Pakistan's meat industry, estimated at $115m, remains underutilised as the calves are not provided quality feed, particularly by subsistence farmers, which results in low quality production of beef.

As a result, the exporters are unable to fully capitalise on the advantages of the halal meat industry due to limitations of indigenous beef breeds and lack of corporate farming. The consensus at a seminar hosted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with Punjab Halal Development Agency (PHDA) and attended by representatives of leading banks, farmers, fattening experts, senior officials and meat exporters on January 29 was that increased investment in feedlot fattening can help raise calves for quality beef production. The global halal food industry is approximately $3trn, with the meat segment having a share of $600bn.

The feedlot fattening means providing special protein-rich diet to calves or buffaloes to raise their weight and also the quality of their meat. Such animals are kept in a yard or a farm in hygienic conditions and not allowed to go for grazing in the fields. In 2007, the Livestock and Dairy Development Board had set up 350 feedlot fattening farms across the country. What happened to them later is not known.

What is direly needed is transformation of the country’s fodder industry, which still employs primitive methods of animal feed, to a modern-era industry. And it was for this purpose that investment proposals were discussed at the seminar to help potential investors and existing farmers in pursuing feedlot fattening projects. Deputy Governor, Islamic Banking Department, State Bank of Pakistan Dr Saeed Ahmed held out an assurance at the seminar that Islamic financing from commercial banks will help farmers purchase calves and bear rearing expenses on high quality feed to the animals.

The productivity of livestock in the country, despite its known genetic potential, continues to remain low. This may be attributed to malnutrition of the animals

It will be easier for commercial banks, he said, to leverage investments under Islamic financing mode as feedlot fattening is part of the halal value chain and closely linked with the mandate of the Islamic banks. The State Bank of Pakistan will play a significant role in working with the Islamic commercial banks to develop feasible financing schemes.

The USAID’s Punjab Enabling Environment Project is providing support to the livestock, dairy and horticulture sectors of the province. It is a five-year, $14.98m project, aimed at improving the business environment and bringing about policy and regulatory reforms to attract investment in the target sub-sectors. In recent past, the USAID had helped the Punjab government by preparing a draft of a law called Punjab Animal Welfare Act, 2013, on behalf of the livestock and dairy development department to replace the existing law, Animal Protection Act, promulgated by the British in 1822.

The productivity of livestock in the country, despite their known genetic potential, continues to remain low. This may be attributed to malnutrition of the animals. Green fodders are not available in sufficient quantities especially in extreme hot months (June-July) and during cold seasons (December-January) and most of the animals are under-fed. Straws of the cereals and other by-products are commonly used to overcome feed shortages. The concentrates are expensive and thus avoided.

The farmers face problems like growing pressure of the human population, decreasing area under fodder crops, shortage of irrigation water, less and erratic rainfalls, barren rangelands, low priorities to fodder production and preservation. It seems that the shortage of feeds and fodders will worsen in the years to come.

At present, the area under fodder production is about 3.35m hectares out of a total cropped area of 21.85m hectares in the country, producing more than 60m tonnes of fodder, according to Economic Survey 2003-04. The area under fodder in Punjab is 2.03m ha, with a production of 45m tonnes of fodder crops with an average yield of 22 tonnes/ha, which is not sufficient, even to meet the maintenance requirements of the livestock. The increase in milk production, one may note, has resulted due to greater availability of green fodder in the recent past.

The meat industry as a whole, from livestock farming to marketing of beef and mutton, remains largely disorganised. Livestock farming is so commercialised and mainly survives under subsistence conditions. Subsistence farmers do not have the funds to make the right kind of investment. Thus, methods are primitive and hardly any of the modern feed management practices are followed. Despite abundant production, there is always a shortage of fodder between seasons. This shortage is met by wheat straw which has no nutritional value. Quality feed concentrates from existing by-products are not used efficiently.

In Pakistan, Rabi and Kharif are two main fodder seasons. The major Rabi fodder crops are berseem, alfalfa, oat, rape-mustard and barley. The major Kharif crops are maize, sorghum, millet, cowpeas, guara, sada bahar and Jantar. Many farmers in Pakistan prefer to use a feed concentrate called wanda which contains only15pc proteins.

It is interesting to note that feedlot fattening methods are strictly practised in the country only on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. Costly fodders and special feed are given to sacrificial animals to enhance their weight so that they fetch good prices.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, February 9th, 2015

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