PESHAWAR: The livestock and fisheries department received much lower rates for purchasing vaccines for different diseases after it digitised its procurement process, according to official sources.
They told this scribe that the department received 55pc lower rates for sexed semen and 35pc lower rates for vaccines for different diseases after digitising its procurement process. “If the department purchases the same quantity of vaccines and sexed semen of the same quality it had purchased last year, it will save Rs500 million as loopholes have been eliminated in the newly-introduced system,” they added.
They said that the department was purchasing vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin as both the ailments of livestock caused huge losses to farmers.
For new purchases, officials said, different committees were formed including need assessment committee, standard bidding document committee, tender committee, inspection committees and procurement committee under the newly-introduced mechanism.
Companies offer vaccines at 35pc lower rates
They said that competitive procurement had brought major potential savings in livestock sector. The department’s comparative analysis of procurement rates for livestock vaccines and breeding inputs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa indicated a financial benefit of about Rs330.81 million, they added.
According to official documents, the comparison covers vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) and sexed semen under the artificial insemination programme.
Earlier, the rate for FMD vaccine was Rs7, 800 per vial, however, with the introduction of transparency, Rs4,963 was offered as new rate in the current year. For LSD vaccine, the earlier rate was Rs11, 990 per vial while this year a rate of Rs8,050 was offered for the same quantity.
Another financial benefit of the newly-introduced mechanism is reflected under “improvement of livestock productivity through artificial insemination using sexed semen- Phase-II” programme. The rate for Phase-I was Rs13,450 per dose, compared to Rs6,000 for Phase-II. The rate is 55pc lower than that of the previous year.
Had such a transparent procurement framework and competitive rates been applied during financial year 2025-26, the department could have secured the same supplies at substantially lower prices, resulting in significant savings to public exchequer.
The current comparison indicates a financial benefit of about Rs330.81 million, while applying the same rate differences to financial year 2026-27 vaccine requirement indicates a potential benefit of approximately Rs500.68 million.
The secretary of livestock and fisheries department, Zariful Maani, told Dawn that the department was moving towards a more transparent, competitive and structured procurement mechanism. The initiative has involved efforts to strengthen procurement planning, competition, quality considerations and accountability across major departmental purchases.
He said that the procurement framework was developed with the objective of ensuring better value for public funds.
The initiative received support at the government level, he added.
The financial differences reflected in the current vaccine and sexed-semen procurement therefore illustrate the potential impact of applying a structured and competitive procurement approach to large-scale public purchases.
The livestock and fisheries department has also recently introduced e-auction for fishing rights, causing a whopping increase in its revenue which has gone up to Rs666 million in the current fiscal from Rs190 million in the last corresponding period, registering an increase of 245pc.
The fishing rights for 17 water bodies, mostly dams, across the province have been auctioned for a period of three years. According to official documents, the last auction, which had taken place in 2023, had generated only Rs190 million.
Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026
