LAHORE, Dec 25: The Punjab government has launched a two billion-rupee initiative for poverty alleviation through a programme for the hitherto largely neglected livestock sector , offering loans of up to Rs5 million to breeders and unemployed people for dairy and livestock farming.

While loans are also available for poultry and fish farming, the thrust of the initiative is towards enhancing milk and dairy produce and free post-project veterinary services for animals maintained by breeders that set up dairy and livestock farms under the programme.

According to officials, substantially more funds are likely to be allocated for boosting the livestock sector that has about five million families in the rural areas of Punjab already engaged in breeding milk and meat animals.

Despite being neglected, the sector has shown a growth of over four per cent but it is felt that milk-yielding capacity of animals has not been fully harnessed and they are not sufficiently fattened to produce more meat. The programme aims at enhancing produce by persuading breeders to provide better veterinary care to animal and ensuring their timely vaccination, de-worming and improving breed through artificial insemination.

About 700 milk cooling tank, each with a capacity of 1,000 litres of milk, are also to be set in the Province under the 'Punjab Chief Minister's Dairy Development Programme' with a view to preserving milk, a more quickly perishable commodity and facilitating its supply to nearby markets. Cooling tanks would be for joint use by three to five contagiously located villages.

Loans for cooling tanks are being offered at 50 instalments for payment at no profit basis to growers under the unemployment programme of the CM'. Projects can be funded up to a maximum Rs5 million loan, payable in easy instalments.

Milk processing plants are also to be established in units of three to five villages under public-private partnership. This would help in improving marketing of milk by breeders and save them from negotiating with middlemen who now control much of the milk business, mostly disadvantageous to breeders, particularly of owners of small, two or five animal herds.

The Punjab government's programme is in line with the policies of the federal government that is reported to be preparing a comprehensive plan for supporting the sector. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has already directed Zarai Tarraqiati Bank to issue loans for the development of livestock.

However, while federal authorities are still weighing possibilities and has set up committees to prepare recommendations for a policy for the sector, Punjab government has launched its programme. Granting of loans has already commenced.

The sector contributes over 45 per cent value addition to the agriculture sector and has an over 11 per cent share of GDP. About six per cent of the total export earnings of the country are from livestock products.

A total of about seven million families are engaged in breeding livestock animals, over five million of them living in the Punjab. The province has a 67 per cent share of the country's buffalo population and has 46 per cent cattle, 27 per cent goat and 26 per cent sheep.

Majority of breeders are small, 43 per cent owning one to two, 28 per cent three to four and 13 per cent with herd size of five to six animals. These statistics underline the object poverty prevailing in the livestock sector.

While the Punjab government's initiative would help breeders and new entrants to the sector to enhance productivity, the insufficient availability of green fodder, an important basic need of the animals, remains a hindrance to effective progress in the sector.

While green fodder situation is better in Punjab than other provinces, as farmers meet about 80 per cent of the requirements, other provinces lag quite a distance behind.

As a result, productivity of animals in these provinces is lower than Punjab. Needless to emphasize that these provinces also need comprehensive programmes for the livestock to make it more productive, more profitable for breeders, more useful for consumers.