March 05, 2007	Monday	Safar 15, 1428

IN the global context, the performance of Pakistan dairy sector appears impressive in terms of livestock population and total milk production, but in terms of productivity it is extremely poor. The main reasons for low yield are shortage of feed and fodder, lack of timely and good animal health care and breeding services, and paucity of credit. The average annual milk production per animal in our country is far below the world average.

In 2003 over 32 million tons of milk was produced in our country, which amounted to six per cent of the world production. Over two-thirds of milk is produced by buffaloes. Pakistan has over three times as many ‘dairy animals’ as Germany, the vast majority (over 80 per cent) being kept in herds of one to three animals. Comparison of average milk yields across various countries shows that one New Zealand dairy animal produces as much milk as three ‘dairy animals’ in Pakistan; while one American cow produces as much as seven Pakistani cows. This vast difference in productivity is due to a variety of factors (genetics, management, technology, etc.) Fortunately, many of these factors have been identified, which means that there is vast potential for development of local dairy sector.

Only 40 per cent of surplus milk, left from calves suckling, home consumption and indigenous home processing, finds its way to urban markets. Up to 20 per cent milk is being wasted due to non-availability of proper cooling and storage facility. About three per cent of milk in urban markets flows through formal processing channels while the remaining 97 per cent is consumed raw and informally marketed through local milkmen (Gawallas).

Milk production here has increased by 17 percent from 1996 to 2002. This increase in production was achieved mainly by a growth in the number of dairy animals (15 per cent for the same period) with only slight gains in milk yield per animal with the use of artificial insemination techniques for improved breeding.

Agriculture and livestock in our country is controlled by the federal government, while provincial governments are responsible for the development of this sector. Despite the importance of dairying in our economy, especially for the livelihood of resource-poor farmers and landless labourers, government policy towards this sector has suffered for lack of a clear and strong thrust and focus.

The concerned government agencies should ensure a policy conducive to white revolution. Primary focus should be on enactment of legislations that should provide support to white revolution. Although, the dairy sector occupies a pivotal position, and its contribution to the agricultural sector is the highest, the investment plan made so far does not commensurate with its contribution and future potential for growth and development. However, in most cases, the bulk of budget allocation to this sector is consumed by wages and other administrative costs of the government departments.

Lack of proper monitoring, controlling and evaluation at various levels at timely intervals and inability to review the progress and give appropriate feedback are some of the factors contributing to the failure of the white revolution in our country. In choosing the project areas, the implementing agencies need to ascertain the suitability of the areas on the basis of project objectives and resources. There is no information on the economic and social cost-benefit of these projects. Consequences in terms of output, employment, consumption, savings, income distribution and other tangible benefits are to be estimated. The consequences brought out must be evaluated from all dimensions which are essential for making sound development policy.

Management of human resources is very important in any organisation and it is a fundamental aspect in dairy development programmes. The white revolution can be achieved through modern knowledge and technologies. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of achieving excellence in our dairy development programme is to develop well-trained personnel of the proper size.

The white revolution is anchored on four development strategies:

(i) Increasing the volume of local milk production will hinge principally on the quantity and quality of dairy animals. This can be achieved through the development and implementation of a unified system of dairy herd upgrading, embryo transfer, gene pool, contract breeding and importation.

(ii) processing is the central component of dairy development. The required post-production infrastructure must be in place, capable of absorbing the local production within a specified timeframe. Public investment in providing milk plants, milk collection centres and packaging equipment will be needed

(iii) Milk feeding shall be institutionalised with a corresponding funding support. This will result in significant gains in efforts aimed at raising the nutritional well-being of millions of Pakistani children. It will also create a stable market for local milk producers. Corollary to this, commercial market niches for locally manufactured dairy products will be established.

(iv) Human resource development shall empower farmer-co-operators, local government units, non-government organisations, government personnel and other entities involved in propelling dairy industry development. A programme of trainings, technology transfer and immersion, as well as local and foreign exchanges shall be integrated into all activities of the programme.

One of the major lacunae is the neglect of buffaloes and failure to exercise the control over the implementation of breeding policy evolved which has led to the creation of crossbred with varying inheritance level and performance. Pakistan has seen a slight increase in milk yields, both in buffaloes and cows. This is due to limited impact of breading schemes through selection and artificial insemination, etc.

Little attention has been paid to the impermanent of local cattle, except for their use as a genetic resource pool for cross-breeding with exotic dairy breeds for the supply of crossed cows.

A local cattle breed of Sahiwal, Cholistani and Red Sindhi has practically disappeared in their pure form, which were quite adoptable to local conditions. Sahiwal cows have produced up to 5,000 kg of milk in on lactation. Crossbred is not a permanent solution to increase milk yield in the country as the exotic blood exceeds the level of 50 per cent then it starts declining in terms of productivity and greater susceptibility to disease and adaptability to climatic stress of heat and humidity.

Despite being the 5th largest milk producer in the world, Pakistan’s per capita availability of milk is around 230 kg per year which is lowest in the world, and still below the world average of 285 gm per day and the minimum nutritional requirement of 280 gm per day as recommended. There are also wide variations in per capita availability of milk in the country. The average per capita consumption of milk and dairy products is lower in rural areas than in urban areas, even though milk is produced in rural areas.

Milk production is considered a livestock enterprise, in which small-scale producers which currently from the backbone of the dairy sector can successfully engage to improve their livelihood. Given its high income elasticity, the demand for milk and dairy products is expected to grow rapidly. Further increases in per capita income and changing consumption patterns would lead to acceleration in demand for milk and other livestock products in Pakistan and thus would give a boost to this sector, as the white revolution shares the national efforts to address poverty and malnutrition and ensures a better quality of life for Pakistan.