Daily Times

Under the prime minister’s initiative in the livestock sector, the government has initiated three projects with total cost of Rs 7.4 billion, which will be initiated across the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The three initiatives included Save the Calf with a cost of Rs 3.401 billion, Calf Feedlot Fattening in Pakistan with a cost of Rs 2.385 billion and Backyard Poultry with cost of Rs 1.635 billion. Main purpose of these programs was to increase production capacity of livestock which will help the government to meet domestic demand and also export the surplus.

Giving details of these initiatives Chief Executive Officer Livestock Dairy Development Board (LDDB) Dr Fatah Ullah Khan told a group of journalists that Prime Minister gave approval of these projects under Emergency Agriculture Program. He explained that LDDB will implement these programs with the help of provinces and regional livestock departments.

Under Save the Calf program, main objective was to increase the production of high-quality beef in the country by saving 380,000 male calves in the country during the next four years. These calves will be saved up to the age of 3 months and attain an average body weight of 65-70 kg per calf. It will also help in provision of a foundation of healthy young calves (3-4 months old) in the country for subsequent back-grounding and feedlot fattening. The program also aimed to save the young calf from early slaughtering for enhanced meat production and profitability of the livestock farmers.

By achieving the total target of saving the 380,000 young calves and growing/fattening them to attain 150 kg of body weight per calf, an additional amount of 27.36 million kg beef can be produced during next 4 years in the country. The project will be executed throughout Pakistan (Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan) including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).

The second initiative was the Calf Feedlot Fattening in Pakistan and it would be executed on demand driven basis throughout the country including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB)

The CEO further said that the overall project objectives were to increase the quality meat production for local consumption as well as for export purpose. This program mainly focused on providing incentives to the farming community to vertically expand the national production of meat by adopting the appropriate production and health technologies at farm level. This project was specially aimed to fatten the male cow/buffalo in whole country (goat/sheep in Baluchistan province) to increase value added quality meat production on cost effective basis for inland consumption and for export.

The third Prime Minister’s Initiative for Backyard Poultry, with cost of Rs 1.635 billion and it was for the whole country. Backyard poultry farming was the main source of supply of meat and eggs for millions of rural households in the country.

The overall objective of this project was to enhance the productivity of poultry meat and eggs by strengthening backyard poultry flocks through the provision of high producing 5 million birds on 30 percent subsidy throughout the country including AJK, ICT, and GB in next four years. The specific objectives were strengthening of backyard poultry through the provision of high producing birds, addressing protein deficiency and malnutrition and capacity building of households.

The CEO LDDB claimed that proper training would be provided to all the famers and households and there would strict monitoring. It would be open for all formers with certain criteria set for each initiatives, he maintained.