LAHORE: After realising the livestock sector is fast losing the best quality indigenous cattle breed and milk production per cattle in Punjab is reducing, the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Board (PLDDB) and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) recently signed an agreement for making the Genetic Improvement Centre Khizraabad (GICK) in Sargodha functional in a year or so.

The project, focusing on genetic improvement of indigenous breed of cattle, has got approval in the 15th meeting of the board of directors of PLDDB following the nod from the livestock and dairy development department.

According to the PLDDB research, Sahiwal cow’s milk production has dropped to eight litres from standard 20 litres and Neli Ravi buffalo’s to 10 litres from 30 litres because of excessive (artificial) insemination of unverified bulls.

Against the global trends of less numbers of cattle and enhanced milk production, the number of milk cattle here is increasing while milk production is decreasing owing to traditional and insecure methods of cross-breading.

The officials concerned believe that the artificial insemination through GICK in Punjab will help produce better quality breed, more quantity of milk, and less number of animals besides enhancing economic prosperity of the country.

GICK (which is semen production unit) is a proposed facility for genetic improvement of indigenous breed, i.e. Sahiwal and Cholistan cow and Neli Ravi buffalo. The centre’s foundation stone was laid by the chief minister in 2011. About 70 percent civil work has been completed so far on the site except procurement of breeding bulls, lab equipment and other machinery.

As per the salient features of the proposals received from the ICI, it has collaborated with the Cogent Breeds, UK, (a leading semen production company in the world) to enhance the genetic capacity of Pakistani animals, and on behalf of Cogent, the ICI approached the PLDDB for concession agreement on GICK.

The ICI will invest Rs750 million on GICK to operate the semen production unit (SPU) in line with international standards with no cost liability and damages to the Punjab government or its associated company for 25 years.

The ICI will also procure recommended and approved breeding bulls to produce quality semen and in reward of the entity utilisation, it will pay in kind of semen straw to PLDDB.

At the end of the agreement, the ICI will leave the operational SPU to the PLDDB and submit unsolicited proposal to the Public-Private Partnership Cell of the Punjab government and the same will proceed in accordance with the Public Private Partnership Act.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2016