is estimated that productivity can
increase by as much as 7% if water is readily available to the livestock throughout the year. Farmers
have no training or knowledge about the ratios and formulation of feed that can increase the
productivity levels. Feeding of animals and preparation of the feed is practiced according to the
experience and tradition of the farmers. Unlike buffaloes, Cattle requires a balanced fodder containing
appropriate amounts of concentrate and forage but it is not provided because the farmers are not
usually aware of it. There are no modern fodder preservation system to ensure the availability of fodder
in all seasons. The country’s formulated feed industry is highly underdeveloped. Compared with an
estimated annual demand of 40 million tonnes, only about 0.20 million tonnes is produced. This feed is
also unaffordable for smallholders, and used by only market-oriented dairies, where it is available

Moreover since most of the dairy farming is done in the informal sector farmers usually Smallholding
farmers generally tie their animals within the house premises or in premises where animals cannot
move freely and don’t take care of the proper hygiene conditions required for high productivity.

Labor
In Pakistan dairy is a labour-intensive industry and involves a large number of agents along the value
chain, including 6.8 million farmers, and thousands of milk collectors, transporters, processors,
distributors and retailers The education level of the workforce in the dairy sector is very low. Only 0.5%
of farmers are actually graduated. This is also because of lack of educational institutes relating to the
dairy industry. There are only a few of them. And one of them is The University of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences in Lahore. It is one of the oldest Veterinary Institutions in Asia and it has worked
wholeheartedly towards catering the training and educational needs of the labors in dairy industry. This
lack of education has affected the productivity because farmers are unaware of modern and efficient
farming techniques. Due to which the actual supply is a lot less than the potential supply of Pakistan
dairy industry.

Infrastructure

To ensure the quality of the product, cold chain is required for the proper transportation of milk, but in
Pakistan the agents in the marketing chain usually don’t have access to proper cold storage facilities due
to which a major portion of the milk is wasted. According to an Asian Development Bank report an
estimated 15 to 20 percent of the total milk produced in some areas is wasted due to the absence of
cold storage facilities.

The main reason behind the unavailability of cold chain facilities is the high operating expense. The
average cost of a 1000 liter capacity cooling tank is 300 000 rupees, an amount which a small farmer
cannot afford. Also, cooling tanks are affected by the absence of electricity in rural areas and in areas
where there is electricity, its usage is expensive because dairy farmers are not given subsidies like the
ones given to agricultural farmers on equipment such as tube wells.

Vaccines

There are no proper veterinary services available In Pakistan. The production capacity for bacterial and
viral veterinary vaccines of pakistan is 65.57 million doses, which covers only 8 percent of the 833.41
million doses required (Government of Pakistan Planning Commission for 2007/2008).

The country’s formulated feed industry is underdeveloped. Compared with an estimated annual
demand of 40 million tonnes, only about 0.20 million tonnes is produced. This feed is also unaffordable
for smallholders, and used by only market-oriented dairies, where it is available

Imported dairy cattle

Recently because of the involvement of private sector in the dairy industry and new government policies
the import of Australian, German, Dutch, American Holstein Friesian, Holstein Friesian and Jersey
crossbred cows has started. They are kept in large peri urban dairy farms under very specific
management and hygiene conditions. .The management of these animals cost very high as they require
highly specific and modern management and feeding practices as well as highly skilled farmers. These
cattle represent less than 1% of total dairy animals and milk production in Pakistan.