July 15, 2005	Friday	Jumadi-us-Sani 7, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, July 14: A fully autonomous livestock and dairy development board will be established in the coming few months and a livestock development policy is on the cards to address the needs of small farmers and attract small and medium enterprises towards this sector. This was stated by Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sikandar Hayat Bosan said here on Thursday while speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Strengthening of Livestock Services Project’s (SLSP) building at the National Agricultural Research Council (Narc).

The SLSP is a joint project of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and the European Union and is being implemented at an amount of Euros 2.9million for the development of livestock countrywide. An amount of Rs7million would be spent on the construction of the building at the Narc.

The minister said the SLSP was aimed at the improvement of livelihoods of the farmer through provision of better livestock services. The project would realize the potential of the livestock sector through disease control and thus enhance productivity, he said.

The project would help realize the potentials of the country’s livestock sector and would go a long way in organizing this sector for improved productivity and export, he said.

Minfal Additional Secretary Mumtaz Ahmed, European Union Development Adviser Imran Ashraf, European Co Director for SLSP Dr H. A. Williams and others attended the ceremony.

The minister said the project was being carried out throughout Pakistan through provincially based project management units located at Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Hyderabad.

He said diseases like foot and mouth disease, rinderpest etc killed a large number of animals in Pakistan every year. Prevalence of these diseases had severe repercussions for farmers because billions of rupees were being spent on the treatment of these deceases.

The minister said the livestock development would be led by the private sector and the government was determined to provide enabling environment to the private sector in this regard. He said the government was reviewing all relevant rules and regulations and would change them to the international requirements to attract the private sector.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)