ISLAMABAD, May 7: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday that the government would provide all necessary resources to bring a white revolution in the country.

Presiding over a presentation on the Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC), the premier said that Pakistan is an agricultural country and the government is committed to improve production of the dairy sector which contributes 11 per cent to the country’s GDP.

This would help not only to successfully meet the domestic needs but also export to the international markets, he said.

MNA Jehangir Khan Tareen briefed the prime minister on the issue, and said that the project is aimed at utilising the enormous potential of the country’s dairy sector.

He said that currently there are eight million dairy farming households in the country, but because of poor storage and processing facilities, only five per cent of milk is processed and hygienically packaged.

PDDC CEO Jeff Walker told the meeting that the company had undertaken programmes called cooling tank programme for building links to market, enhancing quality and ensuring increased collection of milk and model farm programme for demonstrating the gains that can be made and building models of profitability.

He told the prime minister that technology transfer from Australia and New Zealand is the main feature of the Model Farm programme, which would be adapted to the needs of the local conditions of Pakistan.

This programme, he said, had been implemented in 265 farms so far where cost of milk production and veterinary care is reducing while milk production has increased by at least 30 per cent.

He said by June 2009 the company would reach the mark of 1,000 model farms.

The prime minister was also told about certain other programmes of the company which include community farming of milk for allowing the poorest farmers to build stakes in society, milk pocket development for providing assistance where all milk produced is not utilised at present, bulk vending for provision of pasteurised milk in loose form, biogas for assisting small rural families in meeting their fuel requirements and breeding programme for building a herd which can produce about 2,000 good quality cows each year.

The prime minister was told that the PDDC is also interacting with Pakistan army which has the biggest dairy farms in the country for building a model for profitable corporate dairy farming.