LAHORE, Nov 28: The livestock and poultry development policy is being given a final shape for presentation to the cabinet and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for approval. This was stated by Pakistan Animal Husbandry Commission’s Dr Muhammad Afzal while addressing as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a five-day workshop on ‘Application of biotechnology for livestock and poultry development’ here on Monday.

The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, is organizing the workshop in collaboration with the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad.

Dr Afzal said the government attached great importance to the livestock sector which contributed 11 per cent to the GDP while 6.6 million families were engaged in this sector in the country.

He said there was a greater need for developing the livestock sector and enhancing its productivity in the WTO regime.

Vice-chancellor Prof Dr Manzoor Ahmad said the use of biotechnology was a must for livestock development while national progression hinged on livestock and agriculture.

He said the UVAS was focusing on applied research and use of biotechnology for the development of livestock and poultry. The university had developed collaborations with many national and international institutions, including NIBGE, CEMB and Washington State University, for joint educational and research programmes.

NIBGE director Dr Ahmad Mukhtar Khalid said the use of biotechnology helped increase productivity of livestock and disease control in animals as well.

He said the NIBGE wanted long-term collaboration with the UVAS for joint research and training programmes.—APP