An important cornerstone for an agrarian economy like Pakistan, cattle farming is reeling under a non-stop onslaught of natural disasters. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Mohibullah Khan, has rightly sounded alarm bells over the death of as many as six thousand cattle while another 0.1 million have been impacted.
Such a colossal loss, punctuated by the recent rain-induced floods, would be debilitating, especially to the small-scale farmers, whose lives and livelihoods are dangling between one debt cycle to the next, Though a vaccine has already been developed, it has only managed to defend a measly 7.3 million. Fears over the circulation of bad meat, compounded by theories about the ill impacts of meat run rampant, Leather imports are already in the red zone due to COVID-related restrictions.
To tackle a disaster of such unprecedented proportions, the government is resorting to its usual technique of closing its eyes and proclaiming, “all is well.” We previously saw the artificial manufacturing of calm on Eid when scantily-equipped check-posts did little to affirm the actual hit rate. While the state is right in crying about how its hands are tied due to its shoestring budget, a lot still needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable of the lot.
One bad season might not mean much to an industrialist but to someone with a small holding or a handful of animals, such a killing spree means bidding farewell to a lifetime’s worth of savings. The days of the pandemic have come as an urgent reminder that constant genome testing to keep a tab on any variations that may emerge as ruthless diseases have to be prioritised.
Pakistan can no longer afford to rely on research being carried out in other countries. We need science as an ally and rigorous vaccinations as the writing on the wall. Only then can we stand a chance in developing a source of income, which brings billions of dollars to countries like Australia and a series of headaches for farmers at home. *