A press release quoted Elahi as telling the inaugural ceremony of the International Livestock and Poultry Congress 2007 at Aiwan-e-Iqbal that Rs 6.5 billion would be spent on marketing, breeding and feeding livestock and protecting cattle from diseases in the next three years. He said loans were being given to farmers to purchase buffaloes and that Rs 4.73 billion had been provided in loans till now. He also announced special incentives for veterinarians.

The CM said the government was promoting livestock and poultry under a comprehensive strategy because these were very important to the province’s economy. He said technical and financial assistance was being extended for cattle farming and poultry production to meet the province’s meat requirements and get rid of poverty.

He said a public-private partnership was being encouraged under the Punjab Rural Support Programme. He said milk-cooling tanks were being provided to farmers and that the rural population was being guided to better market milk.

He said Punjab had a 63 percent share in the total milk production of the country, a 48 percent in beef production, a 33 percent share in mutton production and a 68 percent share in poultry production. He said this was proof of the fact that the province was playing an important role in meeting Pakistan’s livestock and poultry requirements.

Elahi also said President Pervez Musharraf was taking personal interest in the development of the livestock sector and that he had inaugurated a Nestle milk plant in Khanewal, which was the largest milk plant of Asia.

He said the Qatari government was interested in collaboration in the livestock sector and had been provided 9,000 acres for the purpose. He said former governments had neglected the sector, which was the national economy’s backbone.

Source: Daily Times