Pakistan, through decades, has struggled to bring the livestock and dairy sector at par with other countries but without any major breakthrough.
Recently the government has woken up to the reality that the dairy sector holds potential to be a major source of national revenue.
Reports show that the dairy sector contributed Rs40 billion to national earnings in the last financial year. Total milk production has been recorded at more than 32 million tons for 2003-2004, that puts the country at fifth position among the world's biggest milk-producing countries.
Modern milk processing started in early 1960s. By next decade, almost 23 milk pasteurization and sterilization plants were set up. The first UHT plant was established in 1977. The success of this project attracted more investors and subsequently 20 new plants were installed.
Milk production at farm level is the weakest link of the dairy industry. Failures can be attributed to lack of commercial dairy farms in producing quality milk at economical rates to be supplied to processing units. The current process of collecting milk from a large number of subsistence farmers is time-consuming, costly and prone to adulteration.
Whilst it is true that Pakistan is one of the few countries that have high milk yielding buffaloes like Nill Ravl, there have been no planned efforts to improve the breeding of cows and buffaloes.
Researchers have found that the purity of local breeds is also being contaminated because of indiscriminate cross breeding. Farmers do not pay attention to proper animal feeds. Mostly, animals are grazed on marginal lands or fed wheat straw that has very limited nutritious value.
Many times they do not get fresh water in adequate amounts, especially in summers affecting the milk yield. Many farmers cannot afford proper shelter for animals, leaving them in the open to face extreme temperatures.
Lack of hygiene and dirty water contribute to the chances of disease. Deficient veterinary support also aggravates the situation. Apart from the distribution of unprocessed milk, the UHT milk and pasteurized milk are also being sold.
Mostly private companies have set up milk collection centres around remote areas and have developed cold chains that deliver chilled milk to main processing plants.
The UHT milk is passed through the right temperatures and packed in special package that prevents spoilage and adulteration and provides convenient storage at room temperature.
Pasteurized processing milk is not packed in boxes and is sold through special retail outlets called the milk centres. The milk is packed in pouch packs which reduces the cost.
These model farms can eliminate milk losses, protect the product from adulteration and give farmers better yields as the animals will have better environment, food and health.
There are tremendous opportunities in the dairy sector, especially with the advent of the WTO regime. The liberalization of trade will create several new market niches which can be capitalized if the nation is geared up to face the challenges.
Strategic partnerships in the government and private sectors can bring about revolutionary changes that would fully utilize our dairy potential.