August 11, 2008	Monday	Sha’aban 8, 1429

HYDERABAD, Aug 10: Sindh Fisheries secretary Shoaib Siddiqui has stressed the need for paying attention to development of fisheries and livestock along with development of agriculture and said that superior breeds of livestock must be protected.

He said the government was trying to set up fish farms in coastal areas, including Keti Bundar which would improve the living standard of people of the coastal areas, especially of Thatta and Badin.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture at its secretariat here on Sunday.

He said training programmes had been initiated in fisheries and livestock areas, adding that equal these sub-sectors of agriculture should also be given importance.

He said that by paying more attention to livestock breeding, milk and meat production could be raised considerably.

He said the federal government was extending help for livestock breeding and development of fisheries.

Earlier, a meeting of the chamber was held under the chairmanship of Mir Murad Ali Khan Talpur. It discussed problems confronting the agriculture sector.

Expressing grave concern and annoyance over the acute shortage of urea fertilisers, it said that urea was being sold in the black market by dealers and demanded of the government to ensure the availability of urea at the government fixed rates.

The meeting alleged that different sugar mills were directly purchasing urea from producers and selling it at higher rates to sugarcane growers. It said that urea was selling at Rs810 per bag which was much higher then the government fixed rates.

It called upon the government to direct the sugar mills to pay the outstanding dues of cane growers which are in billions of rupees.

Mir Imdad Ali Talpur, Anwar Bachani, Nawaz Ali Samejo, Mohammad Khan Sarejo, Sain Bux Rind and others attended the meeting.