PESHAWAR, Nov 11: The NWFP livestock department contributes Rs10 million annually to the provincial kitty while its share in the production is 17 per cent and 55 per cent in the total agricultural income of the province.

This was disclosed by livestock department director Muqarrab Ali Khan while briefing a meeting of the NWFP Assembly’s standing committee on agriculture and livestock here on Tuesday.

The meeting was chaired by standing committee chairman Iftikhar Khan Jhagra and attended by MPAs Javed Khan Mohmand, Qurban Ali Khan, Maulana Irfanullah, Amanat Shah, Amirzada Khan and Rukhsana Bibi, VRI director Yasmeen Pir Mohammad Khan and research director Dr Fida Mohammad.

The livestock director said about half of the population of the province was directly or indirectly attached to the livestock and agriculture department. Moreover, he added, through artificial insemination, 80,000 breeds were being produced annually as a result of which the province earned Rs470 million per annum.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Jhagra said the problem of unemployment and self-sufficiency in food could be achieved by giving due attention to the development of this vital sector of the provincial economy.

There were ample opportunities of the development of the sector in the NWFP, he said, and added that the department was bound to provide quality medicines to the farmers.

He deplored that the department had constantly been overlooked in the past despite the fact that it could overcome the problems of unemployment and deficiency in food.

The standing committee chairman agreed that the dearth of resources was also a factor but the staff of the department achieved the target through their hard work and sincerity.

He made some suggestions to the government, including creation of a post of director-general and improvement in the service structure, for bringing improvement in the performance of the livestock department.—APP