LAHORE, Dec 17: The Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) has urged the government to constitute boards for buffalo and Sahiwal cattle protection and declare all cattle and buffalo rich districts in Punjab as livestock estates on the pattern of industrial estates.

The demands were voiced during a FAP’s executive committee meeting held here on Monday to review the livestock projects in Punjab.

The committee was of the view that declaration of cattle and buffalo rich districts as livestock estates was a pre-requisite to develop the livestock resource in the present knowledge-based economy era.

The committee stressed the need for forming cattle protection boards because Pakistan had 26.8 million buffaloes constituting 40 per cent of the world population.

It said that the Food and Agriculture Organisation had declared the `Neeli Ravi’ buffalo breed the black gold of Pakistan.

Similarly, the Sahiwal cattle breed ranked among the top most cattle breeds of the world. Each board should have 50 per cent representatives of progressive farmers, it added.