Livestock of pakistan

InfoGate http://www.infoga8.com/

v

LIVESTOCK OF PAKISTAN


vi


vii

LIVESTOCK OF

PAKISTAN

H.U. Hasnain R.H. Usmani

Livestock Foundation Islamabad

© by Livestock Foundation, 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced graphically or electronically, including storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher: - House No. 13, Street No. 6, Sector F-8/3, Islamabad, Pakistan


viii

Price : Inland Rs. 350/- SAARC Countries Rs. 500/- Foreign US$15/- Hasnain, H.U. Livestock of Pakistan/ by H.U. Hasnain and R.H. Usmani.— Islamabad: Livestock Foundation, 2006. xiv, 234pp ISBN: 969-8976-00-0

I. LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY – PAKISTAN II. Usmani, R.H.

UDC 636/637 (549.1) Printed at: Gul Awan Printers, Blue Area, Islamabad Ph: 051-2873702 E-mail: [email protected]


ix

This book is dedicated to the millions of resource poor smallholder and landless livestock farmers and thousands of livestock professionals and sub-professionals who are managing the crucially important livestock industry of Pakistan under difficult working environment. It is hoped that this book will help all the stakeholders in playing their due role in the development of livestock in Pakistan.


x

We are really grateful to all the friends and colleagues who offered their sincere support, good wishes and provided relevant literature. Dr. M.Fateh Ullah Khan of the Animal Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad deserves special mention for providing a large number of publications on aspects of livestock. Our heart felt gratitude to Dr. Mohammad Afzal, Head of Animal Sciences Division, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad who thoroughly reviewed the manuscript, made very useful suggestions and contributed the chapter on Diseases. Last but not the least; our special thanks are due to Ms. Saher Hasnain for streamlining the chapters and initial formatting of the manuscript.


xi

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Contents Foreword Prologue Introduction

vi vii

viii ix xi

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

POPULATION BREEDS FEEDS AND FEEDING PRODUCTS PRODUCTION SYSTEMS MARKETING SYSTEMS DAIRY INDUSTRY ROLE OF WOMEN DISEASES EDUCATION SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPLICATIONS OF WTO POLICY AND LAWS ROLE IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION CRITICAL ISSUES MAJOR CONSTRAINTS OUTLOOK

1 25 51 77 93

111 121 133 135 143 151 157 167 199 209 215 221

Epilogue Further Reading And Selected Bibliography Important Addresses Glossary Of Some Technical Terms

225 226 229 231 225


xii


xiii

FOREWORD This is the first and so far the only comprehensive book on livestock in Pakistan. It is comprehensive because it covers all aspects of livestock like population, breeds, policies, legislations, roles in economy and poverty alleviation, etc. It should therefore, be very useful to all the stakeholders who are involved or even interested in the development of livestock in the country. Although it is not a textbook, I strongly recommend it to the graduate and post graduate students and even teachers of veterinary and animal sciences for an overall appreciation of this crucial sector of our national economy. It should also be of special interest to all those involved in rural development and poverty alleviation.

This book has been written by two eminent livestock specialists of Pakistan who are not only highly qualified but also have a combined long and rich experience of the subject both within the country and abroad. I am amazed at the vast amount of information they have gathered on livestock of this country. Therefore, I am certain that this book will become an authentic reference publication on the subject for many years to come.

The publication of this book is also very timely. Dumped as a sub-sector of agriculture, the importance of livestock has been dwarfed and eclipsed. It has thus been neglected and its crucial role in the national economy and provider of quality foods (milk and meat) and value added export commodities (carpets and leather garments) have been ignored. But now it seems that there is a realization about the importance of livestock. Even the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the provincial governors and chief ministers are talking about livestock---better late than never. This sector has been neglected too much for too long. Now is the time to do something about it. It is hoped that people who matter in planning and implementation of programs will read this book. They will find it very useful.

In the end, I like to congratulate the authors for writing this very useful book for the benefit of all the stakeholders, which hopefully, will ultimately help in the development of livestock in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Manzoor Ahmad

Vice Chancellor University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

Lahore


xiv


xv

PROLOGUE Livestock is an important sector of Pakistan’s economy. This is a fact. But generally speaking, this fact is neither fully appreciated nor recognized. There are several reasons for the lack of awareness about the importance of livestock. Livestock raising in Pakistan is primarily a subsistence activity and is characterized by small herds/flocks with wide spread ownership, one million of which are landless. They are the poorest of the poor and for them keeping livestock is a way of life rather than a commercial activity. Unlike the big land owning crop farmers, the livestock farmers are neither vocal, nor active and influential. Thus they are perhaps the most disadvantaged group in the country. Moreover, the country is emotionally involved with wheat. If the wheat production is good, everyone is happy. If not, it casts a gloom over the country. This attitude has also adversely affected even the development of other crops like maize and sorghum. Besides, governments respond better to crisis situations. Pakistan is no exception. Livestock does not and has not created crises to attract attention. The government therefore, remains largely occupied with crises created by wheat, cotton and sugarcane. As such, the people associated with the development of livestock cannot be completely absolved of their failure to project the importance of the livestock. The livestock farmers as a group are disadvantaged and weak. But the livestock professionals who are charged with the responsibility of supporting and developing this sector are neither disadvantaged nor weak. They are highly qualified and especially the veterinarians have, over the years, organized themselves well. In fact they have become unionized and militant. This has greatly helped them in matters of job security, salary grades, promotions and other benefits. However, this did not significantly promote the cause of the livestock sector or the quality of service provided to the livestock sector. In fact, the service became scarce or expensive or both. Thus it is incredible but true that even after 58 years of our existence as a country, there is not a single comprehensive book on livestock in Pakistan. There are publications on aspects of livestock mainly technical but there is none that covers most, if not, all aspects of the subject. The very first book on livestock/veterinary was published in 1948. But this was really a technical publication dealing with diseases prevailing in


xvi

Pakistan and the laws regarding their prevention and control. The first ever book that could claim to cover a wide spectrum of livestock was published in 1966 by Israr Ul Haq and M.Masud called Livestock, Poultry and Products. Several years later Abdul Wahab Khan published a book in Urdu titled Afzaish-e Haivanat (Animal Production). This has been an excellent attempt on the subject and still remains the only book of its kind. In the late eighties, S. Iqbal Shah published another book called Animal Husbandry. This is a textbook for the students of animal husbandry. Books and other publications are an effective means of disseminating information on a subject to create awareness among the people who matter. Publications on livestock have mainly been on technical aspects that are useful for the professionals only. These do not reach the corridors of power where policies are formulated and others who are concerned or interested. The authors of this book are fully aware of this and share the blame for the absence of a comprehensive book on livestock. They or other persons should have undertaken such a task long ago – better late than never. This book is not really technical in nature. Actually, it is a Book of Facts on livestock. Thus it is not meant only for livestock professionals. But it should be useful for everyone concerned or interested in livestock like policy makers, planners, economists, administrators, elected representatives, students, teachers and even the public at large. It is written in simple language and avoids technical terms as far as possible. Even the graphics are simple and easily understandable. The format is therefore, reader friendly. A look at the table of contents would show that the book comprises of 17 chapters. It would also reveal that an attempt has been made to cover almost all aspects of livestock that matter. The idea is to make this a Resource Book on Livestock for at least, 5 years or so when it should be revised and updated. Sources of information used in the book are presented in one place at the end. It would also be seen from the title of the book and its table of contents that this book is only about livestock and does not include poultry. This is deliberate even though in many countries livestock and poultry are considered together. The authors think that compared to livestock, poultry in Pakistan is a success story. Therefore, it deserves a separate book.


xvii

INTRODUCTION Domestication of livestock is one of the earliest achievements of human beings. It made their lives more productive, easy and secure. Since those early days, livestock has served them well. It still does so in Pakistan where it is an integral part of the rural economy contributing significantly to the agriculture and the national GDPs. Livestock raising in Pakistan is primarily a subsistence activity and is characterized by small flocks/herds with widespread ownership. In fact, a majority of farmers in Pakistan are smallholders, one million of which are landless. For most farmers, livestock is a supplemental source of farm income. Other sources are crops, horticulture, on-farm non-agriculture and off- farm employment. Thus almost all farmers keep some animals for milk, farm operations or meat. The landless also keep sheep/goats, one or two buffalo, a donkey and a few chickens. Livestock complement crop and grain production and are still a major source of fertilizer and cooking fuel. Thus it is deeply integrated with crop production. The contribution of draft power and farmyard manure to crop production although significant is yet to be fully quantified. As livestock are more evenly distributed than land and other assets, it forms the main asset base that meets the dietary needs and provides income to the rural poor. Mainly cattle, but in some areas buffaloes and donkeys as well, are a source of power for farm operations. While some smallholders may also own or use hired tractors, a majority still depends on livestock for farm operations. Women are deeply involved in almost all aspects of managing livestock. Livestock is a source of cash income through sale of milk and surplus stock. Sale of milk generates daily income, which no crop provides. Women, especially in cases where male members work in urban areas, often control this income. Besides providing the foregoing functions, livestock raising also generates family employment, which is quite sizable though hard to quantify. Since livestock production is not as susceptible to vagaries of weather as are crops, this sector provides the much-needed stability to an otherwise fragile smallholder economy. Cattle mainly provide farm power, buffaloes are kept for milk for home consumption and sale and sheep and goats are for meat and are easily convertible assets. Camels and donkeys are for transportation. Camels are also a significant source of milk and meat in arid areas. Farmyard manure is the only or the major fertilizer available to the smallholder.


xviii

Moreover, livestock are the only form of investment and savings that can be readily converted into cash during emergencies. Non-food livestock products namely wool, casings and hides/skins and their respective value added products (carpets and leather products) are significant foreign exchange earners in Pakistan. Rural development projects in general place emphasis on components like crops inputs facilities, seasonal inputs, and tractors/implements and tube wells equipments. These favour landowners specially the large ones. The landless, the tenants and the smallholders either do not benefit at all or benefit only marginally in terms of new knowledge or credit – the latter seldom availed by small farmers. And most of the livestock are with these small and landless farmers. There is a lot of talk these days about poverty alleviation. Growth especially through micro financing is claimed to be the only effective way to alleviate poverty. What is not fully appreciated is that poverty and growth are “inextricably intertwined”. Poor and low-income population is concentrated in the rural areas (smallholder and the landless). So, that is where a beginning should be made. Therefore, within the present development scenario, livestock is the most important vehicle to improve the income of the smallholder and the landless. Moreover, an effective way to target rural women is through livestock and not by useless strategy to impart skills like sewing, stitching and preparation of squashes, jams, etc. The latter will take the rural women away from their mainstream economic activity of managing livestock and marginalize them further.


1

Chapter 1

Pakistan is rich in livestock wealth in terms of numbers of species and breeds as well as their population. Livestock found in Pakistan belong to seven species i.e. buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, equine (horses, donkeys and mules) and poultry. Buffaloes are primarily kept for milk production with beef as an important by-product. In addition, they are used for a variety of agricultural operations particularly for ploughing in the paddy fields because of their larger hooves and better foot grip. With the exception of few dairy breeds, Pakistani cattle are generally used for draught purposes with beef as a by-product. Yaks are confined to mountain areas in the north with higher altitude (more than 3000 meters above sea level) where people inhabiting the rugged northern areas keep them for subsistence. Goats and sheep are primarily reared for meat production with hair/wool and milk as by-products. Camels are kept for multiple purposes in the arid areas, deserts and mountainous regions of the country. They are mainly used as pack animals in these areas with milk and meat as minor by-products. Horses are kept for several purposes including transportation, riding and recreation (tent pegging, dancing, racing, polo, etc). Donkeys are mainly used as work animals, particularly in barani and sub-hilly areas of the country. Mules are frequently used in carts for load carrying in urban areas and as a pack animal by the army.

The existing livestock enumeration system consists of livestock census at the national level every ten years conducted by the Agricultural Census Organization (ACO), which is an attached department of the Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Statistics, Government of Pakistan. Under this set-up, planning, preparatory work, training of staff, supervision and preparation of census report are carried out by the ACO whereas livestock enumeration staff is borrowed from the provincial livestock departments. This system is in vogue since 1976 and three livestock censuses have been conducted on sample basis during 1976, 1986 and 1996. Prior to 1976, the livestock populations were estimated in 1955, 1960 and 1966 through quinquennial livestock censuses conducted by the provincial land revenue departments. For the years falling in between census years, the Livestock Wing of the Federal


2

Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Livestock, reports the projected estimates of livestock population. Currently, livestock population of Pakistan consists of 26.3 million buffaloes, 24.2 million cattle, 56.7 million goats, 24.9 million sheep, 800 thousand camels, 300 thousand horses and 4.5 million mules/ donkeys. POPULATION TRENDS BUFFALO

Population of buffaloes has been estimated to be 26.3 million for the year 2005. Over the last five decades, buffalo population has consistently shown increasing trend. Current population is almost four times the 6.7 million estimated for the first time in Pakistan during 1955-56. This means an average increase of 376 thousand buffaloes per year with an overall annual growth rate of 3.01% during the period. However, population growth rate of the national buffalo herd has not been uniform over the period 1955-56 to 2001-02. This is clear from the growth rates for 5-yearly split periods presented in Table 1.1. Maximum growth in population of buffaloes was recorded during the period from 1981 to 1986 (6.38% per year) followed by the period from 1956 to 1961 (4.47% per year). During the remaining split periods, the growth rate ranged from 1.70 to 2.95%. Table 1.1. Population Growth of Buffaloes in Pakistan (1956-2001).

Split Period (5-Yearly)

Base Population (Million)

Average Annual Growth Rate (%)

1956-1961 6.7 4.47 1961-1966 8.2 1.70 1966-1971 8.9 1.79 1971-1976 9.7 1.85 1976-1981 10.6 2.45 1981-1986 11.9 6.38 1986-1991 15.7 2.67 1991-1996 17.8 2.81


3

1996-2001 20.3 2.95 Overall (1956-2001) - 3.01

CATTLE

Estimated population of cattle in Pakistan has been reported to be 24.2 million for the year 2005. Over the last 50 years, the cattle population has shown mixed trends of increasing, declining and then increasing again. Current population is, however, almost double of 11.2 million estimated for the first time during 1955-56. This means an average net increase of 249 thousand cattle per year with an overall growth rate of 1.78% during the period. Population dynamics of the national cattle herd for the period from 1956 to 2001 in 5-yearly split periods is summarized in Table 1.2. The population showed maximum growth during the period from 1956 to 1961. For the next decade, cattle population decreased at the average annual rate of 0.97%. The situation started reversing in 1972 and, thereafter, the cattle population has been showing an increasing trend up till now. During the recovery period, maximum annual growth rate of 3.05% was recorded during 1991 to 1996. Table 1.2. Population Growth of Cattle in Pakistan (1956-2001).



Average Annual Change Rate (%)

1956-1961 11.2 (+) 9.28 1961-1966 16.4 (-) 0.97 1966-1971 15.6 (-) 0.97 1971-1976 14.8 (+) 0.13 1976-1981 14.9 (+) 1.20 1981-1986 15.8 (+) 2.15 1986-1991 17.5 (+) 0.22 1991-1996 17.7 (+) 3.05 1996-2001 20.4 (+) 1.96

Overall (1956-2001) - (+) 1.78


4

Comparative population profile of cattle and buffaloes for the period from 1956 to 2001 is shown in Fig. 1. During the first three decades (1956-1986), the population of cattle remained higher than that of buffalo. The difference was highest during 1961 when the cattle population became exactly double than that of buffaloes. This happened because of higher growth rate of cattle (9.28% per year) than that of buffaloes (4.47% per year) during previous five years. The decade of 1961-71 saw a declining trend in cattle population whereas buffalo population continued to increase. This decline in cattle population perhaps reflects lesser need for cattle for farm operations owing to increasing farm mechanization in the country and consumers’ preference for buffalo milk over the cow milk could be another reason. The declining trend however, got checked during late seventies by the introduction of crossbreeding of local cattle with exotic dairy breeds and a slight shift in the use of cattle towards milk production. Since 1976, populations of both cattle and buffaloes have been showing increasing trend but the annual growth rate of buffaloes has consistently remained higher than that of cattle. As a result, number of buffaloes surpassed the number of cattle in the 1991 population estimates and the gap started widening thereafter. At present, the national population of buffaloes is about two million higher than that of cattle (26.3 vs 24.2 millions).


5

Fig - 1 Comparative Population Profile of Cattle & Buffaloes (1956-2001)

0

5

10

15

20

25

1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

Year

Popu

latio

n (M

illio

ns)

BuffaloCattle


6

GOATS

Over the last fifty years, population of goats has recorded the fastest growth among all species of livestock in Pakistan. It has leaped from 8.0 million in 1956 to 56.7 million in 2005. This means that number of goats has increased by more than six times during the period with an overall annual growth rate of 4.48%.

Annual population growth rate of goats averaged out for 5-yearly intervals for the period from 1956 to 2001 are shown in Table 1.3. Table 1.3. Population Growth of Goats in Pakistan (1956-2001).




1956-1961 8.0 6.00 1961-1966 10.4 4.03 1966-1971 12.5 4.00 1971-1976 15.0 8.93 1976-1981 21.7 3.78 1981-1986 25.8 3.18 1986-1991 29.9 4.75 1991-1996 37.0 2.27 1996-2001 41.2 3.88

Overall (1956-2001) - 4.48 Until 1971, the annual growth rate ranged from 4 to 6 percent. It however, jumped to a maximum of 8.93% per year during the period from 1971 to 1976. This probably reflects the negative response of the farming community against the Anti Goat Ordinance of Government of Pakistan. Thereafter, the growth rate has remained lower than 4 percent except during the period from 1986 to 1991 when it became higher than the overall average value. SHEEP

Current (2005) population of sheep in Pakistan has been reported to be 24.9 million heads. Over the last fifty years, sheep population has shown mixed trends of rapid growth, slow growth, and stagnant and even negative growth. Current population is, however, approximately three


7

times of 8.7 million estimated for the year 1955-56. This means an average net increase of 348 thousand heads per year with an overall growth rate of 2.63% during the period. The growth profile of sheep population of Pakistan for the period from 1956 to 2001 in 5-yearly periods is summarized in Table 1.4. Table 1.4. Population Growth of Sheep in Pakistan (1956-2001).




1956-1961 8.7 (+) 8.50 1961-1966 12.4 (+) 0.96 1966-1971 13.0 (+) 0.92 1971-1976 13.6 (+) 7.79 1976-1981 18.9 (+) 3.38 1981-1986 22.1 (+) 1.08 1986-1991 23.3 (+) 2.57 1991-1996 26.3 (-) 2.12 1996-2001 23.5 (+) 0.59

Overall (1956-2001)

- (+) 2.63

The number of sheep rapidly increased during the period from 1956 to 1961. During the next decade, however, the population remained almost stagnant. This was followed by another period of rapid growth during 1971 to 1976 when the sheep population grew at the rate of 7.79% per year. The annual growth rate considerably slowed down during the next fifteen years (1976 to 1991) and fluctuated between 3.38 to 1.08%. The period from 1991 to 1996 saw a decline in sheep population at the rate of 2.12% per year. This declining trend disappeared after 1996 but since then, sheep population has not shown any significant growth. Comparison of population dynamics of sheep and goats in Pakistan for the period from 1956 to 2001 is depicted in Fig. 2. Sheep population remained higher than that of goats from 1956 to 1966. Maximum difference was observed during 1961 when number of sheep became 19.2% higher than number of goats. This difference gradually reduced and completely


8

disappeared by 1967, due to higher annual growth rate of goats as compared to that of sheep (4.01 vs 0.94%). Several factors may be responsible for the higher growth rate of goats. Some of the important factors included consumer’s preference for goat meat over sheep mutton, better economic return from goat because of its additional milk producing ability and less feeding and management costs as compared to that of sheep. This tendency in favour of goats continued and during 1971, goat population exceeded sheep population by 1.4 million. Since then, number of goats has consistently been higher than that of sheep and the gap has been widening rapidly. During Livestock Census of 1986, population of goats was reported to be 6.6 million higher than that of sheep. The negative growth observed in sheep population during the period from 1991 to 1996 caused a drastic increase in the gap between populations of goats and sheep in the country. Presently, the number of goats is more than double than that of sheep (50.9 vs 24.4 million).


9

Fig - 2 Comparative Population Profile of Goat & Sheep (1956-2001)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

Year

Popu

latio

n (M

illio

ns)

GoatsSheep


10

CAMEL

Latest population of camel in Pakistan has been estimated to be 0.81 million. Over the last fifty years, camel population has shown mixed trends of negative and positive growth (Table 1.5). For the split period of 1956 to 1961, the number of camels decreased in the country at the rate of 4.7% per year. For the next three decades (1961-1991), camel population grew with varying growth rates ranging between 1.0 to 3.5%. The period from 1966 to 1971 was the only exception to this slow growth as the camel population increased rapidly with 6.7% growth rate during this period. But since 1991, the number of camel has been decreasing in the country. The decline rate was higher during 1991 to 1996, which has considerably slowed down during the last 5-6 years. Table 1.5. Population Growth of Camels in Pakistan (1956-2001).




1956-1961 0.59 (-) 4.7 1961-1966 0.45 (+) 2.7 1966-1971 0.51 (+) 6.7 1971-1976 0.68 (+) 3.5 1976-1981 0.80 (+) 1.0 1981-1986 0.84 (+) 2.4 1986-1991 0.94 (+) 2.3 1991-1996 1.05 (-) 4.4 1996-2001 0.82 (-) 0.2

Overall (1956-2001) - (+) 1.03 EQUINES

Equines of Pakistan consist of horses, donkeys and mules. The mules are produced through crossbreeding of horses with donkeys. Current population of horses is estimated to be around 0.3 million, which is not different from their population reported in 1961. In terms of changes in population of horses, the period from 1961 to 2001 can be divided into four phases. During the first phase (1961-71) number of horses remained static at 0.3 million. In the second phase (1971-76) the population increased to 0.4 million and stayed there during the third phase (1976-1991). During the fourth and most recent phase (since 1991), the


11

population of horses has been decreasing in the country at the annual rate of 5%.

Regular availability of statistics about mules started in Pakistan in 1966 when 0.1 million population was reported. This population remained the same till 1991. Since then, their number has been increasing in the country and the current population of mules (0.2 million) is double than that recorded in 1991. Current population of donkeys has been estimated to be around 4.1 million. Over the last five decades, population of donkeys has shown consistent increasing trend. The existing population is more than three times than 1.15 million reported in 1956. This means an overall average increase of more than 59 thousands donkeys per year with an overall growth rate of 2.95% during the period. Annual population growth rates of donkeys averaged out for five yearly intervals of the period from 1956 to 2001 are presented in Table 1.6. Fastest growth was observed during the period from 1956 to 1961 and slowest growth was recorded during 1991 to 1996. In the remaining split periods, the population growth rate of donkeys ranged from 1.91 to 4.87%. Table 1.6. Population Growth of Donkeys in Pakistan (1956-2001).




1956-1961 1.15 5.22 1961-1966 1.45 2.07 1966-1971 1.60 3.75 1971-1976 1.90 3.15 1976-1981 2.20 2.00 1981-1986 2.42 4.87 1986-1991 3.01 3.32 1991-1996 3.51 0.28 1996-2001 3.56 1.91

Overall (1956-2001) - 2.95 YAKS

In Pakistan, yaks are confined to the high plateau of the Northern Areas, from Gilgit to the valley of Ladakh. Yaks can survive at the altitudes of


12

well above 5000 meters. Population of yaks was first estimated in the Northern Areas during 1984 through a study conducted by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council. According to this study, the population of yaks was found to be 25 thousand. Latest estimates of yak population were made during Livestock Census of 1996 and the number of yaks was reported to be 14.9 thousand. Although these two estimates should not be used to calculate population trend because of possible differences in approach and estimation procedures, yet it can be speculated that yak population is probably decreasing in the Northern Areas.

POPULATION DENSITY

Population density may be defined as the number of animals living in a given unit of land area i.e. squire kilometer or hectare etc. For livestock, the population density is generally reported per hectare of land. Total land area of Pakistan is 79.61 million hectares out of which only 22.04 million hectares (27.7%) are used as “agricultural land area” excluding barren land, rangelands and area under forests. The livestock population density described in this section has been calculated separately for both “Total Land Area” and “Agricultural Land Area” of Pakistan at the national as well as provincial level. For the sake of simplicity, the population estimates of livestock species (2001-2002) have been grouped into three types i.e. Large Ruminants (cattle and buffaloes), Small Ruminants (sheep and goats) and Work Animals (camels, and equine).

POPULATION DENSITY BASED ON TOTAL LAND AREA

Population densities of three groups of livestock at the provincial as well as national levels are presented in Table 1.7. At the national level, density of small ruminants is highest followed by that of large ruminants and work animals. Population density of small ruminants in Punjab, Sindh and NWFP is closer to the national value while in Baluchistan it is very low. This is mainly because of the fact that only 7% of the land area of Baluchistan consists of agricultural land.

Table 1.7. Livestock Population Density (Number per Hectare) Based on Total Land Area.

Unit Large Ruminant Small Ruminant Work Animals Punjab 1.25 1.04 0.11 Sindh 0.78 0.95 0.07


13

NWFP 0.54 0.93 0.07 Baluchistan 0.04 0.58 0.02 Total Pakistan 0.58 0.94 0.06

Population density of large ruminants is higher for Punjab and Sindh (1.25 & 0.78, respectively) than NWFP and Baluchistan (0.54 & 0.04, respectively). Buffaloes that constitute more than 51% of total population of large ruminants, are not native to the later two provinces. Furthermore, they are found in negligible number in Baluchistan. At the national level, on an average one buffalo or cow is inhabited in two hectares of land. This number is highest for Punjab (2.50) and lowest for Baluchistan (0.08).

Population density of work animals is significantly lower than that of other two types of livestock. At the national level, on an average only six work animals are spread over one hundred hectares. This density is slightly higher for Punjab (11 per 100 hectares) and lower for Baluchistan (2 per 100 hectares).

POPULATION DENSITY BASED ON AGRICULTURAL LAND AREA Calculations of population density of three groups of livestock on the basis of agricultural land are presented in Table 1.8. At the country level, population density is highest for small ruminants (3.4 per hectare) followed by large ruminants (2.1 per hectare) and work animals (0.23 per hectare). Agricultural areas of Baluchistan come out to be the most densely populated areas in terms of sheep and goats (7.75 per hectare). This calculation should, however, be interpreted with extreme caution. Small ruminants of Baluchistan are almost entirely dependent on grazing of rangelands (not included in agricultural land) that account for 93% of the provincial area. They are constantly on move in search of grazing so their population density in a particular area keeps on changing with month and season during the year. Table 1.8. Livestock Population Density (Number per Hectare)

Based on Agricultural Land Area.

Unit Large Ruminants

Small Ruminants Work Animals

Punjab 2.01 1.66 0.18


14

Sindh 2.71 3.28 0.23 NWFP 2.20 3.79 0.27 Baluchistan 0.57 7.75 0.29 Pakistan 2.11 3.40 0.23

Based on agricultural land area of Pakistan about two heads of large ruminants (one buffalo and one cow) are maintained per hectare. This density is more or less similar for Punjab, Sindh and NWFP. The obvious reasons for low density of large ruminant population in Baluchistan are same as explained in the previous section. Population density of work animals remains lower than the other two types when calculated on the basis of agricultural land area. At the country level, one work animal is maintained in four hectares. The situation is similar in all provinces and donkeys are the major contributors of the population density of work animals.

HUMAN: LIVESTOCK RATIO

Pakistan is a heavily populated country in terms of people as well as livestock. According to the latest population census conducted in 1998, total human population of Pakistan was estimated to be 130.6 million. Punjab had the highest population of human population (55.6%) followed by Sindh (23.0%), NWFP (13.4%) and Baluchistan (5.0%).

The estimated livestock population of Pakistan for 1998 was 115.4 million heads which consisted of 21.4 million buffalo, 21.2 million cattle, 23.8 million sheep, 44.2 million goats, 0.8 million camels, 0.3 million horses and 3.7 million donkeys. Of this population, 42% was maintained in Punjab, 23.5% in Sindh, 20.2% in Baluchistan and 14.3% in NWFP. The human livestock ratio at the national as well as provincial level is summarized in Table 1.9. The ratio has been expressed as the total number of livestock, (including all species) present against each unit of 1000 persons. Table 1.9. Province Wise Livestock Number Per 1000 Persons Province Number of Livestock/1000 Persons Punjab 663


15

Sindh 900 NWFP 938 Baluchistan 3585 Overall Pakistan 881

At the national level, human: livestock ratio is 1000: 881. The ratios for the provinces of Sindh and NWFP are not much different from the ratio at the national level. Punjab has the lowest population of livestock in relation to human population (663 for 1000 persons) that has three obvious reasons. Firstly, Punjab is the most densely populated province with more than 55% of human population of Pakistan. Secondly, major proportions of the national population of large animals (buffaloes: 64%; Cattle: 46%; Equine: 55%) are found in Punjab. These animals require more housing space and feed and fodder. Thirdly, from the point of view of marketing of milk, dairy buffaloes and cattle are generally maintained at permanent settlements where fodder production competes with cash crop production in terms of static land resources. The livestock: human ratio is highest for the province of Baluchistan where livestock number is 3585 against each unit of thousand persons. Obvious reasons for this high ratio are the reciprocal of those explained for the province of Punjab. Firstly, Baluchistan is the least densely populated province with only 5% of human population of Pakistan. Secondly, major proportions of the national population of small ruminants (Sheep: 46%; Goats: 23%) and Camels (41%) are found in Baluchistan. These, being non-dairy animals, have fewer requirements of feed and fodder. Thirdly, small ruminants and camel are generally maintained under nomadic and transhumant production system where they can survive on grazing of wide spread rangelands available in this province. The ratios of population of each species of livestock with human population at the national as well as provincial level are given in Table 1.10. The ratio has been expressed as the total number of animals of a given species against each unit of 1000 persons. Table 1.10. Species Wise Livestock Number Per 1000 Persons.

SPECIES PUNJAB SINDH NWFP BALUCHISTAN PAKISTAN

Buffalo 188 200 85 30 163


16

Cattle 134 190 253 195 162

Sheep 85 126 162 1682 182

Goats 225 353 402 1562 338

Camels 2 7 3 50 6

Horses 2 1 2 4 2

Mules/Donkeys 27 23 31 62 28 It may be noted from Table 1.10 that there are 163 buffaloes, 162 cattle, 182 sheep, 338 goats, 6 camels, 2 horses and 28 donkeys per 1000 persons in the country. Human: goat ratio is the highest and on an average, every third person has a goat. The ratios of human population with those of buffalo, cattle and sheep are closer to each other and on an average; every 6th person has one animal of each of these species. Provincial distribution of human: goat population ratio indicates that Baluchistan has the highest number (1562) where as Punjab has the lowest number of goats (225) per 1000 persons. Human: sheep population ratio is highest in Sindh (1682 per 1000 persons) and lowest in Punjab. Human: cattle population ratio is highest in NWFP (253 per 1000 persons) followed by Baluchistan, Sindh and Punjab. Number of camels per 1000 persons is many folds higher in Baluchistan (50) as compared to that in other provinces (2-7). Ratio of human population with that of horses is slightly higher in Baluchistan than other provinces. Baluchistan also has the highest number of mules/donkeys per 1000 persons (62) followed by NWFP (31), Punjab (27) and Sindh (23

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY SEX AND AGE GROUP: BUFFALO

Composition of the national buffalo stock by sex and age group estimated during consecutive livestock censuses of 1976, 1986 and 1996 are presented in Table 1.11. The composition did not show any notable variation over this twenty years period. Overall male: female ratio remained closely around 1:5. Adult males (more than three years of age) constituted less than 2% whereas adult female buffaloes contributed slightly less than or equal to 60% of the total population. About one half of the adult males have been reported to be used as breeding bulls. This means that only one buffalo bull is available for breeding of 60 adult female buffaloes.


17

Buffalo young stock (less than three years of age) represented around 40% of the total population. The male: female ratio in the young stock averaged 100:162 in the three censuses which indicates that buffalo farmers pay less attention to the proper feeding, management and disease control of male buffalo calves as compared to female calves resulting into higher mortality rate in the former.

Table 1.11. Buffalo Population by Sex and Age.

Variable* 1976 1986 1996 Total Population (Million) Adult Males (%) Male Young stock (%) Total Males (%) Adult Female (%) Female Young stock (%) Total Female (%)

10.60 2.0 15.0 17.0 57.0 26.0 83.0

15.70 1.0 15.0 16.0 57.0 27.0 84.0

20.27 1.8 16.2 18.0 60.0 21.8 82.0

* Adult: More than 3-years of age * Young stock: Less than 3-years of age. CATTLE

Table 1.12 shows compositional changes taking place in the national cattle stock in terms of sex and age group over the period from 1976 to 1996. Overall male: female ratio has considerably changed from male’s dominance in 1976 (56:44) to female’s dominance in 1996 census (35:64). This shift has taken place due to two apparent reasons. Firstly, the number of adult males has gradually decreased from 6.1 million in 1976 to 3.7 million in 1996. Main cause of this decrease appears to be the increasing use of farm machinery for agricultural operations, which has resulted in less demand for bullocks. Secondly, the number of cows has rapidly increased from 5.1 million in 1986 to 10.0 million in 1996. This rapid rise in population of cows has been caused by the production of large number of crossbred dairy cattle in order to meet increasing demand for milk in the country. Unlike buffalo young stock, the proportion of males in cattle young stock is higher than that of females. This indicates that cattle farmers do not neglect the male calves in terms of feeding, management and protection from diseases. As the demand for bullocks for draught purposes has decreased, the males calves are now primarily reared for slaughtering and


18

cattle young stock has emerged as an important source of beef production in the country.

Table 1.12. Cattle Population by Sex and Age.

Variable* 1976 1986 1996 Total Population (Million) Adult Males (%) Male Young stock (%) Total Males (%) Adult Female (%) Female Young stock (%) Total Female (%)

14.9 41.0 15.0 56.0 31.0 13.0 44.0

17.5 31.0 16.0 47.0 29.0 14.0 53.0

20.4 18.0 17.5 35.5 49.0 15.5 64.5

* Adult: More than 3-years of age * Young stock: Less than 3-years of age. SMALL RUMINANTS

According to the last census conducted in 1996, there were 64.7 million small ruminants in Pakistan. Sheep and goats constituted 36.4 and 63.6 percent of the total small ruminants, respectively. As shown in Table 1.13, the population of adult goats (more than one year of age) represented two third of the goat population. Within adult population, one buck is available for approximately five does. This ratio has been on a decline since 1976 when it was almost 1:10. Obvious reason for this decline is the decreasing tendency in population of does associated with an increasing population of bucks over the period from 1976 to 1996. During 1996 census, the adult sheep represented 71% of the total sheep population. For every adult sheep (ewe), one male (ram) is available for breeding. Similar to adult goat stock, the ram: ewe ratio has been on a decline during the period from 1976 to 1996. During 1976, this ratio was 1:8 which decreased to 1:4.2 in 1986. Obvious reason for this decline is also same as mentioned for adult goat stock. Table 1.13. Small Ruminants Population by Sex and Age. Species Variable* 1976 1986 1996


19

Goats Sheep

Total Population (Million) Adult Female (%) Adult Males (%) Young stock-both sexes (%) Total Population (Million) Adult Females (%) Adult Males (%) Young stock-both sexes (%)

21.70 59.0 6.0

35.0 18.90 64.0 8.0

28.0

29.89 57.0 10.0 33.0 23.29 59.0 14.0 27.0

41.16 54.3 12.7 33.0

23.54 56.5 14.5 29.0

* Adult: More than one year of age * Young stock: Less than one year of age. CAMELS

Classification of camel stock by sex and age as reported in the livestock census of 1996 is given in Table 1.14. Comparative data are not available in the census reports of 1976 and 1986. Adult camels (more than three years of age) constitute nearly 77% of the total camel population of Pakistan. Camel young stock (less than three years of age) constitutes the remaining 23% of population that is equally shared by the male and female young stock. Within adult population, though the number of males (349 thousand) is higher than that of female camels (278 thousand), the difference is not big. This may mean that the male and female camels are equally used for work in Pakistan. Table 1.14. Camel Population by Sex and Age.

Variable Population (Thousands) Percent Composition Total Population Adult Males Adult Females Male Young stock Female Young stock

815.4 348.9 277.9 93.9 94.7

100.0 42.8 34.1 11.5 11.6

EQUINE

Information regarding sex-wise population of equines has not been collected during the livestock censuses of Pakistan. Equines are classified only on the basis of age i.e. more than or less than three years old. Such


20

classification of horses, mules and donkeys as reported in the livestock census of 1996 is presented in Table 1.15. Regardless of type, the numbers of work animals aging more than three years constitute around 80% of total population. The proportion of younger animals less than three years or age is slightly higher in asses as compared to that in horses and mules. Table 1.15. Equine Population by Age.

Type Age Population (Thousands)

Percent Composition

Horses Mules Donkeys

Three years and above Less than three years Three years and above Less than three years Three years and above Less than three years

279 55

110 22

2810 739

83.5 16.5 83.3 16.7 79.2 20.8

YAKS

As per livestock census of 1996, the classification of yak population by age and sex is given in Table 1.16. Overall male: female ratio is 1:16. Within adults (more than three years of age), this ratio is nearly 1:2. Adult yaks constitute more than 72% of the total population. Within male yaks, adults are almost twice in number than the young stock. For female yaks, the number of adults is three times than that of young stock. Table 1.16. Yak Population by Age and Sex.

Variable* Population (Thousands) Percent Composition Adult Males Male Young stock Total Males Adult Females Female Young Stock Total Females

3.75 1.85 5.60 7.01 2.30 9.31

25.1 12.4 37.5 47.0 15.5 62.5

* Adult: More than three years of age. * Young stock: Less than three years of age. DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY PROVINCES


21

Population of different species of livestock is not evenly distributed in the country. Population of each species varies from province to province due to a large number of determining factors. Agro-ecological conditions, home-tract of breeds, adaptability to local environmental conditions, suitability of production environments and marketing avenues for animals and their products are some of these factors. Population Distribution of livestock in the provinces as reported in the Livestock Census of 1996, is presented in Table 1.17. Table 1.17. Provincial Distribution of Livestock Population Species Punjab Sindh NWFP Baluchistan Buffalo 64 28 7 1 Cattle 46 27 21 6 Goats 37 24 16 23 Sheep 26 16 12 46 Camel 23 28 8 41 Horses 54 19 14 13 Mules 44 9 45 2 Donkeys 55 19 15 11

PUNJAB

It is evident form Table 1.17 that nearly two third of buffalo and half of the cattle population of Pakistan is found in the province of Punjab. Buffaloes and cattle used for dairy purposes are concentrated in the irrigated plains of the central and eastern regions of Punjab. These areas are the primary home-tracts of famous dairy breeds of cattle and buffalo and also have the maximum number of crossbred dairy cattle. Because of better communication linkages and marketing opportunities, the irrigated Punjab provides best production environments in the country for traditional as well as semi-commercial or commercial dairy farming. In addition to buffaloes and cattle, more than one third of the total population of goats and one fourth of the sheep population of Pakistan is maintained in Punjab. Small ruminants are scattered throughout the province but have more economical value in the rain-fed areas of northern part and Cholistan desert areas of southern part of Punjab. Forage supply


22

is the major constraint in these areas and small ruminant production mainly depends on grazing on native pastures and shrubs trees throughout the year. Dera Ghazi Khan Division has maximum number of sheep (1.91 million) followed by Bahawalpur Division (1.10 million) and Sargodha Division (0.97 million). Highest number of goats is found in Multan Division (2.84 million) followed by Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan and Faisalabad Divisions each with goat population of over two millions. Approximately one fourth of the camel population of Pakistan is in Punjab. The distribution pattern of camel population is similar to that of small ruminants particularly sheep. Maximum number of camels is found in D.G. Khan Division (63 thousands) followed by Sargodha Division (40 thousands) and Bahawalpur Division (35 thousands). Unlike in other provinces, the camels in Punjab are generally not used as a meat animal. Their predominant use remains as a pack animal for pulling heavy loaded carts in the cities and towns for the transportation of various agricultural commodities and fuel wood, etc. More than half of the equine population of Pakistan is found in Punjab. Equine are not used as a meat animal in Pakistan and the same is true for Punjab, as well. Horses are commonly used for individual or family ride in rural areas of the province. The traditional use of horses for driving two-wheel carriages as a means of transport in big towns and cities is on decline due to increasing availability of automotive vehicles. Population of horses is almost uniformly distributed throughout Punjab. However, some concentration is noticed in Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Lahore Divisions. Distribution pattern of the population of donkeys is similar to that of horses in the province. In Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Lahore Divisions, the donkeys are commonly used to pull small carts for transportation of industrial raw material and goods and also to carry construction materials for short distances within and around towns and cities. SIND

It can be seen from Table 1.17 that 28% of buffalo and 27% of cattle population of Pakistan are found in Sindh province. Buffaloes and cattle used for dairy as well as draught purposes have their maximum population in the central alluvial plains that are the primary home-tract of famous dairy breeds of local buffalo and cattle. These plains that extend on both


23

sides of Indus River have been formed by the meandering and shifting course of the river. Due to better availability of feed resources, these plains provide most suitable production environments for dairy farming in the province. In addition, Landhi Cattle Colony of Karachi has a population of around 150,000 buffaloes that is the largest commercial dairy set-up in the country. About one fourth population of goats and 16% population of sheep are in the province of Sindh. Small ruminants are found in all parts of the province with lowest numbers in Karachi Division. Goats are mostly in the Mirpur Khas Division where they earn maximum economic value due to migratory farming under desert environments. Fairly large numbers of goats are also found in Hyderabad and Sukkur Divisions. Like goats, maximum population of sheep is also in the Mirpur Khas Division. Another notable area for sheep population is the Larkana Division. About 28% camel population of Pakistan is in Sindh province where it is mainly concentrated in the eastern desert areas and western mountains of Kohistan. Because of their suitability to desert environments, camels are found in largest number in the Mirpur Khas Division. Under these harsh environments, camels are used as a multipurpose animal for transportation, work and production of meat and milk. Nearly one fifth of the population of horses and donkeys of the country belong to Sindh province. With the exception of Karachi Division, equines are distributed throughout the province with maximum concentration in the Larkana Division followed by the Mirpur Khas Division. Their common uses are by and large same as described for the province of Punjab.

NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE

A large proportion (68%) of the geographical area of NWFP falls under Dry Mountainous Region of the country. These regions are spread in the north and west of the province. Due to unfavorable agro-ecological conditions and scarcity of feed/fodder, large ruminants, particularly, dairy animals cannot be properly maintained in this region. The remaining 32% of the geographical area of NWFP consists of Piedmont Plains (20% of total provincial area) of Kohat, Bannu and D.I. Khan Divisions, Central Valley Plains (7% of provincial area) of Peshawar and Mardan Divisions


24

and Eastern Wet Mountainous Region (5.5% of provincial area) of Mansehra Division. These areas have arid sub-tropical continental climate and provide slightly better environments for livestock production as compared to Dry Mountainous Region of the province. Buffaloes are not native animals of NWFP. The small proportion of national buffalo population maintained in the province (7%) is brought mainly from Punjab. There is a regular movement of buffaloes between the two provinces. Advance pregnant or freshly calved buffaloes are regularly procured from Punjab and kept mainly in the Central Valley Plains and Piedmont Plains to meet local demand of milk. As shown in Table 1.17, about one fifth of cattle population of Pakistan is located in NWFP. Cattle of NWFP are generally used as draught animals that are almost fairly distributed throughout the province. During the last about two decades, the number of exotic and crossbred dairy cattle has increased in the province. About 16% of goat population and 12% of sheep population of Pakistan is in NWFP. Small ruminants mainly survive on grazing on large area of rangelands available in the province. Like in Punjab and Sindh, the provincial population of goats is more than double of the sheep population of NWFP. A small proportion (8%) of camel population of Pakistan is also found in NWFP. Camels are not kept in all parts of the province. Tribal Agencies, Frontier Regions and D.I. Khan Division are the only notable areas in terms of their population. Equines particularly mules and donkeys are important as well as most suitable for use as work animals and load carriers in the widely spread mountainous region of NWFP. Nearly one half of the mule population of Pakistan is found in the topographically most difficult areas of the province including Kohistan belt, Frontier regions and Federally Administrated Tribal Agencies (FATA). BALUCHISTAN

In terms of geographical area, Baluchistan is the largest province covering nearly 44% of the total area of Pakistan. Majority of this area is, however, represented by highlands (upper and lower) and only a small proportion consists of plains. With the exception of irrigated areas of Nasirabad


25

Division and rain-fed areas of Sibi and Kachhi plains, acute shortage of water is the biggest limiting factor for intensive livestock production in the entire province. Due to lack of irrigation facilities and low and uncertain rainfall, livestock raising is a more reliable source of livelihood than crop production. Small ruminants and camels are the most important species of livestock in Baluchistan. Nearly one third of the total population of small ruminants in Pakistan is found in this province, where they survive mainly on rangelands under transhumant conditions. About 93% of the land area of Baluchistan comprises of rangelands. However, more than half of this area is completely barren and cannot be considered as a satisfactory source of grazing. The upper and lower highlands support more than 75% population of small ruminants of the province whereas the southern plains support remaining 25% population. It has been estimated that 90% of the population of sheep and goats keeps on moving, 30% permanently and 60% seasonally. In terms of relative populations of sheep and goats, the province of Baluchistan represents a unique position. Unlike other provinces of Pakistan, number of sheep in Baluchistan is greater than that of goats. This province supports largest proportion (46%) of the total sheep population of the country. About 41% of camel population of Pakistan is in Baluchistan. The mountain camel occupies a unique place in the socio-economic system of the province by serving as a source of milk and meat and as a means of transportation in the arid, semi-arid and desert areas. According to Livestock Census of 1996, maximum number of camels was in Kalat Division (127,000) followed by Sibi Division (81,000), Nasirabad Division (44,000) and Zhob Division (42,000). When compared with other provinces, Baluchistan maintains the lowest of buffalo and cattle population of Pakistan. Only 6% of cattle and 1% of buffalo population is found in this province. Cattle and buffalo farming have been recently introduced in Baluchistan. At these farms, number of buffaloes is higher than that of cattle for the reason that the consumers prefer buffalo milk to the cow milk. Dairy farming is mostly peri-urban in Baluchistan where it is almost confined to canal irrigated low lands of Nasirabad District and is dominated by buffaloes mainly brought from


26

Sindh province. Local cattle are mainly used for draught purposes and beef production. At the commercial farms, however, the tendency of keeping exotic and crossbred dairy cattle has increased over the last 25 years or so. Because of the dominant role played by camels as work animals and means of transportation in Baluchistan, the equines have little significance in the province. Only 13, 11 and 2% of national population of horses, donkeys and mules, respectively, are found in Baluchistan. Horses are used for pleasure riding, tent pegging and pulling two-wheel carriages. Donkeys used for load carrying and transportation purposes are kept mostly in Kalat, Nasirabad and Sibi Divisions. NORTHERN AREAS

Apart from 15000 yaks not found elsewhere in the country, the Northern Areas have a very small proportion (less than 1%) of livestock population

of Pakistan. According to Livestock Census of 1996, goats have the largest population (690 thousand) followed by sheep (440 thousand) and

cattle (290 thousand). Small ruminants and small sized local cattle are found in larger numbers in districts of Gilgit and Skardu. Buffaloes are not

kept in the Northern areas. Only few thousand donkeys and horses and few hundred camels and mules have been reported to be found in these

areas.


27


28

Chapter 2

The living organisms show a wide variation and express unique differences in terms of body structure, physiological functions, reproductive patterns, adaptability to environments, surviving ability, etc. Accordingly, they are classified into various categories based on different levels of common characteristics. The science dealing with classification of living organisms is called Taxonomy. The classification system is used to recognize major as well as minor differences between living organisms. The hierarchy of classification can be described both ways i.e. from top to bottom or from bottom to top. In the top to bottom approach, we begin from the broadest class having smallest level of common traits (kingdom) and move down towards most specific class having largest level of distinct common traits (species). Taking the top to bottom approach, all animals having ability to move on their own and manage food for them, belong to the kingdom Animalia. The kingdom is made up of phyla and sub-phyla. Farm animals come under phylum Chordata and sub-phylum Vertebrata. All vertebrate animals have a vertebral column comprising bones and cartilages surrounding the nerve cord. Bones make up the internal skeleton and protect brain through formation of the skull. Paired limbs (arms & legs) are attached with the axial skeleton due to the presence of muscles, which provide moving ability to the animals. Third level of classification is termed as “Class”. The phylum chordata consists of several classes. Domestic farm animals are grouped under the class “Mammalia”. All female members of this class have mammary glands and produce milk to nurse their young ones. Reproduction is sexual and the embryo formed as a result of mating of male and female, is carried inside uterus of the female until delivery of the foetus. Mammals have a well-developed brain, hairy skin, multiple teeth and a heart with four chambers. All mammals except fish have the ability to regulate their internal body temperature. The mammalia class is further divided into several Orders, which is fourth level of classification in the top to bottom approach. Even-toed hoofed animals with a rumen (cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats) are grouped under


29

the order Artiodactyla whereas odd-toed hoofed animals with a simple stomach (horses) are grouped under the order Perissodoctyla. In the next level of classification, each Order is divided into Families. Ruminants (cattle, sheep, and goats) belong to family Bovidae whose members have cotyledonary placenta, unbranched uterus and a gall bladder. Monogastric animals i.e. horse and donkeys are members of the family Equidae. The second last level of classification is termed as Genus that represents a group of animals having a specific diploid numbers of chromosomes. The farm animals belong to different genera. The genus of domestic cattle is Bos whereas buffalo belongs to genus Bubalus. Similarly, sheep are grouped under genus Ovis, goats under genus Capra, and horses and donkeys under genus Equus. The last level of classification in the top to bottom hierarchy is termed as Species which represent reproductively isolated populations of a given genus that express physical similarity. For example, the genus Bos of domestic cattle includes humpless cattle of America and Europe belonging to Taurus species and humped or Zebu cattle of Indian sub-continent and Africa belonging to Indicus species. Zoological or scientific name of an animal consists of two parts. First part is the name of genus and the second part is the name of species to which the animal belongs. Scientific name of Zebu cattle for example, is Bos indicus. The classification explained in the preceding paragraph is based on the naturally occurring differences in the physical structure and body functions of animals. In the top to bottom approach, the last branch of taxonomic tree is species. Up to this point, the scientists conducted observational studies on the anatomy and physiology of various existent animals and the taxonomists simply grouped them together under phyla, order, families etc. on the basis of common characteristics. In the beginning of eighteenth century, the owners of domesticated species of farm animals started learning to select the animals having certain desirable traits to use for breeding purposes. As a result of selective breeding, distinguishable sub-populations within species started emerging that would breed true for the desirable characteristics. These identifiable sub-populations within species were termed as Breeds. Obviously, the differentiation of a species into various breeds is based upon the differences in their genetic potential for selected productive traits and the


30

development of specific breeds has taken place entirely due to human intervention (selective breeding). Livestock found in Pakistan belong to seven species. The common and scientific names of these species are given below: With the exception of yak and donkeys, each species consists of more than one indigenous breed:

Common Name Scientific Name Cattle Bos indicus Yak Bos grunniens Buffalo Bubalus bubalis

Goat Capra hircus Sheep Ovis vignei Camel Camelus dromedaries Horse Equus cabalus Donkey Equus asinus

A given species is arbitrarily divided into various types in order to show the specific purpose of rearing. Within each type, there may be several breeds with varying levels of producing ability and adaptability to local environmental conditions. There are no specific criteria for assigning the name to a breed. Most breeds are named after their original home tract e.g. Sahiwal and Dajal breeds of cattle. Some breeds are assigned name to recognize their unique body characteristics e.g. Kundi breed of buffalo named after the shape of horns and Red-Sindhi breed of cattle deriving its name from colour of the body coat. BREEDS OF CATTLE

Bos indicus species found in Pakistan consist of three types of cattle i.e. dairy, dual purpose and draught type. Dairy type cattle of Pakistan comprise of two well documented and internationally recognized breeds (Sahiwal and Red-Sindhi) and one less recognized breed (Cholistani). Tharparkar (or Thari) and Kankrej are the two dual-purpose breeds that have reasonable potential for milk production as well as draught work. The draught type cattle of Pakistan are further sub-typed as heavy-draught, medium – draught and light – draught cattle. Bhagnari and Dajal breeds


31

fall under heavy-draught sub-type. Dhanni is the only medium-draught breed whereas Lohani and Rojhan breeds belong to light-draught sub-type. DAIRY BREEDS Sahiwal

This breed is medium-sized, and has a fleshy body. Females have a reddish dun colour; males have a darker colour around the orbit, neck, and hindquarters. Males have stumpy horns; females are often dehorned. Ears are medium-sized and drooping. Skin is loose and fine with a voluminous dewlap and sheath. The hump in the male is massive, but in the female it is nominal. The tail ends in a black switch. The udder is large and strong. Milk yield is 1500-2200 litres per lactation with a fat content of 4.5 percent. Adult males weigh 400-500 kg, while females weigh 300-350 kg. Sahiwals are in great demand in several Asian and African countries because of their resistance to ticks and high temperature and reasonable dairy potential. Sahiwal cattle are concentrated in parts of Districts Sahiwal, Okara, Multan, and Faisalabad in the Punjab. The breed is named after Sahiwal, which is part of its home tract. Red Sindhi

This is a medium-sized breed with a compact build and red body colour. The Lasbela strain is comparatively darker, and the colour of the bull is likely to be darker at the shoulders. It has a large head with an occasional bulge in the forehead. Horns are thick and stumpy in males but thin in females. Ears are fine and small. The hump is well developed in males. The dewlap is moderate in both sexes. The sheath is pendulous in males, but nominal in females. Hindquarters are round and drooping, tail switch is black, and udder is medium-large and strong. Milk yield per lactation varies from 1500 to 2000 litres. Adult males weight 425-525 kg, while females weigh 300-350 kg. Red Sindhi animals are hardy and adapt very well to stressful environments. Although the bullocks are slow, they are used for various agricultural operations. Several countries have imported animals of this breed to improve the dairy potential of local cattle breeds.


32

The Red Sindhi breed originates from a mountainous region called ‘Mahal Kohistan’, spread over parts of Karachi, Thatta, and Dadu Districts in Sindh. The home tract of this breed extends to the irrigated areas of Hyderabad (Sindh) and the arid plains of Lasbela District in Balochistan. Cholistani

This breed is considered to be the ancestors of Sahiwal breed. The animals are medium sized having white body with brown spots or brown body colour with white spots or tan, black splashed coat. The body is wedge shaped with fine thick loose skin, medium short head, medium sized ears, black eye lids with a voluminous dewlap and sheath. Massive hump in male but slight in female are the distinctive features of Cholistani animals. Their hooves are black and well set; the tail is long with black tuft. The udder is balanced and teats are of uniform length and size. The cows are raised as dairy animals but their male calves are a source of good quality beef. The adult weight of male is 660 kg and that of a female is 375 kg. Average milk yield of a Cholistani cow is 1800 liters standardized for 305 days. The actual lactation period is 290 days. Cholistani breed is found in sandy desert area of Cholistan particularly districts of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan. DUAL PURPOSE BEEDS Tharparkar (Thari)

Tharparkar or Thari is a dual-purpose (milk and draught) breed. Thari are medium-sized animals with a long tapering face, slightly convex forehead, medium-sized horns that curve upward and outward, and large, semi-pendulous ears. They are generally light grey, with a colour deepening on the fore and hindquarters in males. A white stripe runs along the backbone. The tail switch is black. They have a well-developed, firm hump, medium dewlap, deep barrel, and strong legs. The udder is medium-sized and strong. Cows are fairly good milk producers. Adult males and females weigh 400-500 and 300-380 kg, respectively. The Tharparkar breed has been named after the district from which it originates. This district has large stretches of sand dunes, and adequate


33

grazing is only available a few months after the monsoon rains (July to September). They are very well adapted to the extreme climatic conditions and feed scarcity of their home tract. Kankrej

This is another dual-purpose breed with dairy potential lesser than Thari breed. The body colour of Kankrej cattle varies from silver-grey to a darker grey. Males are darker at the shoulders, hump, and hindquarters. The forehead is broad and slightly concave in the centre. The nose is slightly upturned, ears large and pendulous, and horns strong and lyre-shaped. Females weigh 350-400 kg, have a medium-sized udder, and are fair milk producers. Kankrej bullocks are prized as fast and powerful draught animals. The adult males weigh 500-650 kg. Original home tract of this breed is Indian Gujrat. In Pakistan, Kankrej breed is found in Districts of Tharparkar and Badin in Sindh province, extending along the Rann of Kachh to the northern part of Gujrat in India. Its smaller strain, locally named Kachhi or Wadhiari, is found in Thatta and Sanghar Districts in Sindh. DRAUGHT BREEDS Bhagnari

This is a heavy-draught type breed. Typical animals are massive with compact and well-proportioned body and limbs. Body colour is white or grey, deepening to almost black on the neck, shoulders, and hump in mature males. They have a medium-sized head with a short, strong neck. Other characteristics include a small dewlap; small pointed ears; stumpy horns; medium-sized hump; straight back; wide, muscular, and drooping hindquarters; and black tail switch. The cows are low milk yielders. Adult males weigh 450-600 kg, while females weigh 325-425 kg. Males are suitable for heavy draught work and possess considerable potential for beef production. This breed originates from the lower valley of the Nari River around Jacobabad (Sindh) and upper Nari valley in the territory of Jacobabad, extending up to Sibi (Balochistan).

Dajal


34

The Dajal breed is considered to be an offshoot of the Bhagnari breed, having similar features. However, Dajal cattle are comparatively smaller in size and lighter in colour. Cows are low yielders. Males are as good for draught work as are those of the Bhagnari breed. These cattle come from the Dajal area in District Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province.

Dhanni

This is medium-draught type breed. Dhanni cattle are medium-sized with a compact body and four varying body colour; (i) predominantly white coat with black spots (Chitta Burga), (ii) predominantly black coat with white spots (Kala Burga), (iii) white mottles with brown and black patches (Nugra), or (iv) predominantly red coat with white spots (Ratta Burga). Their head and ears are small, and the horns are stumpy. The dewlap is small, compact hump and straight back. They have a tight sheath, whip like tail ending in a white switch, and a tucked-up udder. Milk yield is low. Adult males weigh 350-450 kg, while females weigh 270-330 kg. Males are sturdy animals having great agility. They are very suitable for medium draught work.

The districts of Attock, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, and Jhelum in the province of Punjab are the home tracts of Dhanni cattle. Because of their attractive body colour and proven utility, Dhanni males are very popular all over Punjab. Lohani

This is a light-draught type breed. Lohani cattle are small-sized and short statured. Body colour is red splashed with white spots. They have short thick horns, small ears, a short neck, well-developed hump, moderate dewlap, black tail switch, small tucked-up udder, and a low milk yield. An adult male weighs 300-350 kg and female 230-280 kg. Lohani cattle are very hardy and sure-footed; male stock is suitable for light work in hilly and sub-hilly areas. Lohani cattle originated in the Loralai district of Balochistan and Dera Ismail Khan district in NWFP. Rojhan

This is another light-draught type breed. Rojhan cattle are small-sized animals with a red and white spotted coat (considerable variation in spot size), tight skin, small and alert ears, small pointed horns, short neck,


35

proportionately large hump, and extended dewlap. Their thin tail usually ends in a white switch. They have a small, tucked-up udder. Milk yield is very low. The adult male weighs 300-350 kg and the female 230-280 kg. Male stock is very suitable for draught work in hilly and sub-hilly areas. Rojhan cattle live in the Suleiman Range in the southern part of Dera Ghazi Khan District (Rojhan, Umarkot, and Somemiani) in Punjab, and parts of Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu Districts in NWFP. BREEDS OF BUFFALO

Domestic buffaloes are found in all continents of the world including Australia and the Oceania. On the basis of their utility and purpose of rearing, buffaloes are classified into three main types. Riverine type buffaloes are mainly found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal where they are primarily used for milk production. Swamp type buffaloes are concentrated in other South Asian countries where they are mainly used as work animals. The Mediterranean type buffaloes are mostly confined to some European and South American countries where their main purpose is to produce mozzarella cheese. Buffaloes found in Pakistan belong to famous breeds namely Nili-Ravi and Kundi, which are classified under the riverine type. Buffaloes occupy a unique place in the livestock production scenario of Pakistan because of their use as a triple purpose animal i.e. for milk, beef and draught power. They are the primary dairy animals of the country contributing around 70% of the national milk production. Pakistani buffaloes are included among the best dairy breeds of the buffalo in the world as they constitute only 10% of the global buffalo population but contribute more than 25% of the buffalo milk produced in the world. It is generally believed that the Ravi and the Nili were originally two distinct breeds as they belonged to two different areas with little or no communication between them. Under this situation, in breeding in the rural herds was inevitable which resulted in the fixation of certain morphological characters in each breed. Later on, when colonization started in the Punjab from 1915 when the “Lower Bari Doab Canal” was commissioned to irrigate the centuries-old parched and thirsty plains and the means of communication improved, there was a frequent movement of men and animals resulting in the admixture of blood of the two breeds,


36

producing animals possessing blood of the two breeds in varying proportions. Both the breeds, therefore, lost their distinctive attributes and majority of them could neither be classified as typical Ravi or typical Nili. Accordingly during early 1950s, the livestock breeding experts decided to group Nili and Ravi strains as one breed under the common name of Nili-Ravi. Since then, it is known as the Nili-Ravi breed of buffalo. Nili-Ravi

The body is massive and barrel-shaped with a deep frame. The head is long, convex in the upper third but with a depression between the orbits. It shows good depth from the angle of jaw to the base of the horns. Nasal and frontal bones are prominent. Eyes are prominent, especially in the females. The neck is long and thin in the female and thick and powerful in the males. There is no dewlap and the umbilical fold is small. The legs are comparatively short with good bone. The female is wedge-shaped with relatively narrow forequarters and wide roomy hindquarters. The back is wide straight between the prominent withers and the slightly sloping rump. The tail is well set, broad at the base and tapering at ends at the fetlock or just below it in a big tuft of hair that may trail on the ground. The udder is well developed, extending far forward and backward. The teats are long, even and squarely placed and the milk veins are prominent. Average lactation milk yield ranges from 1800 to 2400 liters with a lactation length of 260 to 325 days. Average body weights of adult female and male are 650 kg and 780 kg, respectively. Prior to the colonization of the districts of Okara, Sahiwal, Multan, Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh in early 20th century the main habitat of the Nili-Ravi breed of buffalo was confined to the riverine areas of the Sutlej and Ravi Rivers, constituted by Pakpattan and Chichawatni tehsils of Sahiwal district, Gogera, Okara and Dipalpur tehsils of Okara district, Mailsi tehsil of Vehari district, part of Bahawalpur district and Kamalia, Samundri and Tandlianwala areas of Faisalabad district. At present, Nili-Ravi buffaloes are distributed throughout Punjab and NWFP and parts of Sindh and AJK. In the Malakand division of the NWFP considerable numbers of a grey coloured buffaloes are found which have phenotypic resemblance with Nili-Ravi breed. Locally, these are called Swati or Azakheli buffaloes.


37

Kundi

Kundi buffaloes are usually jet black but light brown is not uncommon. The barrel is medium sized. The back is wide and depressed in the middle. Neck is thin in females but is thick and massive in entire males. Dewlap is absent. Chest is wide and well developed. Legs are short and strait. Hooves are black and interdigital space is small. Hindquarters in females are heavier and wider than the males. Tail is long, thin and flexible and usually extends up to the middle of fetlock ending in black tuft. The udder is moderately developed and is well tucked up. The teats are medium-sized and spaced apart. Kundi are comparatively smaller than the Nili-Ravi with a live weight of 320-450 kg. Milk yield averages 9 kg daily, with good animals reaching 18 kg. Average length of lactation ranges from 280 to 320 days. The Kundi breed of buffalo is mainly confined to rice-growing and swampy areas of Sind along the Indus River extending from Kashmore in the north to Shah Bandar in the south. The tract is hot and dry during summer months with very little rainfall. BREEDS OF GOAT More than 25 breeds of goats have been reported for Pakistan including those in the Northern Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In general, there are two types of goat breeds; milch type breeds that are dual purpose (milk and meat) and are concentrated in irrigated and/or around urban areas, and mutton type breeds mainly found in desert/rangeland areas. Goat Breeds of Punjab

The province of Punjab maintains two milch breeds (Beetal and Dera Din Panah) and two mutton breeds (Nachi & Teddy) of goats. Beetal is a large breed and adult animal weight is around 35-40 kg. Dera Din Panah is a relatively smaller breed. Both breeds have good dairy potential and daily milk yield is as high as 2.5 to 3.0 litres. In addition to mutton producing ability, Nachi goats have potential to produce 600-900 grams of milk/day.


38

Teddy is a small-sized breed; dressing percentage is excellent (50-58%) and quality of mutton is fairly good. Goat Breeds of Sind

Barbari and Desi are dual purpose (milk and mutton) goat breeds of Sindh. Adult animal weight ranges from 20 to 30 kg with 45-50% dressing percentage. Does of both breeds can produce more than one litre of milk per day. Kamori is the only milch breed of Sindh. It is a large-sized breed and possesses the potential of producing more than two litres of milk daily. Chapper is a multi-purpose goat breed of Sindh. Chapper goats are medium sized and are mainly used for hair production. Their annual fleece weight is more than 1.0 kg but ability to produce milk and mutton is low. Goat Breeds of NWFP

Goat breeds of N.W.F.P. include Damani, Gaddi and Kaghani. Damani goats are good milk producers with daily milk yield as high as 1.5 litres. Their potential for producing milk and hair is low. Gaddi is a comparatively heavier breed and is famous for its dual purpose for hair and milk production, Kaghani goats are mainly used for producing mutton and hair. Their annual fleece weight is more than 1.0 kg and an adult carcass yields about 16-19 kg of dressed meat. Goat Breeds of Baluchistan

Kajli, Khurasani and Lehri are among the goat breeds of Balochistan province. Kajli goats are mainly kept for meat production but they are also fair milk producers yielding about 900 to 1300 grams of milk/day. Khurasani goats have low potential for hair production but are good meat producers. Lehri goats have considerable potential for hair production (0.8 kg/year) and their mutton producing ability is also good although mutton is of poor quality. Goat Breeds of Northern Areas

Goat breeds of Northern Areas of Pakistan have been poorly described. Four breeds have been reported to exist in these areas namely Baltistani, Jarakhail, Kohai-ghizer and Piamiri. These are multipurpose breeds that are used for the purpose of producing hair, milk and mutton. Average daily milk yield in these breeds ranges from 0.8 to 1.5 litres; adult animal


39

weights are in the range of 30 kg (Baltistani) to 52 kg (Jarakhail) with dressing percentage varying from 45 to 55%. Jarakhail breed possesses good potential for mutton production and an adult carcass yields about 22-27 kg of dressed mutton. Hair producing ability of these breeds has not been documented. Goat Breeds of AJK

Seven breeds of goats have been described for Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Five are dual-purpose breeds (Chamber, Buchi, Kooti, Pothohari and Shurri) used for milk and mutton production. Their milk production potential is low (500-1000 grams/day) and dressing percentage ranges from 45 to 55%. Jattal and Labri breeds show some good potential for hair production. Annual fleece weight in these breeds is more than 1.0 kg. Some Labri goats yield as much as 2.0 kg of hair per year. BREEDS OF SHEEP Pakistani sheep are famous for producing carpet wool, although mutton and milk production are their other important features. Pakistan is 11th in sheep population ranking in the world. Twenty-eight distinct sheep breeds have been reported in all the four provinces, Northern Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). There are seven sheep breeds in each of Punjab and NWFP, three in Sindh, four in Balochistan, three in Northern Areas and four in AJK. Out of total 28 breeds, 14 breeds possess fatty tail and the other 14 are thin-tailed.

Sheep Breeds of Punjab

Four of the seven breeds found in Punjab are dual purpose and have the potential for production of mutton and wool. These include Latti (Salt Range), Cholistani, Kajili and Sipli. Average weight of adult animal ranges from 35 to 45 kg and dressing percentage varies from 43% (Cholistani) to 55% (Kajili) in these breeds. Annual fleece weight ranges from 2.0 kg (Latti) to 5.0 kg (Sipli). Buchi breed of Punjab is mainly raised for production of carpet wool because its ability to produce milk and mutton is low. Lohi is the only breed of Punjab, which is kept for the dual purpose of producing milk and mutton. Lohi ewes produce about 400 grams of milk/day and this breed has good dressing percentage (50-55%). Thalli sheep are mainly confined


40

to desert areas of Punjab where they are kept as multi-purpose animals for the production of milk, mutton and wool. Thalli ewes are good milk producers but their ability to produce wool and mutton is low. Sheep Breeds of NWFP

Out of the seven sheep breeds of NWFP, two are thin-tailed (Damani and Kaghani) and five are fat-tailed (Hashtnagri, Michni, Waziri, Balkhi and Tirahi). Based on the purpose of rearing, four breeds (Hashtnagri, Michni, Waziri and Kaghani) are dual purpose and are used for mutton and wool production. Average weight of adult animal in these breeds ranges from 24 to 33 kg and dressing percentage varies from 40% (Michni) to 50% (Waziri). Annual fleece weight in these breeds averages about 1.5 kg/animal. Crossbreeding of Kaghani with Rambouillet has been going on in NWFP since 1957. Rambouillet is originally a French breed famous for fine wool production. Initially, 250 Rambouillet sheep were introduced from USA in 1957. Later on, another 300 ewes and 21 rams were imported in 1992. Based on the work conducted at Jaba Sheep Farm Mansehra, crossbred sheep produce more meat and fleece weight with better quality wool than the Kaghani breed. So far, more than 2500 Rambouillet rams have been distributed among the farmers and approximately, 80% of the population of Kaghani sheep has been replaced by their crossbreds called Ramghani sheep. Tirahi breed of NWFP is kept for the triple purpose of producing mutton, milk and wool in that order. Tirahi ewes can produce up to 700 grams of milk/day; dressing percentage of this breed is about 50% but the annual fleece weight is low. Balkhi and Damani breeds are mainly kept for mutton and milk production, respectively. Balkhi males weigh about 70-75 kg with an average dressing percentage of 50-55%. Damani ewes are good milk producers and can produce up to 1500 grams of milk per day. Sheep Breeds of Sind

Sheep breeds of Sindh province include Dumbi, Kachhi and Kooka. The last is a dual-purpose breed having moderate potential for mutton and wool production. Dumbi and Kachhi are multipurpose breeds that have


41

reasonable potential for milk production. Their dressing percentage (40-45%) and fleece weight (2 kg) are, however, low. Sheep Breeds of Balochistan

Sheep breeds of Balochistan are fat-tailed. Bibrik and Harnai are reared for the dual purpose of mutton and wool. Adult animal weight is 35-40 kg and mutton is of good quality. Balochi and Rakhshani are good milch breeds and lactating ewes can produce up to 900 grams of milk/day. Rakhshani breed has considerable potential for mutton production. Weight of adult animal is 35 kg with 50-55% dressing percentage. Sheep Breeds of Northern Areas

Three sheep breeds are maintained in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. These breeds are multi-purpose and have low but acceptable potential for the production of milk, mutton and wool. Kohai ghizer breed is popular for its mutton producing ability. Gojal and Baltistani sheep have good dairy potential and their daily milk yield ranges from 900 to 1500 grams. Wool producing ability of these breeds has not been studied. Sheep Breeds of AJK

There are four breeds of sheep in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. All are dual purpose and kept for mutton and wool production. Pahari, Kail and Kali are medium-sized whereas Poonchi is a large-sized breed. Ewes of kail and poonchi breeds have some potential for milk production, as well. Wool producing ability of these breeds has not been studied. BREEDS OF CAMEL On the basis of presence or absence of hump, the members of Camelidae family are grouped under two genera, Auchenia (humpless) and Camelus (humped). The genus Camelus consists of two species. Camels with one hump are termed as Camelus dromedaries or commonly known as Arabian camel. The other specie is termed as Camelus bactrianus and animals of this species have two humps. Two-humped camels are found in central Asia where they are fully adapted to stone deserts and cold rocky mountains. A few animals of this species can be seen in Koh-e-gizer district of Northern Areas of Pakistan.


42

The camels found in Pakistan belong to the dromedaries species and hence commonly known as dromedary camels. These are one-humped animals having maximum ability to perform under tropical and sub-tropical environmental conditions in arid, semi-arid and desert ecologies. In Pakistan, as many as 20 breeds of dromedary camel have been described which consist of seven breeds from Baluchistan, four from NWFP, five from Punjab and four breeds from Sindh province. Camel Breeds of Balochistan Kachhi

This breed derives its name from the Kachhi area of Balochistan bordering the northern districts of Sindh. The distinguishing characteristics of Kachhi camel are compact body, short neck and legs and well-developed hindquarters. The feet pads are round smaller and harder in comparison to those of camel of riverine tract. Kachhi camel’s body is covered with short hair, extending over shoulders and hump. The coat is coarser and long. The head has a rounded cranium, and a slender muzzle. They are less dark in colour than Brahvi camels. When they are in colder areas of Balochistan, they grow dense hair on the body in winter season. The Kachhi found in this area is comparatively smaller. Kachhi camels are dual purpose and used as pack and riding animals. They are accustomed to walk and work in rough mountainous areas as well as in plains. Because of stronger and comparatively harder feet, Kachhi camels work more efficiently in mountainous areas of northern Sindh and southwestern Balochistan. The Kachhi camels have its origin from Balochistan, but true to type specimen are found in hot arid region between Sibi and Jacobabad. Kachhi is found in the Kachhi plains, the Marri and Bugti hills and parts of Jhalwan and Sarawan, Dadhar, Dera Bugti, Kohlu and South-West of Quetta. Brahvi

Name of this breed is after the Brahvi tribe of Balochistan and Sindh. This tribe originates from Brahvi ranges of Balochistan. Like Kachhi, Brahvi is


43

also smaller in size with comparatively shorter strong fine legs, but has better bone with wide chest. The most distinguishing characteristic of Brahvi is great density of long woolly coat, which is so dense that it is difficult to pass the fingers through it. The head is carried low; the hindquarters are massive and very strong. The most striking feature of this breed is the density of long hairy coat that covers nearly the whole body in winter including legs, belly and neck. The cranium is also covered with woolly hair. Hair colour is dark to light fawn; but grey coloured (with white hair) are also found among them. In the upper Sindh, these camels are not found in pure form, but are crosses (Bissaro) either of Kachhi or Brahvi with Sindhi camel. The Brahvi camel is originally bred in the desert area (Dagh) to the west of Noshki, district Chagai of Balochistan, but its area of distribution extends up to the northern frontiers of Sindh. The area of distribution extends from south of Quetta from central Brahvi mountain range to southward to Hazaur range and Kirther range to north west of Larkana district. Kharani

This breed is named after Kharan district of Balochistan province. The most common colour is light yellowish to grey. It has compact body and medium structure. The most peculiar characteristic of Kharani breed is the large number of grey hair mixed with white hair on the body. Such specimens are abundantly found among herds. In shape and size they resemble Rodbari camel. They are infact Kharan bred Brahvies. Kharan camels are small, but are popular for transport. Owing to their hardiness they are useful for work in the hills and are used for ploughing on the hard and dry lands. They are also used to lift water up to the depth of 180 feet from deep wells. The Kharani camel has also proved to be the best rider on the sandy lands. This breed is found in Kharan and Jhalwan as well as along the eastern frontier of Kharan bordering Kalat. The home tract is distributed in hilly mountainous and sandy areas; hence the breed is equally popular in hilly and sandy areas of Kalat.


44

Makrani

This breed derives its name from Kakran, the coastal areas of Balochistan. The Makrani has small mouth and well developed hindquarters. It is said to be soft footed among the camel breeds of Balochistan and resembles those breeds generally found in the plains and the delta region of Sind province. This breed has short neck with long face and short lips. Cranium is mostly covered with hair. The long hairs develop mainly under the throat, shoulders and over the hump. The hump is not very well developed as is found in Sindhi breeds. The body coat is brown to dark brown; but fawn coloured camels are also common. The neck, flank region and upper parts of legs above knees and hocks are blackish. The Makrani camels are mostly baggagers used to transport agricultural products and fuel wood from Kaccho of Sindh to the adjoining areas of Balochistan. These camels are brought in long caravans from Balochistan to Sindh and back to Balochistan. In the dry mountains areas because of very scanty vegetation other livestock is not reared, therefore, the camel milk is consumed and camel meat is also popular in this area like other areas of Balochistan. Makrani camel is found throughout western Balochistan i.e. Makran, Kharan, Lasbella and in parts of Jhalwan area. But true to type specimen are found along the south coastal areas of Balochistan. Lassi

The breed is named after the district “Lasbella”. Lassi is larger than Makrani – its colour is lighter in comparison to that of Makrani. Its normal colour is fawn with reddish tinge and mixed with dark red hair over belly, hump and shoulders. It is long legged camel. The body is not very massive. The muzzle is pointed and face is little longer than Makrani. Its head is bigger than that of Makrani and ears are comparatively smaller than those of Makrani. The Lassi are dual-purpose camel used for riding and for carrying baggage. They are used for riding in difficult areas of the district. This breed also extends in pure form to some adjoining districts of Sindh like Dadu, Larkana and Karachi. This breed is found in the Lasbella district and adjoining areas of Sindh and Balochistan.


45

Pishin

The breed is named after Pishin district of Balochistan province. The colour varies from light brown to dark brown or chestnut. Camels with fawn colour are more popular than the cream colour camels. This breed has a body structure of a typical mountainous camel and it resembles Afghan camel in shape and size. They are very thickset with large bones and carry heavy weights. Like Afghan camels, these are short statured with compact body. Pishin camels are very hardy and are known to be the best baggage camels. They are reported to exist without water for a month. This breed is found in Quetta and adjoining area, Pishin and surroundings, which are made up of hilly mountainous and sandy plain areas. Rodbari

It is named after the southwestern coastal area called as “Rodbar” in Balochistan. Colour of Rodbari camel is dirty grey to light reddish with slim body and shorter neck. The distinguishing character is very long chin possessing hair. The upper part of the neck and body including hump are covered with thick hair. It is better than the Kharani breed. In fact it is considered to be cross of Kharani camel with Iranian camel. Rodbari is the best baggage camel that is used to lift water from wells up to the depth of 170-180 feet. It can also be used as a source of transport in the desert areas. Rodbari breed is found in Makran coastal range and west of Hala range in Gwader, Pasni, Turbat, Daska, Kappar and extending towards north up to Panjgur and southwestern Khuzdar. Camel Breeds of NWFP Gaddi

Gaddi is not a pure breed, it is said to be the cross of Campbelpuri and some other breed. Body colour is creamy or white. The camels are tall in size. These are powerful and well built animals with good stamina like that of Khader. They have massive and powerful legs.


46

Gaddi breed is usually used for draught purpose and carries heavy load and is used mainly for transporting agriculture commodities in rural as well as in urban areas. The home tract of Gaddi is spread over Lucky Marwat, north and south Waziristan Agency and D.I. Khan district of N.W.F.P. Ghulmani

Ghulmani is a tall powerful baggage camel. Ghulmani camels are mostly white coloured animals, with well-built large body and thick massive limbs. Its face is short and wide between ears. Below the chin and the upper parts of neck are covered with hair. It has Roman nose, dumpy lips and a forehead of normal size. It has a shallow depression in the middle of bridge of nose. This breed has higher stamina while walking on road with load. Hence, it is commonly used as a pack animal used for carrying loads of various types. These camels are mostly used for transporting agriculture commodities and fuel wood. The home tract of this breed spreads over Dera Ismail Khan, the southern most district of NWFP. The home tract is bound on the north by the crest of Bhittani and Marwat ranges, on the west by Sherani and Suleiman hills, on the south by Dera Ghazi Khan district and on the east by Indus River. Khader

Body colour of Khader breed is creamy or white. This is a powerful and well-built camel with good stamina. The dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body run parallel and the body looks like a large barrel. Hump is small and appears as if it is placed right in the middle of the back that is very straight. It is long legged thin breed. Neck is comparatively shorter. It has Roman nose with depression in the middle. Primarily this breed is used for draught purpose for carrying baggage from one place to another. The Khader breed is found in the southern most district of NWFP province. The area of distribution spreads over D.G. Khan Rangelands lying between Suleiman range and Indus River.


47

Maya

It is a dark coloured hill camel with long winter coat that carries its head low. It resembles the Bactrian species in body shape, the head (equine in shape) also resembles to that of the Bactrian. Maya has dark brown long hairs under neck and other part of body. The Maya camels are built for hill-lines and have strong bones. They are mostly dark brown to blackish in colour with long black hair forming a mane at hump, throat and shoulders. Rest of the body is covered with matted dense wool. This breed is good for draught purpose, but is also used for riding because of it’s good pace in mountainous areas. It is a fine baggage type camel fit for working in rugged mountainous areas and difficult terrain with extremely cold climate. This breed is distributed in the northwestern hilly parts (Tribal Areas) of NWFP province. Camel Breeds of Punjab

Bagri

This breed is probably named after Bagri tribe inhabiting mainly in Thal desert. The conspicuous breed characteristics are small head and muzzle and there is marked convexity at the forehead and nose. The favorite colour is fawn. The fawny, brown, or camels with whitish or even white shades are also commonly seen in the herds. Bagri has long neck like that of Dhatti and resemble Dhatti in thin and lean body structure. Being a desert animal, the Bagri camel has greater ability to survive under harsh desert condition and is used as a main transport source in the region. The animals are excellent for riding and racing. They can run up to speed of 16-32 km per hours and can travel 64-96 km a day. This breed is indigenous to Thal desert lying between river Indus and Jehlum. Bagri camels are also found in Cholistan area. Brela

The camels of this breed have a rough and big head resembling that of the carnivore. Neck and legs are thick and massive. Brelas have broad chest and wide girth. They have big and strong bodies and have a Roman nose and drooping lips. They are tall and well built camels. The body colour varies from dark brown to black. The hump is well developed and the neck


48

is thick and muscular. The tips of the ears are curved inwards. Brela camels are graded as good pack animals. They are also good fighting camels, hence, fed high energy feeds and are reared and trained specially for this purpose. This breed is found in the riverine tract between Chenab and Ravi rivers (Rachna Doab) of Punjab province in district of Jhang and other northern irrigated districts of Punjab extending to Thal. Campbelpuri

This breed derives its name from Campbelpur – the old name of the district Attock of Punjab. Campbelpuri is a medium to large sized and thick-necked camel breed. It resembles Larri breed in its body size. It is a larger and short-necked camel breed of Pothwar area. Its head size is greater as compared to Maya and Khader. Ears are of smaller size. It has thick, muscular and compact body with thick and massive legs. This breed is found in Punjab and NWFP. On the west the boundary is the river Indus, across which lie Peshawar and Kohat district and Isakhel tehsil of Mianwali district. The remainder of the western boundary touches Mianwali tehsil. Khushab and Sargodha district forms the southern boundary. Chakwal tehsil of district Gujar Khan and Rawalpindi tehsil of Rawalpindi district make the eastern boundary. The breed’s distribution is extended to Pothwar plateau including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jehlum and Attock district. Kala-Chitta

It is named after Kala-Chitta range. Kala-Chitta is a heavy and massive breed. The ears are comparatively longer. Neck is massive and hump is well developed and slopes rapidly to the rump region. The most body colour is creamy, but the specimens with darker shades are also frequently found. This breed is primarily used for draught purpose, but is used for riding as well. The home tract of this breed is the home of famous Dhanni cattle breed. The tract is spread over Lohi Bher, Pabbi Kala Chitta (Forests of Kala-Chitta), Margalla hills, Sohawa and Salt Range.


49

Marecha

It is named after Marecha tribe that is resident of southern desert areas of Punjab. Home tract of this breed is desert of Cholistan in Punjab of Pakistan and extends to Rajputana in India. It is also called Mahra. The colour of Marecha breed varies from chestnut to blackish colour. Thus camels with different coat colours are seen mixed in herds. This breed has small sized head, pointed muzzle. Eyes are big and the ears are short and erect. Neck is thick and the camels keep their heads upwards while running. Hump is well developed. It has thin body and long legs. This is a dual-purpose camel used mainly for riding and load carrying. The females are said to be good milkers. The true to type animals of the breed are extensively found in riverine tract between Sutlej and Ravi river (Bari Doab) of Punjab and particularly in parts of Cholistan which is located in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar districts of the province. Camel Breeds of Sind

Dhatti

This breed derives its name from an area of Tharparkar called Dhatt, which in local language means desert area. The distinguishing character of Dhatti is its slim body, long legs and alert look. Being a desert camel this breed is lighter in bone while muscular development is of the wiry type, not massive like Larri or Sindhi. They have thin hair coats and are typically desert camels, tall and lightly built. The head is mall and well carried with the marks and grace of the breed. Face is narrow with a little depression. Muzzle is pointed and narrow with small mouth. Eyes are very prominent, bright and give look of alertness typical of this breed. While running, the animal’s neck forms a curve of “Swan-neck” with the mouth and nostrils facing upwards. Neck is thinner in comparison to Sindhi or Larri breed. Ears are short, erect and close together. Belly is very narrow at flanks and appears tucked up. Skin is supple and soft. The most frequent colour is light or dark fawn. Belly and head and little portions of the neck head are covered with bushy hair. The rest of the body has a short hair cover.


50

The Dhatti camels are excellent riding and racing animals. Dhatti camel is well adopted to travel very fast on sandy soil and its speed goes as fast as 35 km per hour and covers distances of more than 100 km in a day.

Dhatti is commonly found in entire desert part of the district Tharparkar. Its area of distribution also extends to the irrigated parts of the districts of Mirpur Khas, Umarkot and Sanghar and Nara area of Khairpur.

Kharai

This breed derives its name from Kharo Chhan (Salt water swamps) of Thatta district. The Kharai camels are medium sized animals, smaller in heights than Larri camel and are not very muscular. Their toenails are comparatively longer than other breeds because of lack of wear as they walk on soft muddy soil. The hump is well developed. The common colour is dark brown or black. Their ears are closer like the Dhatti, but possess long black hair in them. Neck and legs are thinner than those of the Sindhi/Larri, while the body surface is covered with curly brown or black colour hair. Kharai camels have a languish coat all over the body, generally dark brown or even black. Kharai camels are used for riding as well as for traction of load. In riding they are not as good as Dhatti camels. However, they can run faster than Sindhi/Larri.

Kharai camels are distributed in the lower part of the Indus delta. The range of distribution continues from Mirpur Sakro to Sujawal of district Thatta along the edge of the sea from Karachi to Kachh.

Larri or Sindhi

This breed is named after the lower Indus delta, popularly called Lar. Another name of this breed is Sindhi. The distinguishing characteristics of Larri are broad chest, good girth and massive body. The head is comparatively larger with a prominent cranium. The ears are smaller and set apart. The eyes are of medium size and do not give them the alert looks of Dhatti breed. Neck is massive and well built and broader than that of Dhatti. The legs are heavy, strong and massive and hump is well developed. The body coat is shorter and tail is broader and contains tufts of hairs at the end and on the sides. The most commonly occurring body colour is dark fawn or reddish or generally red or dark brown. The body is covered with short hair except at shoulders, hump and upper half of the neck.


51

The camels of this breed are good pack animals used for carrying loads and drawing carts full of load. They thrive well in hot and dry climate but cannot withstand cold climate. Larri camels are mostly used for transport of agricultural commodities and fuel wood from and to rural and urban areas. They are well adapted to work in the riverine forest areas, as well. Sindhi is a riverine camel breed found on both banks of river Indus and in the upper part of the delta. The large herds are seen distributed between Hyderabad and Badin, where they attain greater size and stronger bones. Sakrai

It derives its name from Mirpur Sakro of district Thatta. This breed is comparatively larger than Kharai and lies in between Lassi and Kharai in stature. Its colour is reddish brown. Colour of neck is darker than the rest of the body. It has comparatively shorter hair coat. Hump is well developed. Ears are comparatively longer than those of Kharai and face is smaller The Sakrai camels are used for riding as well as for carrying load. Sakrai are not as good riding camels as Dhatti, however they can run faster than the Sindhi/Larri. Like Kharai, the Sarai camels are also found on the beaches of Karachi for joy rides. Females are good milker and yield more than 4 litres per day if fed well during the pregnancy. The range of distribution of Sakrai camel is continuous from Mirpur Sakro to Sujawal talukas of Thatta. BREEDS OF HORSES Prior to the development of present day’s fast and mechanical means of transportation, horse riding was considered as the fastest means of transportation and communication on the land during the periods of peace as well as war. In the Indian sub-continent, Muslim army commanded by Mohammad Bin Qasim introduced Arabian horses. Later on, British army introduced thoroughbred horses in the sub-continent. At that time, there were two indigenous breeds of horses found in areas which are now included in Pakistan. Balochi breed was inhabited in Sindh and Balochistan whereas Anmole breed belonged to Punjab. The Anmole breed, which had its origin in districts of Sargodha, Jhang, Faisalabad and


52

Mianwali, has now almost completely disappeared due to massive crossbreeding with other breeds and lack of breed conservation efforts. Balochi

This is the only indigenous breed of horses left in Pakistan. Balochi horses are of different colours. Grey, bay and chestnut colours are common. They are medium sized animals with large fine head, long neck and pointed ear tips that can touch each other. Legs are thin but strong. Balochi horses are very active but less courageous. Body weight of an average stallion is 500 kg and height is 1.4 meters. They are commonly used for pleasure riding, tent-pegging competitions and pulling two-wheel carriages (Tongas). This breed originated in the province of Baluchistan. At present, Balochi horses are found in all the provinces of Pakistan. However, districts of Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzzafargarh, Bahawalpur and Multan are the main areas of their concentration in Punjab. Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred horse, like Balochi breed, also posses different body colors. This includes bay, black, brown or grey. White patches on legs and face are common. Thoroughbred horses are strongly built, active and energetic. Legs are long and made up of strong bones. The body is long, deep, narrow and upstanding. Ears are fine and small and head is small with medium sized face. Body weight of an average stallion ranges from 550 to 600 kg with height averaging 1.6 meters. Thoroughbred horses are used for long races, riding and tent-pegging. In addition, the armed forces and law enforcing agencies in the country commonly use them. This breed was evolved in United Kingdom through a well-planned breeding programme involving crossing of English mares with stallions of Arabian, French and Turkish breeds. The breed was introduced in Indian sub-continent during the period of British occupation. In Pakistan, thoroughbred horses are maintained at all major Remount Farms particularly in the districts of Sahiwal, Sargodha and Jhang. In addition, proper breeding of thoroughbred mares for propagation of this breed is being executed for the last fifty years under the land grant scheme at various places in the country.


53

SPECIES WITH SINGLE BREED

Donkeys

According to taxonomic classification, the donkey belongs to family equidae, genus Equus and species acinus. Historical evidence indicates that domestication of donkeys started in Egypt around 3400 B.C. Donkeys were introduced to Asia from Egypt. In Pakistan, donkeys have become very popular draught animal because of their ability to work under harsh conditions. In very hot summer months, they can withstand high temperature and can work for long hours without water. Besides, incidence of diseases is very low in donkey. For medium loads, they are considered as most suitable pack animals. In addition, donkeys are used to breed mares for mule production. Due to difference in the chromosomal make-up of donkeys and horses, the female mules are generally infertile and unable to reproduce. Because of this, male donkeys have to be continuously used to breed mares in a regular mule production programme. Yaks

The yak belongs to family Bovidae, genus Bos and species grunniens. The wild yak had its origin in Northern China, Mongolia, Siberia and North-Central Asia. The domestic yak is now mainly distributed in areas adjacent to Himalayas and Tibet plateau. In Pakistan, yak is confined to the high altitude regions (more than 3000 meters above sea level) of Northern Areas particularly in Gilgit, Skardu and Ladakh valley. The wild yak moves in winter from the snow covered mountain slopes to the valleys below. Wild yaks are blackish shaggy animals with body size similar to that of oxen. Their average body weight ranges from 500 to 550 kg. The body is covered with long hair that continues down the tail resulting into the formation of a bushy tail end. Yaks have long horns (about one meter from tip to tip), which are straight across and then curve upward. The domestic yak is often white or piebald in colour, smaller in size and more docile than the wild yak. In the Northern Areas, domestic yak is used for multiple purposes. Its milk is rich in fat content that ranges from 7 to 11 percent. Its meat is dried or roasted for use as food by the local people during periods of extreme winter. Domestic yak is frequently used as a


54

pack animal because it can carry heavy loads on uneven paths up to 30 kilometers a day. The people of Northern Areas utilize the yak hair and hide to make clothes, mats, tent-coverings, saddles, whips and a variety of other products for use.


55


56

Chapter 3

Capability of an animal for growth, production and reproduction is determined by its genetic potential which is the gene combination received by that animal from its parents. Maximum expression of the genetic potential, however, greatly depends on the production environment to which the animal is exposed during its lifetime. Various environmental factors like feeding, management practices, diseases and climatic changes etc., can influence the overall performance of the animal. Regardless of the purpose of rearing the animal i.e., for milk or meat, feed alone is the most important factor from biological as well as economical point of view. Any edible material that can serve as a source of nourishment for the animals is called feed. Feeds are consumed by animals to get various nutrients required for performing normal functions of the body (such as respiration, blood circulation, movement, etc.) and other biological processes leading to the production of milk, meat, wool, etc. A feed is made up of several components that are either utilizable or non-utilizable by the animal for life supporting functions. The utilizable components of the feed are generally termed as nutrients that include water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, minerals and vitamins. In addition to acting as a source of energy along with carbohydrates and lipids, proteins are also essential for maintaining functional status of all kinds of animal tissue. Accordingly, feeds are generally evaluated on the basis of their energy and protein contents and nutritional requirements of animals are calculated in the form of TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients) and DP (Digestible Proteins) or DCP (Digestible Crude Proteins). NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF LIVESTOCK IN PAKISTAN

The nutritional status of livestock maintained in Pakistan can be worked out by estimating the requirements and availability of nutrients for feeding. These estimates are generally made in the form of TDN and DP. The nutritional status of livestock will keep on changing from year to year because of continuous changes taking place in the requirements as well as


57

availability of nutrients. Nutrient requirements per annum continue to increase due to the increasing population of livestock in Pakistan. Introduction of high producing animals (exotic or crossbred or genetically improved local animals) in the national livestock production system from time to time has been another important cause of increasing the demand for nutrients. Favorable agronomic conditions during certain years have helped to increase the productivity of conventional feed resources and availability of nutrients for livestock feeding. In contrast, prevalence of drought conditions during some years has adversely affected the productivity of local feed resources, which resulted in a significant decrease in the availability of nutrients. Sporadic small-scale introduction of non-conventional feed resources has, however, brought about some increase in the availability of nutrients for livestock feeding.

NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS OF LIVESTOCK

Purpose of rearing and physiological state of the animal is the major determinants of its nutritional requirements that are separate for maintenance and production. Maintenance requirements are those which ensure normal body condition and health status of the animal without any gain or loss in the body weight. Additional nutrients required to support various productive processes such as lactation, pregnancy, growth and work, etc., are termed as production requirements. The quantity of nutrients required by an animal depends on its body weight, level of production, climate and feed conversion efficiency. A heavier animal will require more nutrients for maintenance of its body. Animals having poor growth potential will require less nutrients as compared to fast growing animals. Similarly, lactating or pregnant animals will have higher demand for nutrients than the dry, non-pregnant animals. Estimation of nutrient requirements of the national livestock herd is a complex and cumbersome process which involves due consideration of several factors and a long list of calculations. The requirements are worked out for each species and type of livestock with different stages of maturity, body weight and level of production. Unfortunately, standard nutritional requirements of our indigenous livestock breeds have not been worked out and feeding standards developed by Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of UK and National Research Council (NRC) of USA are generally used. With the use of these feeding standards, nutrient requirements of livestock maintained in Pakistan have been calculated


58

during different years. The latest comprehensive exercise was done in 1994 under a consultancy sponsored by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council. According to the study, livestock of Pakistan required 61.14 million tons of TDN and 7.13 million tons of DP. The province / area wise break-up of these requirements are given in Table 3.1. Table 3.1. Nutrient Requirements of Livestock in Pakistan

PROVINCE/ AREA TOTAL DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS (Million Tons)

DIGESTIBLE PROTEINS

(Million Tons) Punjab 34.88 4.44 Sindh 13.51 1.20 NWFP 6.81 0.83 Baluchistan 4.16 0.50 AJK 1.07 0.08 Northern Areas 0.71 0.08 PAKISTAN 61.14 7.13

It can be learnt from Table 3.1 that nutrient requirements of livestock maintained in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh jointly account for approximately 80% of the total requirements of the country. This is because of the fact that Punjab and Sindh have a major share in the national livestock population particularly that of dairy cows and buffaloes. NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY FOR LIVESTOCK Number of available feed resources and their value in terms of TDN and DP are the major determinants of nutrient availability for livestock feeding. Crop sector is the main source of nutrient supply in Pakistan. Other supporting sources include grazing areas and rangelands, agro-industrial by-products and animal related products. Percent contribution of these sources to the total availability of nutrients for livestock of Pakistan has been calculated from the data presented in the report of FAO / ADB Pakistan Livestock Sector Study of 1987 and summarized in Table 3.2. Crop residues and agro-industrial by-products have maximum contribution to the total TDN availability for livestock in Pakistan. Fodder crops and grazing are the next major sources of TDN. Grazing areas other than


59

rangelands include forest grasslands, fallow, cultivable waste and other waste lands. Grazing lands followed by fodder crops, brans & oilseeds and animal related products make maximum contribution to the total supply of DP for livestock. The later include milk (for feeding young calves), meat meal, blood meal, bone meal, fish meal and poultry litter, etc. Table 3.2. Sources of Nutrient Supply for Livestock Feeding in

Pakistan

SOURCE CONTRIBUTION (%) TDN DP

Fodder Crops 17.8 23.8 Brans & Oilseeds 3.6 9.3 Grains 4.0 4.4 Weeds & Other Plants 5.7 6.9 Crop Residues & Agro-industrial By-products 31.7 8.1 Rangelands 9.7 11.1 Other Grazing 24.7 27.8 Animal Related Products 2.8 8.6

The availability of nutrients for livestock of Pakistan has been calculated during several years and by several organizations. However, for the sake of just comparison with requirements (as given in Table 3.1), the estimates of nutrients availability for each province/ area, as reported in the PARC sponsored study of 1994 are represented in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3. Availability of Nutrients for Livestock Feeding in Pakistan

Province/ Area Total Digestible Nutrients Available Deficiency

(million tons) (%)

Digestible Proteins Available Deficiency

(million tons) (%) Punjab 33.56 3.8 3.73 16.0 Sindh 10.45 23.0 0.71 40.8 NWFP 4.97 27.0 0.58 30.0 Baluchistan 2.58 38.0 0.23 54.0 AJK 0.69 35.5 0.03 62.5 Northern Areas 0.49 31.0 0.04 50.0 PAKISTAN 52.74 26.4 5.32 42.2


60

It is evident from Table 3.3 that nutrients available in the country do not meet the requirements of livestock. The nutrient deficiency is mainly due to the poor quality of available feed resources in terms of TDN and DP because the quantity of existing feed is sufficient to meet the consumption requirements of livestock. Crop residues (straws, stubbles, stovers, etc.) and grazing, which constitute major component of feed available in the country, have very low values for TDN as well as DP. This deficiency is the primary cause of poor performance of our animals in terms of growth, production and reproduction as they are unable to fully express their genetic potential. The problem of nutrient deficiency is more severe in case of DP than TDN. As shown in Table 4.3, the overall deficiency of DP for livestock feeding in Pakistan is more than 42% whereas that of TDN is around 26%. Similar deficiency levels were calculated in an earlier study conducted by the Ministry of Industries in consultation with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Cooperatives (Livestock Wing), Government of Pakistan during 1990. According to this study, the overall deficiency of TDN and DP for livestock feeding in Pakistan was 25.17% and 48.50%, respectively. Distribution of nutrient deficiency in four provinces, Northern Areas and AJK follow an almost similar pattern. In case of TDN, the deficiency is maximum in AJK, Baluchistan and Northern Areas (>30%), slightly less in NWFP and Sindh (23-27%) and minimum in Punjab (< 4%). In case of DP, the corresponding values are >50%, 30-40% and <20%. FEED RESOURCES Several feedstuffs are available in Pakistan for livestock feeding. These feed resources are generally classified in two ways. According to the more commonly used approach based on their bulk and nutritive value, feed resources are broadly classified into roughages and concentrates. Roughages are feedstuffs with high fiber content and low values for TDN and DP. The roughages can be further classified into green forages and dry roughages. Green forages of Pakistan mainly consist of summer and winter fodders (also termed as kharif and Rabi fodders, respectively) and rangelands. Dry roughages include hay, straws, stovers, hulls and silages. Concentrates are those feedstuffs that are low in fiber content and high in TDN and DP. Three types of concentrate feeds are used for animal feeding


61

in Pakistan. Cereal product-based concentrates are high in TDN as compared to their DP value. Both vegetable-based and animal-based concentrates are rich in DP as well as TDN but the quality of dietary proteins available in animal-based concentrates is superior to vegetable-based concentrates. Another way of classifying the feed resources is based on their traditional usage for livestock feeding. According to this approach, feed resources are grouped into “conventional” and “non-conventional”. The non-conventional feeds generally refer to those, which are not traditionally used but have the potential to be used as animal feed. Several agro-industrial by-products and wastes including those of sugar industry, food and fruit processing industries and residues of soybean, chickpea, peanut, mustard and sunflower are considered as non-conventional feed resources. Roughages

Green roughages produced in Pakistan mainly consist of fodders grown in areas where irrigation water is available and grasses grown in rangelands of rain-fed, semi-arid and arid areas. During periods of fodder scarcity, certain trees and shrubs are lopped for feeding to livestock. Green Fodder

In a broader sense, cultivated forages are called fodders. Green fodder is the most common source of livestock feeding in canal-irrigated areas of Pakistan. They are high in moisture and easily digestible. The moisture content and nutritive value of green fodders are variable and depend on species of plant, stage of growth, soil condition, water availability, climatic conditions and fertilizer application. At early stages of growth, the dry matter (DM) and fiber contents are low and TDN and DP values are high. As the fodder plant matures its DM and fiber content increase, DP and TDN values decrease and overall digestibility goes down due to lignification. The process of accumulation of lignin in the stem is called lignification. Digestibility of the lignified plant material by the animals is very low. Lignified plants when offered to animals for feeding, their stems are not consumed hence a greater portion of the plant remains unutilized. Fodder production in Pakistan follows two growing seasons namely Rabi (winter) and kharif (summer). According to 2002-03 estimates, total


62

cultivated area of Pakistan is 22.1 million hectares and approximately 12-15 % of this area is used for fodder crops. Although the area under fodder cultivation is substantial, the fodder availability per animal is deficient mainly because of low yield per hectare. There could be several reasons for poor yield but low yielding indigenous varieties; poor agronomic practices, low inputs and improper harvesting are the major factors. Berseem, lucern and oats are the popular fodder crops grown during Rabi season. Other fodder crops of the season include mustard, rapeseed and turnips. Land preparation includes 3-4 ploughings or plankings. Berseem and lucerne require two irrigations within first week after sowing and then at 10-15 days intervals up to harvest. Some other important production characteristics of Rabi fodder crops are summarized in Table 4.4. Table 3.4. Some Production Characteristics of Rabi Fodder Crops

NAME OF FODDER

SOWING TIME

SEED RATE (kg/acre)

HARVESTING TIME

YIELD (tons/acre)

Berseem (Trifolium alexandrium)

End September to end November

8-10 1st cut 50-60 days then after 30-35 days

30-40

Lucerne (Madicago sativa)

Same as berseem

6-8 Same as berseem 30-35

Oats (Avena sativa)

October to December

30 At 50% flowering

20-25

Mustard (Brassica spp.)

September to October

6 After 40-45 days 15-20

Rapeseed (Brassica spp.)

Same as mustard

6 After 40-45 days 15-20

Turnip (Brassica spp.)

Same as mustard

8 After 45-60 days 20-25


63

Berseem is a multi-cut fodder crop. Up to third cut, the dry matter (DM) percentage of fresh green berseem remains around 15% and its crude protein (CP) values on DM basis stay close to 20%. At later cuts, the percent DM increases to 20% and the CP value goes down to 15%. At the proper time of harvesting, the percent DM of lucerne and oats range from 17 to 18%. The CP value of lucerne on DM basis is, however, higher (>22%) than that of oats (<14%). The yields per acre as shown for berseem, lucerne and oats in Table 4.4 are subject to proper use of fertilizer at recommended times. Major fodder crops of kharif season include sorghum, maize, millet, cowpea, sadabahar, guar and moth. Sorghum and maize are grown in both irrigated and rain-fed areas and both livestock and people consume their grains. Sadabahar is a cross of sorghum with Sudan grass. It is a multi-cut fodder, which gives three to four cuts during the summer season. Guar, cowpea and moth are grown as a mixture with other fodder crops. Land preparation requires 3-4 ploughings or plankings and use of farmyard manure at the rate of 5-10 tons per acre. Additional use of urea (one bag per acre) is likely to give better yield in case of sadabahar and moth. Some other important production characteristics of major kharif fodders are presented in Table 3.5. Table 3.5. Some Production Characteristics of Major Fodder

Crops of Kharif Season.

Name of fodder Sowing/planting time

Seed (kg/acre)

Harvesting time Yield (tons/acre)

Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare)

End March to End July

35 At 50% flowering 20

Maize (Zea mays)

April to August 04 60 days after planting

20

Millet (Pennisetum typhoides)

Same as for Maize

04 Same as for Maize 20

Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)

May to August 08 Same as for Maize 10-15

Cow-pea (Vigna sinensis)

May to July 10-12 50 days after planting

10

Sadabahar Mid March to 12-15 60 days after 50


64

(Sorghum sudanensis)

Mid May planting

Moth (Phaseolus aconitifolius)

February to April & July to August

5000 cuttings

1st cut after 75-90 days. Subsequent cuts after every 25-45 days

150-200

At the recommended stage of harvesting, the percent DM of fresh form of major kharif fodders ranges from 20 to 25. Sorghum is the only exception in which the DM is around 33%. Based on the CP values (on DM basis), guar is a superior fodder with 19% CP followed by moth (11%), maize (10%), sorghum (7%) and millet (4.5%). Less commonly grown fodders during the kharif season are Napier grass, Elephant grass, swank, and jantar (Sesbania sesbans). Napier grass is a perennial grass imported from Africa, which has the potential for year around fodder supply. At appropriate time of harvesting, its DM content is around 28% and CP value (on DM basis) close to 17%. Napier grass has been crossed with bajra .The hybrid grass is widely grown in the irrigated as well as rain fed areas as it has fair drought tolerance and is a multi-cut fodder. Imported from USA, the Elephant grass is a relatively recent introduction to fodder resources of Pakistan. It is also a drought resistant grass that is rapidly gaining popularity in the irrigated areas of Punjab. Swank is a fast growing kharif fodder ready for harvesting as early as 6-8 weeks after planting. It is generally grown in combination with other kharif fodders. Jantar is a special fodder plant because of its ability to grow in saline and sodic soils. It is a perennial fodder especially grown for feeding small ruminants. Range Grasses

Rangelands are defined as those areas that by reason of physical limitations like low and erratic precipitation, rough topography, poor drainage or extreme temperatures are not suited to cultivation. Such lands, therefore, serve as a source of forage for free ranging native livestock and wildlife. About 60% of the total geographical area of Pakistan is categorized as rangelands. Forestry is the major land use in northern parts of Pakistan and livestock grazing is prevalent in the forest areas. At the national level, small ruminants obtain about 60% of their feed from rangelands while the horses, donkeys and camels receive approximately


65

half of their feed by grazing rangelands. In the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, large numbers of livestock belonging to different species are maintained in the arid and rain-fed areas. In the province of Baluchistan, nearly 90% of the total feed requirements of livestock are met from rangelands. The total geographical area covered by rangelands of Pakistan is about 51 million hectares. Rangelands of Pakistan have been classified into ten major types based on altitude, location and land characteristics. Collectively, these rangelands produce approximately 25 million tons of forage dry matter per annum which constitutes about 12% of the total dry matter available from all feed resources of the country. Estimated forage production by each type of rangeland is presented in Table 3.6. The carrying capacity of these rangelands is generally very low as they are mostly composed of natural grasses having poor nutritive value. On DM basis, the average crude protein value of most of the natural grasses grown

Table 3.6. Forage Production from Rangelands of Pakistan.

Name of Rangeland

Location Area (million hectares)

Forage production (million tons of

dm) Alpine Pastures

Areas above the altitude of 3000m and below the zone of perpetual snow in WFP and Northern Areas.

1.68 2.52

Trans-Himalayan Grazing Lands

Northern mountains in Dir, Chitral, Gilgit, Chilas, Skardu and Swat districts.

3.50 2.10

Himalayan Forests

Siran, Kaghan, Neelam and Jhelum valleys.

0.67 0.40

Pothwar Scrub Ranges

Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock districts.

1.68 2.52

Desert Salt range, Indus river 7.97 3.98


66

Rangelands flood plains and Chenab river flood plains.

Kohistan Ranges

Districts of Karachi, Thatta, Dadu and parts of Lasbela.

2.38 0.95

Central Baluchistan Ranges

Quetta and Kalat divisions. 8.00 4.00

Eastern Baluchistan Ranges

Zhob and Loralai divisions.

5.00 2.00

Western Baluchistan Ranges

Districts of Chaghi, Kharan, Panjgur, Makran, Turbat, Gwader and Lasbella.

18.50 5.55

Suleiman Mountain Ranges

Elongated area along Afghanistan border.

1.50 0.45

in Pakistan ranges from 5 to 8% only. Several kinds of grasses are grown in our rangelands; however, a brief account of the important ones is given in Table 3.7. Dhaman is a summer-growing perennial grass. Its quality varies with the stage of growth but it is highly palatable and liked by sheep, goats, cattle and buffaloes. Bermuda grass undergoes active growth during spring and Table 3.7. Important Range Grasses of Pakistan.

Common name

Technical name

Area / rangeland where grown

Digestible matter yield

(tons /hectare) Dhaman grass

Cenchrus ciliaris

Desert rangelands, parts of Pothwar and Baluchistan ranges.

3 – 4

Bermuda grass

Cynodon dactylon

Desert rangelands, Pothwar ranges and parts of Kohistan ranges.

3 – 4

Blue panic grass

Panicum antidotale

Pothwar scrub rangelands, Kohistan ranges and Salt range.

5 – 9

Palwan grass

Bothriochloa pertusa

Pothwar plateau and Himalayan forest lands.

4 – 8

Crested wheat

Agropyron cristatum

Areas with rainfall lower than 50mm per year.

3 – 4


67

grass Murgha grass

Dichanthium annulatum

Murree foothills, Pothwar plateau and D.I.Khan.

6 – 8

Rhodes grass

Chloris gayana

Pothwar scrub ranges. 7 – 8

summer. Its leaves are very palatable and nutritious containing as much as 14% proteins. It can withstand prolonged drought and remains dormant in cooler months. The blue panic is a perennial grass having maximum growth during spring and summer. It derives its name from the bluish green colour of its leaves. Palwan is a perennial grass, which can grow under different climatic conditions. It is drought tolerant and a good soil-binder. Crested wheat grass is a perennial, tufted bunch grass. It can withstand very low temperatures and high grazing pressure. Murgha grass is well suited to fertile loamy soils where it can be established through seeds. It is palatable and nutritious and contains about 10% crude protein. Rhodes grass is a summer-growing perennial grass. It is palatable, withstands grazing and is also used to check soil erosion. Dry Roughages

Hay, straws, stovers and hulls are included among the dry roughages available for livestock feeding in Pakistan. For preparation of the hay, green forage is harvested during the growing season and preserved by drying. Hay is generally stored for subsequent use during the fodder scarcity period. In Pakistan, farmers mostly prepare hay from sorghum, millet, oats and grasses. In terms of nutritional quality, hays are considered to be the best among the dry roughages. However, the quality of hay prepared in Pakistan is not that good as it ought to be. The mature dried plant materials of cereal crops left after removal of grains (stems and leaves) is termed as straws and stovers. Since they are secondary products of cereal crops, the straws and stovers are also referred to as crop residues. They are extremely fibrous, highly lignified and have low nutritive value because of poor digestibility. Their protein value is almost negligible and TDN value is also very low. Straws of wheat and rice crops are most commonly used, as their total production is the highest of all dry roughages in Pakistan. They are often the only roughages available for livestock feeding in the non-irrigated areas. Other less commonly used straws include those of barley, chickpea, moth and mung.


68

Stovers of maize and sorghum are commonly used for livestock feeding. Due to their leafiness, the feeding value of stovers is slightly better than that of straws. Percent dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) values of some important straws and stovers available in Pakistan are presented in Table 3.8

Table 3.8. Percent Dry Matter (DM) and Crude Protein (CP) Values of Important Straws and Stovers

NAME OF DRY ROUGHAGE

DRY MATTER (%)

CRUDE PROTEIN (% of DM)

Wheat straw 90.5 3.0 Rice straw 90.5 4.1 Mung straw 95.5 8.4 Chickpea straw 95.2 5.5 Maize stovers 95.2 5.5 Sorghum stovers 94.5 3.5

The outer hard coverings of grains obtained as by-products during seed production are known as hulls. The hulls are included in the category of dry roughages. Cottonseed hulls are commonly utilized for livestock feeding in some parts of the country. Traditionally, the seeds broken during processing are mixed with the hulls as it increases the nutritive value of hulls. Rice hulls though abundantly available in Pakistan, are not used for feeding to livestock because of their extremely low nutritive value.

In addition to hay, straws, stovers and hulls, there are some non-conventional sources of dry roughages in Pakistan. Sugarcane bagass, corncobs, sugar beet pulp and citrus pulp if properly dried and processed, have the potential to be used for livestock feeding. Their nutritive value is comparable to that of straws and stovers. Various physical, chemicals and biological methods are available to improve the digestibility and nutritive value of roughages. Of these, the urea/ammonia treatment method has better applicability and it is gaining popularity among the livestock farmers in several parts of Pakistan. Urea and other sources of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) are used to replace a part of the protein in the roughage-based diet. The urea should not exceed one percent of the total dry matter consumed by the animal. Its supplementation is beneficial when the animal receives the roughages


69

deficient in protein. Urea solution is thoroughly sprayed on the roughages before feeding. If the required amount of urea is distributed in small doses and treated roughages are fed throughout the day, it will be more efficiently utilized by the animal with no risk of toxicity or poisoning. The development of solidified urea-molasses blocks technology during last 1-2 decades has greatly facilitated the safe feeding of urea to cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. Mixing urea in molasses and offering it to the animal, as a free lick supplement to roughages is another practicable method for improving digestibility of roughages. Concentrates

The feeds that are low in fiber and high in energy and/or protein are termed as concentrates. They are highly digestible and mostly used in small quantities as supplement because of their high cost. Concentrates used for livestock feeding in Pakistan can be classified into two major groups. Cereal grains and their by-products fall under the first group. These are energy-rich concentrates. Agro-industrial by-products form the second major group. With the exception of the by-products of sugar industry, these concentrates are rich in protein. In addition to the concentrates covered under these two groups, small quantities of protein-rich concentrates of animal origin are also available in the country. These include meals of blood, fish, meat and feather. Meals of animal origin contain superior quality proteins that are less degradable in the rumen and thus serve as a better source of dietary proteins for the ruminants. Cereal Grains and their By-Products

Cereal grains like maize, sorghum, barley, oats, wheat, rice, etc, are highly palatable and rich in energy due to high content of digestible carbohydrates and low fiber content. Their protein contents range from 8 to 13% and TDN values vary from 70 to 80%. Use of cereal grains as a concentrate for livestock feeding is not common in Pakistan. This is mainly because of their primary use as human food. To some extent, horses, mules and donkeys are provided grains as a source of energy in their diet. Some farmers feed a small amount of cereal grains to lactating cows and buffaloes. The grains used for livestock feeding are generally of inferior quality and unfit for human consumption.


70

Certain by-products of cereal grains like wheat bran, rice bran and rice polishing are frequently used for livestock feeding. Wheat bran is one of the most popular and important by-product of wheat used for livestock feeding. It consists of the course outer coating of the wheat grain and contains about 13% protein and 65% TDN. Rice bran is the pericarp of rice mixed with fragments of rice hulls. It contains about 10% digestible protein and its nutritional value is slightly less than that of wheat bran. Rice polishings are the finely powdered material obtained during the polishing of rice kernels after removal of hulls. Their protein content is around 12% that is somewhat lower than the protein content of wheat bran. However, because of the lower fiber content and higher values for fat as compared to wheat and rice brans, the rice polishings are a good source of energy-rich concentrate for feeding to livestock. Agro-Industrial By-Products

Certain by-products of the oil-seed industry are the most commonly used concentrates for livestock feeding in Pakistan. Gluten feed, meals and cakes of the maize industry are also widely used as feed concentrate. Use of molasses and sugar beet pulp which are by-products of the sugar industry have gained popularity as a feed concentrate in the country over the last 3-4 decades. A less commonly used agro-industrial by-product for livestock feeding is guar meal that is produced during manufacture of guar gum. Its use for livestock feeding is limited mainly because of the presence of a growth inhibitory factor. The nutritive value of guar meal can be improved by toasting and the toasted meal contains more than 40% crude protein. The by-products of oil-seed industry commonly used for livestock feeding include cakes and meals of cottonseed, rapeseed, sesame and linseed. Cultivation of sunflower, safflower and soybean started in Pakistan in mid 80s. The use of cakes and/or meals of these oil-seed crops as feed concentrate have been gradually increasing in the country over the last two decades. Oil cakes are produced when oil is mechanically extracted from the seeds while oil-meals are the by-products of solvent extraction process. Accordingly, the oil-seed cakes are lower in protein but higher in residual fat when compared with oil-seed meals. Due to the high fiber content of oil-seed cakes, they are not suitable for feeding to monogastric animals (horses, mules, donkeys, etc.). For these animals, oil-seed meals


71

are the supplement of choice. Nutritive values of the oil-seed cakes and meals expressed in terms of percent crude protein and percent fat are summarized in Table 3.9. Table 3.9. Protein and Energy Values of Important Oil-seed Cakes

and Meals.

NAME OF CAKE/MEAL CRUDE PROTEIN (% DM)

CRUDE FAT (% DM)

Cottonseed cake 20-25 1-10 Cottonseed meal 35-40 1-10 Rapeseed cake 30-35 1-12 Rapeseed meal 35-40 1-12 Sesame cake 30-35 1-10 Linseed cake 25-30 6-12 Soybean meal 45-50 1-5 Sunflower meal 33-37 1-3

Cottonseed cake or meal is the most common vegetable protein concentrate available in the country. Depending upon the process of oil extraction and decortication (removal of hulls) of seeds, its crude protein (CP) and fat contents show considerable variation. Un-decorticated cottonseed cake is one of the most common protein supplements used by a large number of cattle and buffalo farmers. Both cake and meal of cottonseed contain an undesirable chemical compound (gossypol) that blocks the action of some gastric enzymes. Feeding of large quantity of cottonseed cake or meal may, therefore, be deleterious for the animal. Several studies have, however, indicated that daily feeding of cottonseed cake up to 5 kg per cow or buffalo is not expected to produce any toxic or undesirable effect. As a safety precaution, the nutritionists do not recommend use of cottonseed cake as a sole protein supplement and advise that the cake should be mixed with other protein supplements before feeding. Sarson and toria are the common rapeseed crops in Pakistan. Their cakes and meals are the second major vegetable protein source available for livestock feeding in the country. For ruminants, the protein value of rape seed cakes is lower than that of cottonseed cake because of higher ruminal degradability of the former. Rapeseed cakes and meals contain an anti-nutritional factor (glucosides) that is toxic both to ruminants and non-


72

ruminants. Young and pregnant animals are particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of glucosides. Because of their bitter taste and danger of toxicity, the rapeseed cakes alone are not as commonly used for livestock feeding as the cottonseed cake. Instead, they are used along with other protein sources and molasses in concentrate mixtures. Canola is a recent addition to the family of rapeseed crops in Pakistan. Results of some preliminary experiments have indicated that the canola oil and meal contain less amount of glucosides than products of other rapeseed crops. Feeding value of canola meal is, however, yet to be determined. Cakes of sesame and linseed oil crops are also available in the country. Their use as feed concentrate is, however, limited to certain parts of the country where these crops are grown. Sesame cake is also known as ‘til cake’. It has a good feeding value particularly for the growing young animals and feedlot fattening. Linseed cake is more commonly used for calf fattening. By-products of maize industry available for livestock feeding in Pakistan include maize gluten feed, maize gluten meal and maize oil cake. Maize gluten feed is the remaining part of commercial shelled corn after the extraction of starch and germ by the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or corn syrup. It is one of the important vegetable protein concentrates and is commonly used for feeding large as well as small ruminants. Maize gluten feed contain about 20% CP while the meal is composed of 30 to 60% CP. The varying level of blending with the maize bran causes this large variation in the CP content of maize gluten meal. Maize oil cake is the residual by-product after the extraction of oil from corn germ. It contains 18% CP and 10-12% oil. It can be used as a rich source of energy and quality protein for growing and fattening animals. The maize oil cake enjoys a high feeding value for ruminants because its proteins have low ruminal degradability. Molasses is the major by-product of sugar industry that is commonly used as feed concentrate. It is a thick and viscous residual material produced after the crystallization of sugar from sugarcane or sugar beet juice. It contains highly soluble carbohydrates and some minerals. Thus, it is an energy-rich concentrate. Small-scale livestock farmers because of its difficult handling during feeding do not commonly use molasses. Molasses are included in the diet by mixing it with other concentrates,


73

spraying it on dry roughages or providing it as a free lick. Molasses increases the palatability and consumption of poor-quality roughages. It also serves as a good carrier for urea and other sources of non- protein nitrogen. Feed Additives

Feed additives are those chemical substances that are added to various feeds in order to achieve higher efficiency of feed utilization by the animal thus resulting in better growth performance. Feed additives are not classified as nutrients. Several antibiotics, anabolic hormones and other compounds like tranquilizers, copper salts and dried rumen cultures, etc., are sometimes used as feed additives in Pakistan. Antibiotics are generally believed to stimulate growth in young animals although the underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. There are four common hypotheses put forward in this regards. Firstly, the antibiotics while checking the growth of pathogenic bacteria spare some proteins, amino acids and vitamins for use by the growing animal body. Secondly, they inhibit the growth of those microorganisms, which compete, with the tissues of animal body for supply of nutrients. Thirdly, the antibiotics stimulate the growth of those microorganisms, which are involved in the production of certain growth factors. Fourthly, they enhance the absorption of nutrients from the intestine. Regardless of the mechanism involved, the antibiotics are considered to increase the availability of nutrients to the animal from a given feed. Antibiotics frequently used as feed additives include broad-spectrum penicillins, tetracyclines and mycins. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics as feed additives in animals should be discouraged because the meat of treated animals may contain residual metabolites that present a hazard to human health. In many developed countries, the use of antibiotics in otherwise healthy animals is strictly banned.

Growth hormones produced by the pituitary gland and several steroid hormones produced by various organs of the animal body have growth-promoting properties. Of these, synthetic preparations of estrogenic hormones like stilbestrol are commonly used as feed additives for enhancing the growth rate of beef and mutton producing animals. These preparations are given either as a feed supplement or as a subcutaneous


74

implant. There is always some possibility that meat of hormone treated animal may produce some undesirable effect in the consumer. To avoid such human health hazards, the use of hormones as feed additives is not recommended. Currently, growth hormones are not used as feed additives in Pakistan. FEEDING SYSTEMS

Livestock feeding systems are developed with the purpose of ensuring efficient utilization of available feed resources. While developing these systems, factors such as climatic conditions, agronomic practices, feed processing technologies and variations in the nutritive value of different feeds need to be considered. In addition, the herd size and socio-economic status of the farmer are important determinants of the feeding system. In commercial livestock farming, the marketability of livestock products becomes the major determinant of the type of feeding system. Feed resources and feeding systems of livestock vary from one country to another. In Pakistan, the feeding system varies with the species and purpose of rearing of livestock, resource availability, agro-ecological conditions and market orientation of the farmers. Buffalo Feeding

The primary purpose of buffalo farming in Pakistan is milk production. About two third of the total milk produced in Pakistan comes from buffaloes. Being dairy animals, the buffaloes are generally stall-fed with limited grazing. Only a small percentage of buffaloes (7%) are restricted to grazing only. According to the Livestock Census of 1996, more than 34% of the buffalo population is stall-fed with zero grazing whereas about 59% of the population is stall-fed and allowed to graze as well. These feeding practices, however, show some variation from one province to another. The province wise feeding practices of buffaloes are given in Table 3.10. Table 3.10. Feeding Practices of Buffaloes in Pakistan

LOCATION GRAZING ONLY

(% Population)

STALL FEEDING ONLY

(% Population)

BOTH GRAZING AND STALL (% Population)

Punjab 6.5 64.5 29.0


75

Sindh 6.1 12.2 81.7 N.W.F.P 4.5 44.5 51.0 Baluchistan 10.2 16.2 73.6 Pakistan 7 34 59

It can be inferred from Table 3.10 that stall-feeding of buffaloes without grazing is a dominating practice in Punjab. This is mainly because of sufficient availability of green fodder in Punjab during most parts of the year. After harvest, the Rabi and Kharif fodders are transported to the farm where they are cut in small pieces either manually or with the use of chaff-cutter machines or offered to buffaloes. In Sindh and Baluchistan, majority of buffaloes are stall-fed as well as allowed to graze during the day between morning and evening milking. Peri-urban dairy set-ups of Karachi metropolitan area are, however, an exception where there are no grazing areas. At these dairy colonies, the green fodder is transported from irrigated areas of Sindh and offered to buffaloes in cut form. The feeding system of buffaloes varies with the production system. Rural subsistence farmers maintaining 2-3 buffaloes to get milk to meet their family needs only do not provide any concentrate to their animals. About 50-60% of the feed requirements of buffaloes are met from grazing and the remaining 40-50% of the requirements is arranged through feeding of straws, stovers and some green fodder. The rural market-oriented small-scale farmers, however, feed some concentrates to their lactating buffaloes. The non-lactating buffaloes are allowed to graze in the areas where cereal crops have been harvested. During other times of the year, they are provided with some green fodder and dry roughages only. Under the rural commercial production system, about 50% of the daily feed requirements of buffaloes are met from green fodder, 35% from dry roughages and 10-15% from concentrates. Feeding costs are highest under the peri-urban commercial buffalo farming system. Concentrates rations in the form of a mixture of cottonseed cake, wheat bran, rice polishing and/or crushed wheat grain make the major part of the daily feed allowance of the buffalo. The daily allowance of concentrate mixture depends on the quantity of milk produced by the buffalo. Some wheat straw and chopped green fodder is also provided.


76

Cattle Feeding

Based on the purpose of keeping, the cattle population of Pakistan can be divided into three sub-populations. In the irrigated areas, cows of Sahiwal, Red-sindhi and Cholistani breeds and crossbred cattle are primarily kept for dairy purposes. Cows of Tharparkar and Kankrej breeds make a small sub-population that is maintained for the dual purpose of milk as well as draught power. The third and largest sub-populations are made up of draught type cattle. Because of this diversified nature of cattle population, the overall feeding practices of cattle in the country differ from those of dairy buffaloes. A higher percentage of cattle population (11 vs 7%) entirely depends on grazing to meet their feed requirements. Similarly, a higher percentage of stall-fed population of cows is allowed to graze (65 vs 59%) and the incidence of stall-feeding without grazing is lower in cattle as compared to buffaloes (24 vs 34%). As reported in the Livestock Census of 1996, the feeding practices of cattle in different provinces of Pakistan are summarized in Table 3.11. Percentage of cattle population dependent on grazing only, is highest in Balochistan as well as in the arid/semi-arid areas or deserts of other provinces. In these areas, cows are rarely stall-fed. Millets and guar are grown in the desert areas subject to adequate rainfall. Cattle normally graze on grasses and legumes but can also browse various fodder trees and shrubs when forage is scarce. When little or no grazing land is available, the cattle survive on dry roughages. Table 3.11: Feeding Practices of Cattle in Pakistan. LOCATION GRAZING

ONLY STALL

FEEDING ONLY BOTH

GRAZING & STALL

Punjab 8.0 51.4 40.6 Sindh 8.7 11.6 79.7 NWFP 6.5 21.2 72.3 Balochistan 20.2 13.4 66.4 Pakistan 11 24 65

In the rain-fed areas, rural smallholder cattle production system is prevalent. Under this system, cattle get about half of their feed


77

requirements from grazing of stubbles, pastures and wastelands and remainder from wheat straw or some green fodder. Concentrates are usually fed only to work animals. Only those lactating cows receive some concentrate ration, which produce more than 3-4 liters of milk per day. Commercial dairy farming is common in the rural as well as peri-urban areas of irrigated plains. Buffaloes dominate these dairy farms; however, a small number of dairy cows (10-15% of herd size) are maintained along with buffaloes at almost every commercial dairy farm. The cows kept at commercial dairy farms are medium to high producing and belong either to indigenous dairy breeds (Sahiwal, Red-Sindhi, Cholistani) or they are crossbred progeny of local cattle crossed with prominent exotic dairy breeds. Feeding system of these cows is similar to that of buffaloes as explained in the preceding section. Small Ruminant Feeding

Sheep and goats are usually raised together in Pakistan under nomadic, transhumant, sedentary and household productions systems. Under each of these production systems, goats constitute major portion (60-70%) of the flocks in Punjab, Sind and NWFP. Feeding practices of sheep and goats are different in Punjab when compared with other provinces. Comparative summary of provincial feeding practices of small ruminants prepared from the data reported in Livestock Census of 1996 is given in Table 3.12. In Punjab majority of the populations of sheep (76.3%) and goats (90.3%) are stall-fed with or without grazing. Both grazing and stall-feeding is the most common feeding practice for sheep whereas stall-feeding alone is the most common practice of feeding goats. In other provinces, grazing with or without stall-feeding is the dominating practice of feeding sheep as well as goats. Percent population of small ruminants particularly goats maintained on grazing alone is significantly higher in these provinces when compared with Punjab. Feeding system of small ruminants shows variation due to the type of production system. Nomadic flocks derive nearly 90% of feed from rangelands. Grazing of common lands is generally free but that of tribal


78

Table 3.12: Feeding Practices of Small Ruminants Population in Pakistan.

Species Feeding Practice Punjab (%)

Sindh (%)

NWFP (%)

Balochistan (%)

Sheep Grazing only 23.7 27.0 26.6 40.3 Grazing & Stall Feeding

50.2 70.0 69.1 58.4

Stall Feeding only

26.1 3.0 4.3 1.3

Goats Grazing only 9.7 25.6 20.9 34.3 Grazing & Stall Feeding

37.5 66.7 69.6 63.0

Stall Feeding only

52.8 7.8 9.5 2.7

lands is charged. Transhumant flocks have additional access to crop stubbles at their permanent base so the feed supply is better and more reliable under this type of production system. As a result, the overall production and reproductive performance of transhumant flocks is better than that of nomadic flocks. Under the sedentary production system, small ruminants derive most feed from grazing of wastelands, crop stubbles and nearby rangelands. Small quantity of cereal grains (150-200 grams per animal) is occasionally offered to the breeding males and adult females during the breeding season.

Small ruminants, mainly goats raised under household subsistence production system are kept confined near the family house. This is a system with minimum grazing and the animals try to meet their feed requirements by eating kitchen wastes, scraps and weeds.

Although sheep and goats are raised together, their grazing behavior is different from each other. Due to the presence of a cleft in their upper lip, sheep can graze very close to the soil. Large sheep flocks do not graze together but split into sub-groups which occupy separate areas. Sheep prefer to graze on young and tender grasses and consistently select forage that is higher in proteins and lower in crude fiber. They browse on bushes and shrubs only when the grasses are not available. Goats have special grazing habits. They always prefer to browse. Goats will graze on grasses only when there is little or no browse available and the grasses are succulent. On the rangelands, goats will get their feed from herbs, forbs, shrubs, tree leaves, twigs and bark. Goats travel more than sheep in search


79

of feed and unlike sheep do not show any noticeable loss in body weight during forage scarcity periods. Goats have a superior sense of smell and taste than the sheep. They can distinguish between bitter, salty, sweet and sour tasting plants, which enable them to choose from a wider range of plant species. This is why, goats can survive in areas where sheep cannot. Camel Feeding

Camels are rarely stall-fed and depend almost entirely on browsing on local vegetation. Only during periods of feed scarcity, camels are stall-fed with small quantities of crop residues such as gram stalks, guar hay and crushed date-stones etc. Supplementary feeding is also practices for camels that are required to perform extra work like carrying heavy loads to long distances. Under the sedentary system of production, camels are rarely moved far away from their permanent base area. Small farmers or landless pastoralists that do not grow crops own them. Consequently, these camels get their feed only from grazing the nearby rangelands. During the periods of shortage of grazing, these camels are provided with some dry roughages and small quantities of low quality cereal grains (brans of wheat, barley or oats) that are unfit for human consumption.

Under the nomadic and transhumant systems of camel production, the camel herds keep on moving from one place to another in search of grazing. Camels can utilize a variety of grasses, forbs and shrubs. On the grazing land, movement of camels is faster than cattle so they graze the area less intensively and never cause overgrazing. On a good grazing area, camels usually consume 10 to 20 kg of green forage each day that contains approximately 5 to 10 g of dry matter. The flexible long neck and legs enable the camels to browse on tall trees and shrubs. Due to presence of a cut in the middle of their upper lip, the camels can catch twigs. Regardless of the palatability or feeding value of the vegetation, camels take only a few bites from any one plant and move towards the next plant. Daily feed intake of desert camels is less than the camels having access to rich pastures in less arid areas. It helps the desert camels to tolerate hard work and shortage of feed and water. Desert camels thrive on hard, dry and thorny plants. They often browse on spiny plants with little preference for their palatable leaves. Equine Feeding


80

Horses, donkeys and mules are important work animals of Pakistan. In spite of the development of other faster means of transportation in the country, equine is still frequently used to pull carts and carry light to medium loads. Although, equines are non-ruminants but presence of a well-developed caecum (an organ of the digestive tract) enables them to utilize fibrous feeds. Their efficiency to digest low quality fibrous feed is, however, lower than that of ruminants. Equines should, therefore, be fed with high-quality, low fibre concentrates and good quality forages. Unlike ruminants, equines cannot synthesize certain amino acids and vitamins (e.g. B & K) that must be provided in their feed.

Horses and mules are generally stall-fed. All available green fodders in chopped form are fed. Horses and mules get more than double allowance of green fodder per day than the donkeys (25 vs 10 kg). The later are commonly allowed to graze only in the nearby area for few hours after a full day’s work. In addition to the available green fodder, horses and mules are also provided with oat hay (5-10 kg per day) and some concentrates such as rice husk. Working donkeys maintained in cities and towns are also stall-fed with some grams and rice husk. Yak Feeding Yaks get their feed from alpine pastures and trans-Himalayan grazing lands. They eat grasses and herbs and also browse on leaves of small shrubs. Wild yaks graze just below the snowline but often use their hooves to uncover patches of grass. They eat snow during the times of water scarcity. While grazing, the wild yaks remain widely spread and maintain some distance of about 100 or more feet from each other. Yaks have been seen to eat encrusted earth to supplement their mineral requirements. During summer, yak feeding consists of grazing lush green grasses. During winter, they have to subsist on dry and coarse mountain grasses, shrub twigs and leaves. FEED INDUSTRY

Balanced manufactured feeds for livestock and poultry were introduced in Pakistan during the late 70s and early 80s by some educational, research and development institutions involved in livestock and poultry research and development. This was prompted by the availability of several agro-industrial by-products other than cotton seed cake and wheat bran that could be used for the formulation of nutritionally balanced feeds. Animal


81

Nutrition Department of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Livestock Production Research Institute, Bahadurnagar (Okara) of the Livestock and Dairy Development Department (L&DD), Government of Punjab and Animal Nutrition Programme of the Animal Sciences Institute, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Islamabad are notable contributors in this regards. The idea of balanced feed was readily picked up by the rapidly growing commercial poultry sector which is evident from the fact that today, there are more than 120 feed mills operated by the private sector which are producing and marketing more than 2.8 million metric tons of poultry feed annually in the country. It may be noted that poultry meat accounts for only 15-18% of the total meat production in Pakistan. In contrast, only 23 feed mills are in operation for the annual production of merely 0.147 million metric tons of feed for the livestock with a much larger dairy sector. Of these, seven feed mills have been established in the public sector and the remaining 16 are in private sector. Information about the location of these feed manufacturing units and total annual estimates of sale of livestock feed is summarized in Table 3.13. Table 3.13.Estimated Annual Sale of Livestock Feed in Pakistan(2003)

Sectors Province / Area

Number of Feed Mills

Location Total Estimate (metric tons)

Public Federal 1 Islamabad(PARC) On demand Punjab 5 Lahore (L&DD)

Okara (L&DD) Kasur (L&DD) Attock (L&DD) Faisalabad (UAF)

2000 5000 3500 2000

On demand Sindh 1 Larkana (PARC) 1000

Private Punjab 10 Lahore (3) Sheikhupura Multan (2) Chakwal Okara Jhang Faisalabad

24200 15000 11500 3000

12000 4000 3200


82

Sindh 5 Karachi Badin Thatta

25000 13500 15500

Baluchistan 1 Quetta 7000 Total 23 >147,400

If we assume that an average lactating cattle/buffalo requires 600 kg of feed per year (@ 2 kg/day for 300 days), it can be calculated that the total balanced feed manufactured in Pakistan is adequate only for 0.25 million dairy animals which is less than 2% of the total population of lactating cattle and buffaloes of the country. This clearly indicates that the use of nutritionally balanced and manufactured feed for ruminant feeding has not gained much popularity in Pakistan. There are numerous underlying reasons for this situation. These are: Only lactating buffaloes and cattle maintained under peri-urban commercial production system and rural market-oriented production system are fed some concentrates in order to maintain or improve their daily milk yields. The traditional system of feeding dairy animals with cotton seed cake and wheat bran as concentrate mixture has very strong roots and most of the farmers are not ready to shift to the use of balanced concentrates. The cotton seed cake and wheat bran are easily available at all places and can be purchased in small quantities to meet daily or weekly requirements of small farmers. Majority of the rural dairy farmers are not aware about the importance and benefits of the use of balanced feed. The quality of manufactured feed varies widely and it is not available in most of the remote rural areas and common markets. There are some problems faced by the manufacturers of balanced feed in Pakistan. The prices of most of the feed ingredients are high and the marketing of balanced feed is difficult particularly during times when forages are abundant and prices of cotton seed cake and wheat bran are low. Moreover, the low producing cattle and buffaloes owned by rural smallholder subsistence farmers and small ruminants generally depend on grazing and roughages to meet their nutritional requirements.


83


84

Chapter 4

Importance of livestock in human life can be judged from the long list of benefits provided by domestic animals to the human beings. The most important and fundamental advantage of livestock is the supply of high quality food. They do so by converting low quality forages and agro-industrial wastes into edible nutritious products like milk and meat. About half of our nutritional requirements are met from livestock products. It is a proven fact that dietary proteins of animal origin are superior in quality than those of plant origin and the former are essential for our mental as well as body growth and development. There are several non-edible products of livestock, which serve as raw material for different industries. These include hides and skins for industries of leather garments and sports; wool and hair for industries of carpets and woolen garments; blood and bones for feed industry; fat for soap industry and certain organs/glands for the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, farmyard manure is a significant and important source of organic fertilizer for crop production and maintaining soil fertility. EDIBLE PRODUCTS Milk

Milk and milk products are key items in the diets of most people in Pakistan. By weight, the milk makes up nearly one third of all food consumed by an average Pakistani family. Milk is consumed as fresh, boiled, powdered and processed. Its common products include yogurt, ghee, lassi, butter, cheese, ice cream and other confectioneries. Milk producing animals of Pakistan consist of buffaloes, cattle, goats, sheep, camels and yaks. Buffaloes of Nili-Ravi breed from Punjab and Kundi breed from Sindh are the main dairy animals of our country. Dairy buffaloes are now found in all parts of the country including Baluchistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Buffalo milk constitutes about two third of the total milk produced in Pakistan. Cow milk has the next major share in the national milk production. It is mainly produced by cows of Sahiwal


85

and Cholistani breeds from Punjab, Red-Sindhi & Tharparkar from Sindh. Crossbred cattle having Holstein Friesian and Jersey blood have emerged as a significant source of cow milk in the country during the last 3-4 decades. Currently, cow and buffalo milk contributes more than 97% of the total milk produced in Pakistan. These animals are, therefore, termed as the major dairy animals. Goats, sheep, camels and yaks are called as the minor dairy animals of Pakistan because small quantity of milk produced by these animals is generally not marketed and consumed exclusively by their owners. Mare’s milk is neither collected nor used for human consumption in Pakistan. Buffalo milk is preferred by consumers and dairy processors in Pakistan who have developed a taste for the fat rich buffalo milk that appears much thicker than cows’ milk but is used in much the same way as cows’ milk. It is high in fat and total solids, which gives it a rich flavor. Many people prefer it to cow’s milk and are willing to pay more for it. Higher mortality rate among buffalo calves in Pakistan is due in part to the sale of buffalo milk, which is in high demand, thus depriving calves of proper nourishment. Milk replacers for calf feeding are unknown in this country. Buffalo milk contains less water, more total solids, more fat, slightly more lactose, and more protein than cow’s milk. It seems thicker than cow’s milk because it generally contains more than 16% total solids compared with 12-14% for cow’s milk. In addition, its fat content is usually 50-60% higher than cow’s milk. The butterfat content of the buffalo milk is usually 6-8% whereas in cow milk, the butterfat ranges from 3-5%. Because of its high butterfat content, buffalo milk has considerably higher energy value than cow’s milk. Phospholipids are lower but cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are higher in buffalo milk. Studies have shown that the digestibility of buffalo milk is not adversely affected by these factors. Because of the high fat content, the buffalo’s total fat yield per lactation compares favorably with that of improved exotic breeds of dairy cattle with much greater milk yield and becomes much higher than that of indigenous cattle breeds. Normally, the protein in buffalo milk contains more casein and slightly more albumin and globulin than cow milk. The mineral content of buffalo milk is nearly the same as that of cow milk


86

except for phosphorus, which occurs in roughly twice the amount in buffalo milk. Buffalo milk lacks the yellow pigment carotene, a precursor for vitamin A, and its whiteness is frequently used to differentiate it from cow milk in the market. Despite the absence of carotene, the vitamin A content in buffalo milk is almost as high as that of cow milk. Apparently the buffalo converts the carotene in it’s diet directly to vitamin A. The two milks are similar in vitamins B complex and vitamins C, but buffalo milk tends to be lower in riboflavin. Buffalo milk is endowed with a number of bioprotective factors and has higher levels of important minerals e.g., calcium (+92%), iron (+38%) and phosphorus (+117%) than that in cow milk. According to the estimates reported in the Economic Survey of Pakistan for 2003-04, the total milk production in the country is 28.62 million metric tons. About 66% of this production comes from buffaloes, 31% from cows and remaining 3% from small ruminants. The dynamics of milk production in Pakistan over the last 25 years at five yearly intervals is presented in Table 4.1. The production figures show a consistent increasing trend from 1981 to 2001 with varying rates of increase. The overall average increase in milk production during five yearly periods was 31.7%. It was maximum for 1991-196 (60% of base production during 1991) and minimum for 1996-2001 (11% of base production during 1996). Share of buffalo milk in total production remained higher than 70% until 1991. It decreased to 65.4% in 1995-96 and thereafter, it has been maintained at this level. Share of cow milk remained around 25% until 1991 and increased to 32.2% during 1995-96. Since then, cow milk has constituted more than 31% of the total milk produced in the country. The increase observed in the share of cow milk during 1991-96 and thereafter, is well correlated with a significant increase in the number of high producing crossbred cows in the country. Table 4.1. Milk Production (000 m.t*) in Pakistan from 1980-81 to

2000-01 at Five Year Intervals.

Year of Production

Buffalo Milk

Cow Milk

Goat Milk

Sheep Milk

Total Milk

1980-81 6384 2189 407 36 9016


87

1985-86 8582 3048 391 31 12052 1990-91 10672 3525 501 38 14736 1995-96 15419 7604 527 30 23580 2000-01 17454 8192 607 31 26284

*One metric ton (m.t) = One thousand Kg Data regarding per capita availability of milk in Pakistan for the period from 1981 to 2001 at ten-year intervals are summarized in Table 4.2. During the period from 1981 to 1991, availability of milk increased by 12.8 liters per person, The corresponding increase during the next decade (1991 to 2001) was much higher i.e., 41.2 liters per person. One must appreciate that these increases took place in spite of the fact that human population (consumers) of Pakistan had been increasing by 2-3 percent per annum during the period. The higher increase observed in the per capita availability of milk during the period from 1991 to 2001, was partly because of a slower growth rate of human population during this decade (2.0 – 2.6%) when compared with that of previous decade (2.6 – 3.0%). Table 4.2. Decade Wise Trend in Milk Production and its Per

Capita Availability in Pakistan.

Year

Total Human Population (millions)

Total Milk Production

(million metric tons)

Per Capita Availability

(liters)

1981 84.91 9.016 94.8 1991 112.61 14.736 107.6 2001 140.36 26.284 148.8

The consistent increase in per capita availability of milk over the last 25 years has, however, occurred mainly because of a parallel increase in the number of dairy cows and buffaloes in the country and not due to any significant improvement in the per animal productivity of milk. Another characteristic of per capita availability of milk in Pakistan is its variation in the rural and urban areas. Due to the dominance of rural subsistence smallholder production system of dairy animals, poor means of transport and complexity of marketing channels, only 30-40% of the milk produced


88

in rural areas is marketed. As a result, its per capita availability is higher in the rural than the urban areas. Meat

Meat is an important constituent of the human diet because of its high nutritional value, good palatability and availability during all seasons. It is a rich source of highly digestible proteins containing essential amino acids in desirable proportions. Due to the presence of a number of minerals and vitamins, meat consumption leads to proper growth of children and helps in the maintenance of our body health. Buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep are the major sources of meat in Pakistan. Consumption of camel meat is very limited and confined mainly to camel herders only. Equine meat is not eaten in Pakistan. Based upon its colour, the meat of large and small ruminants is collectively termed as “red meat” and the meat of poultry or fish is called “white meat”. The meat produced by cattle and buffaloes is termed as beef whereas the meat of small ruminants is called mutton. There is no specialized beef breed in the country. Male calves of all indigenous breeds of cattle and buffaloes are slaughtered regardless of age or body condition. All old, unwanted cows and buffaloes and bullocks are slaughtered. There is no system of quality beef production in Pakistan. Due to high demand of milk for human consumption, suckler calves, particularly males, are generally not allowed to get enough amount of milk from their dams. Furthermore, because of high costs of milk replacers and non-development of economical early weaning diets, the calves are fed with whatever is available. These results into low survival rate and the calves that survive yield poor quality beef. Beef is sold cheaper than mutton, goat meat or poultry meat. The market price of buffalo beef is similar to cattle beef. Under similar conditions of rearing and feeding, the quality and quantity of proteins and minerals (except calcium) are comparable in the buffalo and cattle carcasses of same age. The calcium content in the edible cattle carcass is double than that of buffalo carcass (14.0 vs 7.5 mg/100 g) Presently, 1.81 million tons of red meat is produced per annum in Pakistan. It consists of 1.087 million tons (60%) of beef and 0.723 million tons (40%) of mutton. The production profile of red meat in Pakistan at five yearly intervals from 1981 to 2001 is summarized in Table 4.3. Over the 20 years period, production of red meat increased from 0.656 million


89

tons to 1.445 million tons. However, the average increase per annum during different five yearly intervals showed large variation. Maximum increase rate (12.7%) was recorded during the interval from 1981 to 1986, followed by 4.7% during 1991 to 1996 and only 1.4% during 1986 to 1991. The total production of red meat remained almost static during the five-yearly interval from 1996 to 2001. It can be learnt from Table 4.3 that the share of buffalo beef in the total production of red meat in the country has uniformly increased from 28.7% in 1981 to 38.3% in 2001. Share of cattle beef during the same period, slightly declined from 28% in 1981 to 25.2% in 2001. The major decline in the share of cattle beef occurred during the period from 1981 to 1986 when it decreased from 28.0% to 25.4%. Thereafter, it stayed constant at around 25%. During 1981, goat meat constituted 24.7% of the total red meat produced in the country. It increased to 26.3% by 1986, then decreased to 25.8% by 1991 and again increased to 27.2% by 1996. The share of goat meat showed a significant reduction during next five years as it came down to 23.0% by 2001. During the period from 1981 to 2001, the share of mutton showed a consistent decreasing trend. It constituted 18.6% of the total red meat in 1981 but came down to 13.5% in 2001. Maximum reduction in the share of mutton, however, took place during the interval from 1996 to 2001.

Table 4.3. Production (000 m.t) Trend of Red Meat in Pakistan from 1980-81 to 2000-2001.

Year of Production

Buffalo Beef

Cattle Beef

Goat Mutton

Sheep Mutton

Total Red Meat

1980-81 188 184 162 122 656 1985-86 327 273 282 191 1073 1990-91 378 287 297 189 1151 1995-96 477 342 387 215 1421 2000-01 553 365 332 195 1445

Prevalence of drought conditions in Pakistan since 1999, partly explains the stagnancy in total red meat production during the period from 1996 to 2001 and onwards. Goats and sheep maintained in large numbers in the arid and semi-arid areas of the country were affected more adversely by the drought than cattle and buffaloes. Hence, the negligible increase rate


90

of total red meat production during the period from 1996 to 2001 was mainly due to the decrease in production of mutton, which leveled the concomitant increase in the production of beef in the country. According to the latest available estimates of 2002, the per capita availability of meat including poultry meat is 18.9 kg. On daily basis, this availability comes out to only 52 grams. The changes in per capita availability of total meat over the period from 1981 to 2001 are shown in Table 4.4. The availability increased significantly during 80s but showed only a slight improvement during the next decade mainly because of drought factor. It may be appreciated that the improvement in per capita availability maintained a higher pace than the growth rate of consumers’ population during the period. This improvement was, however, mainly due to a consistent increase in the number of animals available for slaughter and not due to better carcass yield per animal. Furthermore, as the per capita availability of meat includes poultry meat, the current availability of red meat should be considered 18% less (18.9 vs 15.5 kg) after adjusting for the current share of poultry meat in the total meat production. Table 4.4. Per Capita Availability of Meat* in Pakistan from 1981

to 2001 at Ten-Year Intervals.

Year

Total Population (millions)

Total Red Meat Production

(million tons)

Per Capita Availability

(kg)* 1981 84.91 0.656 13.7 1991 112.61 1.151 17.3 2001 140.36 1.445 18.7

*Includes poultry meat that was 6.4% of total meat during 1981, 10% during 1991, and 18% during 2001. Edible Offal

The internal organs of a slaughtered animal that are used as food are collectively called as offal. These include heart, kidneys, lever and brain. The edible offals form a valuable source of revenue for the butchers and potentially represent around 20% of their total sales. No separate statistics is available regarding production of edible offal in Pakistan because whole selling of offals to retailers usually take place along with the meat at the slaughterhouse or on a consignment basis to the retail shops. However, it


91

has been estimated that their current annual value is more than 6 billion rupees. OTHER PRODUCTS Hides and Skins

Hides and skins are important by-products of the meat industry. Hides of cattle and buffaloes and skins of sheep and goats are used in raw or semi-processed form for manufacturing several products of leather industry such as shoes, leather garments, handbags, cushions and musical instruments, particularly drums. Leather belts are commonly used for moving pulleys in several mechanical devices. Leather industry of Pakistan, which uses hides and skins as raw material, is a notable contributor to the foreign exchange earnings of the country. According to the 2003 estimates, 8.4 million hides and 40.3 million skins are annually produced in Pakistan. Approximately, 10-15% of hides and 20-25% of skins are damaged as a result of faulty flaying, defective curing, poor handling and improper storage. Warble fly infestation is another important cause of damage to skins and hides. Available statistics on production of hides and skins in Pakistan over the period from 1971 to 2001 is presented in Table 4.5. Number of hides as well as skins produced in the country showed consistent increasing trend over the 30-years period; however the patterns of increase were different. In case of hides, the average rate of increase remained slow during the first two decades (85 thousand per year) but improved significantly during the last decade (190 thousand per year). During the period from 1971 to 1981, buffalo and cattle had almost equal share in total production of hides. Afterwards, the share of buffalo hides has increased gradually, mainly because of a higher population growth rate of buffaloes as compared to that of cattle. In case of skins, the rate of increase was maintained at a higher level (1.15 million per year) during the period from 1971 to 1981, which slowed down to 0.57 million per year during the next two decades. Table 4.5. Production of Hides and Skins in Pakistan from 1971

to 2001 at Five Year Intervals (millions).


92

Year of Production Hides Skins 1971 4.3 16.4 1976 4.6 23.6 1981 5.0 27.9 1986 5.5 29.6 1991 6.0 33.9 1996 7.1 34.5 2001 7.9 39.3

Collectively, the quantity of hides and skins produced in the country, have always fallen short of the demand at the national as well as international levels. The demand of hides and skins for production of footwear and leather garments, particularly for export, has been increasing for the last several years. Several steps are needed to be taken if Pakistan wants to maintain or further improve its good reputation in the international markets for the supply of leather products. Parasitic and other diseases affecting the quality of skins and hides must be controlled through nation-wide sincere efforts. Skin and hide damages occurring during slaughter due to faulty flaying need to be minimized through production of trained manpower in this field. Proper facilities are required to be developed for appropriate curing and storage of fallen skins and hides. Wool and Hair

Wool is an important product of sheep. Most breeds of sheep found in Pakistan produce coarse wool which is, in fact, a mixture of long course fibres on the outer body-coat and fine true wool fibres on the under body-coat. The average fibre length varies from 50 to 200 mm depending upon whether the shearing is done once or twice a year. Few breeds e.g. Harnai, Kalati and Pahari, maintained in the hilly areas produce wool, which has comparatively higher proportion of fine wool fibres. For the last two decades, a large-scale programme of crossbreeding local Kaghani with Rambouillet breed imported from USA, has been executed in NWFP under the National Coordinated Project of PARC on Sheep & Wool Improvement. So far, thousands of crossbred sheep have been produced in Mansehra and Swat valleys that produce relatively finer wool. However, wool produced by Rambouillet crossbreds is generally mixed with that of course wool breeds, before marketing. Consequently, fine wool to the tune of 15-20% of the local production, is imported from Australia, New


93

Zealand and European countries mainly for the manufacture of fine quality apparels, shawls and knit-wear and to some extent, for the production of fine carpet yarn. Wool produced in Pakistan is ideally suited to the production of carpets and rugs. Hand-knotted carpets are made all over the country in various colours and patterns having floral, geometrical or pictorial designs. Woolen carpets rank high in the list of exportable products of Pakistan. The machine-made carpets are mostly manufactured in and around Karachi, Lahore and Quaidabad. Both types of woolen carpets are made from local wools and only a small quantity of imported fine wool is used for blending to manufacture fine-yarn carpets with a better shine. Cottage industries are a notable consumer of local wool. Woolen products of the cottage industries include carpets, tweeds, blankets, heavy and light shawls and felted wool-mats. In addition, a variety of domestic goods like druggets, upholstery, bags and shoes are prepared from wool blended with goat hair, camel hair and other synthetic fibres. Blankets are made mostly from local wools but blending with fine and crossbred imported wools is also practiced. Cottage industries as well as factories make blankets. However, the factory-made blankets are preferred because of their better quality and finish. The available information on utilization of goat hair in Pakistan is scanty. Goat hair is commonly used for preparation of ropes and large storage bags. A large proportion of hair production is utilized in the preparation of rugs, foot-mats and druggets after mixing it with the wool. According to the latest estimates reported in the Economic Survey of Pakistan for 2003-04, sheep and goats annually produce about 39.9 thousand tons of wool and 20.7 thousand tons of hair respectively. The production profiles of wool and hair over the period from 1971 to 2001 are summarized at five yearly intervals in Table 4.6. Wool production showed a positive growth rate during first two decades of this period when its increase rate averaged about 1400 tons per year. During the next five years (1991-1996), the reported estimates of wool production drastically decreased from 49.3 thousand tons to only 38.3 thousand tons. It is difficult to explain the cause or causes of this sharp decline as no major disaster, hit the sheep population of Pakistan during this period. The


94

production estimates for 1996 were based on the Livestock Census of 1996 whereas the estimates of previous years were based on the Livestock Census of 1986 and were probably over-estimated for the period from 1991 to 1995. Table 4.6. Production of Wool and Hair in Pakistan from 1971 to

2001 at Five Year Intervals (000 tons).

Year of Production Wool Hair 1971 22.1 2.9 1976 32.2 4.3 1981 40.7 5.5 1986 43.6 6.7 1991 49.3 8.3 1996 38.3 16.2 2001 39.9 19.3

Animal Fat, Bones and Blood

Body fat, bones and blood of slaughtered animals are minor yet important by-products of the livestock sector. These are used for a variety of purposes. Fat collected from the carcass of slaughtered animal is mainly used as a cooking medium. Its other uses include preparation of bakery products and certain pharmaceuticals. Fat collected from dead animals is not used for preparation of edible products. It is mainly used for making detergents such as soap, soap-flakes and washing powders. Inedible fat is also used for the preparation of certain chemical products such as lubricants and nitroglycerides, gelatin and glue. Carcasses of buffaloes and cattle yield 5-8 times more fat than these of sheep and goats. Body fat collected from all species of ruminants, is rendered together and further processed in a mixed form.

Bones, horns and hoofs serve as valuable raw material for the preparation of a number of commercial products including animal feeds, fertilizers, gelatin, glue, glycerin and lubricants. Long bones can be used for preparation of fancy goods such as jewellery, buttons, knife-handles and decoration pieces. Bones of animals, particularly long bones are under-utilized in Pakistan. If the existing conditions of collection, cleaning and


95

drying of bones are improved and the bone crushing or processing industry is improved, there is considerable scope for the export of crushed bones and bone meal.

Animal blood is a rich source of proteins of high biological value and essential amino acids. The main use of blood collected from slaughtered animals in Pakistan, is the preparation of blood meal that is used in animal and poultry feeds. Its other possible uses include preparation of industrial products such as certain pharmaceuticals, adhesives, and textile dyes. The existing system of collection and handling of animal blood is highly un-organized and in efficient. Blood is collected only from those animals, which are slaughtered in large slaughterhouses. Even in these large slaughterhouses, there are no proper facilities for collection and handling. Blood is generally sweeped from drains and floors of the slaughterhouse that results into its contamination with pieces of flesh, excreta and dust. Preservatives and anticoagulants are rarely used. Blood collected from all types of animals is mixed and dried under the sun or by heating in open pans without purification. According to the current estimates, 133 thousand tons of animal fat, 356 thousand tons of bones and 45 thousand tons of blood are annually produced in Pakistan. The reported estimates of annual production of these products over the period from 1971 to 2001 at five yearly intervals are presented in Table 4.7. The annual production of animal fat and bones showed a consistent increasing trend and their overall production increased by 2.23 and 2.73 times, respectively, over the 30 years period. The reported annual production of blood increased gradually from 1971 to 1991 but showed a significant decrease during the next five years. It, however, came back to the level of 1991 in 2001. Most probably, the reported productions of animal blood from 1991 to 1995 were over-estimated. Table 4.7 Production of Animal Fat, Bones and Blood in Pakistan

from 1971 to 2001 at Five Year Intervals (000 m. tons). Year of Production Animal Fat Bones Blood

1971 45.8 152 14.2 1976 57.2 177 17.9 1981 71.4 199 22.5 1986 91.9 236 31.8


96

1991 104.5 265 42.5 1996 112.0 302 33.0 2001 126.0 339 43.0

Guts and Casings

Guts and casings collected from slaughtered animals are not utilized in Pakistan. It has been estimated that 80% of the collected guts and casings are processed for export in dried form for the purpose of preparation of sausages in other countries. The remaining 20% are locally used for the preparation of tennis rackets, musical instruments, spinning wheels and catgut for surgical purposes. The quantity exported and value of animal casings per annum, exported by Pakistan from 1971 to 2001 is summarized in Table 4.8 Table 4.8. Quantity Exported and Value of Animal Casings per

Annum Exported by Pakistan from 1971 to 2001 at Five Yearly Intervals.

Year of

Production Quantity

(thousand kg) Export Value (Million Rs.)

1971 424 8 1976 256 35 1981 269 60 1986 482 99 1991 562 309 1996 747 561 2001 568 405

Farmyard Manure

Farmyard manure (FYM) is an important yet least recognized product of livestock. It consists of dung, urine and refused feed. Properly collected and protected in manure pits, FYM can usefully serve the purpose of soil fertilizer. It has been estimated that one ton of average FYM contains 4.5 kg Nitrogen, 0.8 kg Phosphorus, 3.0 kg Potassium and 230 kg organic matter. The establishment of a synthetic fertilizer factory involves expenditure of hundreds of millions of rupees, whereas FYM is a natural


97

product obtained constantly from all types of farm animals without any extra financial burden on the livestock producer. The combined use of FYM and chemical fertilizers not only reduces the demand for synthetic fertilizers in the country, but is also economical. In addition, it helps in keeping the surroundings of the livestock farm clean and free of pollution. The dung excreted by large animals, especially buffaloes and cattle, when dumped into specially designed shallow wells, can produce biogas as a result of microbial fermentation in the dung. This gas can be harnessed and channeled, but because pressure is often low, it cannot flow to distant places and must be used nearby at the farm or the village where it is produced. In Pakistan, the functioning of biogas plants has remained a failure due to a variety of reasons. USA and some other countries have, however, built large number of biogas plants to utilize animal manure. After the production of biogas the residual dung can still be used as fertilizer. The annual production of farmyard manure in Pakistan over the period from 1981 to 2001 at five yearly intervals is summarized in Table 4.9. Draught Power

Draught animal power is another important livestock product but its contribution to agricultural production system is not fully appreciated in Pakistan. More than 3.5 million bullocks, 0.3 million camels, 0.2 million horses, 0.1 million mules and 2.8 million donkeys are a significant source of energy in our agricultural system. In spite of the trend of mechanization to replace work animals, a large number of livestock farmers is still using draught animal power. In addition to ploughing and land leveling, the draught animals are frequently used for planting; threshing of crops, fodder chopping, cane-crushing, water lifting and transportation. Draught animals are the only source of power on hilly terrain and narrow or waterlogged fields Table 4.9. Annual Production of Farmyard Manure in Pakistan

from 1981 to 2001 at Five Yearly Intervals.

Year of Production

Quantity (Million Tons)

1981 369.0


98

1986 428.5 1991 465.4 1996 510.9 2001 561.1

.The population of draught animals in Pakistan has been fluctuating around 8 millions for the last 20 years. Bullocks and donkeys have remained major contributor to the population. The share of bullocks in total population of draught animals has decreased from 60% in early 80s to 46% in recent years. In contrast, share of donkeys in the total population of draught animals has increased from 30% in early 80s to the present value of 39%. Bullocks, adult male buffalo and camels can exert draught up to 25% of their body weight whereas draught exertion of donkeys can go as high as 36% of their body weight. These values can be further improved if the draught animals are properly fed and managed, proper task scheduling is practiced and improved animal-drawn implements are used. In spite of their maintenance under primitive conditions and use of out dated harnesses and equipment, the annual value of animal draught power in Pakistan has been estimated to be more than 18 billion rupees that accounts for more than 35% of the total value of all non-edible products of livestock in Pakistan. VALUE OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS Role of the livestock sector in the national economy of Pakistan is generally not fully recognized. In reality, the share of livestock and their products in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan has hovered around 12% over the last five years. It has remained consistently higher than the combined share of major crops (cotton, sugarcane, rice, maize and wheat) and minor crops (oilseed crops, pulses, potatoes, onion, chillies). A comparison of the sectoral shares of livestock and crops in the GDP over the last 35 years reveals that the share of crop sector has declined from 27.6% in 1969 to 10.9% in 2003, whereas the share of livestock sector has increased from 10.6% in 1969 to 11.4% in 2003.


99

The total value of products and by-products, of livestock excluding those of poultry sub-sector, as estimated during 1986 and 2001, are presented in Table 4.10. Table 4.10 Value of Livestock Products of Pakistan (Billion

Rupees). Product/By-Product 1986 Estimates 2001 Estimates 1. Milk 55.2 276.05 2. Beef 7.7 24.79 3. Mutton 9.2 32.69 4. Hides 2.8 8.18 5. Skins 1.8 12.63 6. Wool 1.1 0.71 7. Hair N.A 0.23 8. Animal Fat N.A 1.73 9. Bones N.A 0.62 10. Blood N.A 0.38 11. Guts/Casings N.A 0.97 12. Draught Power N.A 18.38 13. Edible offal N.A 6.30 14. Farm Yard Manure N.A 8.70 TOTAL 77.8 392.36

The estimated value reported by the FAO Livestock Sector Study of Pakistan in 1986 was 77.8 billion rupees. This value accounted for only six major livestock products namely milk, beef, mutton, hides, skins and wool. The estimates of 1986 were based on retail values that were used as proxies of the relative economic importance of these products. The Federal Bureau of Statistics has made a more comprehensive estimation of the total value of livestock products and by-products in 2001. These estimates are based on the current factor cost and take into account all major and minor products of livestock of Pakistan. According to these estimates, the total value rises to 392.36 billion rupees. The value of edible livestock products, excluding poultry meat and eggs, comes out to be Rs. 333.53 billion, which constitutes 85% of the total value of all products and by-products of livestock.


100


101

Chapter 5

From an economist’s point of view, production of any commodity is a demand driven phenomenon and any set of practices adapted to ensure the arrangement of inputs, maintenance of optimum production level and efficient utilization of resources to meet the demand of a given product can be called its “production system”. Any change in the nature or magnitude of the demand of a product can act as a driving force to alter its production system. A good production system is that which is flexible enough to respond to the change without affecting the efficiency of production. From livestock producer’s point of view, the system that is evolved overtime at a particular location after careful analyses of all input-output relationships is called the production system. In the livestock production system, the input-output relationship depends upon numerous factors including biological, climatic, socio-economic and political factors. These factors act in a combined form and determine the production of a particular livestock enterprise. The term “production environment” is frequently used to describe the overall combined effect of all factors involved in the production system.

TYPES OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS For livestock production, the production environments vary with the agro-ecological regions and from farm to farm within region mainly because of variation in the level of animal husbandry or degree of livestock management interventions applied at a particular location. There are areas where there is very little husbandry management and so minimum human modification of the production environments. Then there are areas where the level of husbandry management is slightly better but unable to overcome the effects of negative production environments. Finally, there are areas having very intensive management systems where feed, climate, animal diseases and all other factors are controlled or managed by the farmers.


102

In accordance with the above-mentioned classification of production environments that is based upon the level of human interventions, the livestock production systems are of three types. 1. Low-Input Production System

In the “low-input production system”, several rate-limiting inputs impose continuous and severe pressure on livestock resulting in lower rates of survival or reproduction and overall output. Animals are poorly fed with whatever is available and their nutritional requirements of body growth, maintenance and production are not fulfilled. No arrangements are made to protect the animals from climatic extremes or environmental hazards. Very little or no preventive measures are taken against the onset of infectious or metabolic diseases and the morbidity as well as mortality rates due to prevailing diseases are generally very high. Under this type of production system, the overall production risks are very high mainly because of limited or non-availability of resources and frequently go beyond human management capacity. 2. Medium Input Production System

In the “medium-input production system”, available resources are moderately managed and modest efforts are made to overcome the undesirable effects of production environments. Under this type of production system, some of the rate-limiting inputs are managed by the farmers but one or more major out-put limiting factors are not controlled and continue to adversely affect the livestock productivity in a serious fashion. For example, some attention is paid to meet the nutritional requirements of animals in production by providing concentrate rations in order to maintain or improve the level of production. Feeding requirements of young growing animals, non-pregnant heifers and dry females are generally ignored. Low-scale efforts are made to provide separate housing facility to the animals. No investment is made for the procurement of quality vaccines or implementation of a regular program of vaccination of animals, although disease control services provided by the government agencies are availed. Unlike the low-input production system, the farmers operating under the medium-input production system are market-oriented and about 40-60% of the product is sold at prices much lower than consumer’s price mainly because of the involvement of a long chain of middle men in the marketing process.


103

3. High-Input Production System

The “high-input production system” is commonly practiced in the developed countries using modern techniques of husbandry management and enhancement of livestock productivity. Under the high-input production system, all rate-limiting inputs to production can be managed and the level of human intervention is maximum. Only the high producing animals are kept which are fed according to their nutritional requirements of body growth, maintenance and production level. They are provided with comfortable and separate housing facilities. Liberal investments are made for the control and treatment of animal diseases. Resultantly, the animals kept under this type of production system express highest survivability; reproductive efficiency and production potential. The high-input production system is based upon purely commercial livestock farming set-up so the production risks are kept minimum. The solitary constraint of output is, therefore, the inability of farm manager to make appropriate and timely decisions. DEVELOPMENT OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS In Pakistan, livestock production systems have stemmed from the subsistence small holder farming system prevalent in the country. Even today, majority of rural livestock farmers follow the crops-livestock mixed farming system. More than 60% of buffalo and 56% of cattle population are maintained in herd size of less than six animals. Similarly, about 61% of goats are kept in flock size of less than thirty animals. Medium to large-scale farming is significant only for sheep where about 60% of flocks range in size from 50 to more than 350 animals. Under the subsistence smallholder farming system, the farm resource bases are highly variable which lead to the emergence of a wide variety of problems and production constraints. With the exception of establishment of some commercial dairy farming set-ups in most of the peri-urban and some rural areas during last decades, the predominant livestock production system of Pakistan remains to be “low-input production system”. More than two third of the total livestock population of Pakistan is maintained by small farmers which do not have enough resources to produce proper shelter to their livestock, feed them according to their nutritional requirement or protect them from


104

common diseases. Resultantly, these animals remain under continuous state of stress and are unable to express their actual production potential. During the last fifty years, livestock production scenario of Pakistan has, however, undergone certain changes. At the time of independence from British occupation, the economy of the country was mainly dependent on agriculture, which contributed more than 60% to the national GDP. More than 87% of human population was earning the livelihood from agriculture and agriculture based industries. At that time, agricultural activities were almost entirely dependent on livestock. Large ruminants were used in every phase of crop production process including preparation of land, ploughing, increasing soil fertility, operating well-based irrigation channels, harvesting of crops and post-harvest handling, processing and transporting the produce to the nearby markets. Under this scenario, which persisted until mid seventies, there remained high demand for heads of livestock (number) and very little attention was paid to per animal productivity or the potential of animals for production of milk and meat. Due to extremely poor means of transportation and communication and absence of big urban markets, most of the milk was produced and consumed in the rural areas. During the early seventies, the demand for heads of livestock by the agriculture sector of Pakistan started showing a decline. This coincided with the introduction of farm mechanization in the country. Let us take the example of import of tractors in the country during this period. By the year 1969, only 21 thousand tractors were available in Pakistan. The number increased to 42 thousand by the year 1973-74 and to 103 thousand by the year 1978-79. Because of their higher efficiency and usefulness in a variety of agricultural operations, these tractors started replacing the working animals. According to the Census of Agricultural Machinery conducted by the Agricultural Census organization during 1975, the number of work animals (cattle, buffaloes, camel, horses and donkeys) had reduced by 56% in the country. Maximum reduction was observed in Punjab (62%) followed by Baluchistan (45%), NWFP (37%) and Sind province (36%). Some other important developments also took place during the same period. Large number of skilled and unskilled persons, mostly from rural


105

areas was allowed to go abroad (particularly Middle Eastern countries) and work in order to support their families back home and earn valuable foreign exchange for Pakistan. This development caused a considerable increase in the per capita income in the country as well as accelerated the process of migration of people from rural to urban areas. As a result, towns and cities started getting crowded and urban demand for livestock products began to show a rapid increase. In order to cope up with the situation of changing demand from “livestock number” to “livestock products”, certain adjustments were made in the livestock development policies with more emphasis on improvement of per animal productivity rather than increasing the number of low producing animals. Short, medium and long term projects aimed at improving production potential of indigenous farm animals were initiated at the public sector livestock farms and livestock production research institutions of the country. Simultaneously, some modest efforts were initiated to introduce provision of livestock production extension services to farmers who were previously provided with only veterinary services by the livestock departments. All these steps resulted into inception of a broad based long-term program aimed at the betterment of livestock production environments. In-spite of the fact that the program remained slow in its progression, the private livestock farming community responded reasonably well to accept the challenge of meeting the increased demand of livestock products. The small holder subsistence livestock farming set-ups operated under the dominating “low-input production system” slowly and gradually started getting replaced by the semi-commercial farming set-ups in the rural and peri-urban areas under the medium to high-input production system.

At present, more than 50% of the population of cattle and buffaloes maintained in Pakistan are subjected to low-input production system backed up by the subsistence small holder farming set-ups. This situation, however, varies from province to province and species to species. Majority of the remaining population of buffaloes (34%) is maintained under the “medium input production system” practiced by the market-oriented, semi-commercial rural farmers. Similarly, farmers maintaining medium size herds comprising of 7-20 cows of local dairy breeds (Sahiwal, Red Sindhi) and Friesian and Jersey crossbred cattle are also following this type of production system. Medium to high input production system is observed only at the peri-urban commercial dairy


106

herds that cover a small proportion (less than 5%) of the population of dairy animals.

The production systems of buffalo, cattle and small ruminants of Pakistan, as described in the ensuing sections of this chapter, are based upon the classical “Pakistan Livestock Sector Study” conducted by FAO/ADB Cooperative Programme in 1987. This is perhaps the only systematic and comprehensive study relating to several important aspects of livestock production in Pakistan including production systems. BUFFALO PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Buffaloes of Nili-Ravi and Kundi breeds are the major source of milk supply in Pakistan. Beef is a by-product of buffaloes and buffalo beef constitutes nearly one half of the total beef produced in the country. Until early nineties, buffaloes used to contribute more than 70% to the total milk production in Pakistan. Later on due to increased number of crossbred dairy cattle in the country, the share of buffalo milk in the national milk production has slightly decreased. According to the Livestock Census of 1996, buffalo milk constitutes 66% of the total milk produced in Pakistan. Herd size appears to be the major determinant of the type of production system of buffaloes in Pakistan. It not only indicates the availability of resources with the buffalo owner but also points out whether buffalo farming is his main activity or a minor side business in a mixed crop-livestock farming set-up. The percent distribution of buffalo population by herd size in Pakistan as reported in the Livestock Census of 1996 is given in Table 5.1. Table 5.1. Distribution of Herd Size in Buffaloes

Herd Size . Percent Buffalo Population cumulative (%) 1-2 18.1 18.1 3-4 24.5 42.6 5-6 17.4 60.0 7-10 19.6 79.6 11-15 10.2 89.8 16-20 4.2 94.0


107

21-30 2.9 96.9 31-50 1.6 98.5

More than 50 1.5 100.0 It is evident from the above-mentioned distribution of herd size that a significant proportion of buffalo population (42.6%) is maintained in very small herds comprising of 1-4 animals. Herd size for another large proportion (37%) ranges from 5 to 10 buffaloes. A small yet considerable number of buffaloes i.e. 17.3% of total population is maintained in medium size herds consisting of more than 10 but less than 30 animals. Only 3.1% of the buffalo population belongs to comparatively larger herds of more than 30 animals. Based on this scenario of herd size, five types of production system are followed by buffalo farmers in Pakistan. Rural Smallholder Subsistence Production System

This type of production system covers the largest proportion of buffalo population. According to FAO study of 1987, more than 60% of buffalo population was maintained under this system. The situation has significantly changed over the years and currently about 45 to 50% of buffalo population is subjected to this type of production system. Under this system, an average production unit consists of three buffaloes including one or two adult females. About 50-60% of the feed requirements are met from grazing at no cost other than labor for guarding the animals during grazing. The remaining 40-50% of the feed requirements is met through feeding of wheat straw and some green fodder. Concentrates are seldom purchased. Average lactation yield per buffalo remains around 1200 liters and the farmer tries to ensure that at least one buffalo remains in production at all times. The members of farmer’s family consume most of the milk produced. Rural Market-oriented Smallholder Production System

Those rural small farmers who have access to the nearby markets of livestock and their products practice this system. Such farmers change their pattern of milk production and consumption. However, for most of them, the market access is indirect i.e., through middlemen. According to the FAO study of 1987, about 30% of rural smallholders were estimated to have interest in producing milk for sale. Over the last 15 years, this


108

percentage has considerably increased mainly because of establishment of milk processing industry in the country that is providing milk collection services in the rural milk pockets. Under this type of milk production system, an average production unit consists of about 5-7 buffaloes. This herd is generally composed of about 3-4 adult buffaloes and one or two heifers. One or two male calves are some times kept but buffalo bulls are rare. The lactating buffaloes are generally stall fed with available green fodder, straws and concentrates. The dry buffaloes, heifers and male calves are almost exclusively grazed on wasteland or crop stubbles. Under this system, the average lactation yield of a buffalo ranges from 1,800 to 2,000 liters with a lactation length of generally more than 250 days. More than 50% of the milk produced by the farmers is sold either directly or through middlemen. Rural Commercial Buffalo Production System

The development of commercial dairy farms started in Pakistan during early 1980s. At present it can be safely estimated that about one fourth of the buffalo population is subjected to this type of production system. A typical rural buffalo farm running on commercial basis consists of more than 30 buffaloes of which 60% are adult females. Approximately, 40% of these adult females are in milk during most parts of the year. These production units usually have the provision of animal sheds. Fodder crops provide more than 50% of the feed whereas straws provide a further 35% of the feed requirements. Under this type of production system the average lactation yield ranges from 2000 to 2400 liters per buffalo. Lactating buffaloes receive maximum attention in terms of feeding management and disease control. The dry animals are however, fed on cheep and low quality feed ingredients. Grazing is sometimes available to the animals. Female calves are kept as replacements but male calves are either sold or slaughtered at a very young age. More than 90% of the milk produced at the farm is sold.

Peri-urban Milk Production System

Peri-urban commercial milk production system started developing in Pakistan parallel to the emergence of rural commercial milk production system. These developments took place in response to growing urban demand for milk. Peri-urban milk production units can be divided into large and small units. The large production units are located around major


109

cities whereas the smaller units are established in peri-urban areas of smaller towns and villages. The large peri-urban units have herds ranging from 20 to 50 heads, almost all of which are adult females and more than 95% are in production. Selected third or fourth lactation cows, with calf at foot, are kept over the lactation period of 250 to 300 days. The calves are generally slaughtered after first week. Most dry animals are sold for slaughter but a minority that gets pregnant earlier are kept or returned to rural areas until again ready to calve. Feeding varies with feed availability but will usually include wheat straw, chopped green fodder and concentrate rations, generally home mixed from wheat bran, cotton seed cake and rice polishing or crushed wheat etc. Production averages about 2,500 liters per lactation. Urban Milk Production System

Due to increasing urbanization trend over the last 2-3 decades, most of the large cities have expanded and the large peri-urban commercial dairy farms are getting converted into urban commercial dairy farms. Commercial cattle/ buffalo colonies of Karachi and Lahore are typical examples in this regard. Landhi cattle colony of Karachi was the oldest and biggest peri-urban dairy colony of Pakistan which has now become the largest urban milk production set-up in the country. The colony is spread over 1500 acres of land where more than 200 thousand dairy animals are maintained at 2000 commercial dairy farms. More than 95% of dairy animals are buffaloes. About 70% of the buffaloes maintained in the colony are purchased from Punjab while remaining is brought from other parts of Sindh province. Feeding of lactating buffaloes, management of calves and breeding of dry buffaloes are done on the same lines as described for the peri-urban commercial dairy farms. Most of dry animals get slaughtered in Karachi but few are sent to rural areas of Sindh and other provinces for re-breeding and resumption of next lactation. Concentrates as well as fodder and roughages are purchased. CATTLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS Indigenous dairy breeds of cattle namely Sahiwal from Punjab and Red Sindhi from Sindh province are an important source of milk supply in Pakistan. In addition, Cholistani breed from Punjab and Kankrej and Tharparkar breeds from Sindh possess good dairy potential. Until mid


110

eighties, cow milk used to constitute around 20-24% of the total milk produced in Pakistan. Later on due to increased number of crossbred dairy cattle in the country, the share of cow milk in the national milk production has slightly increased. According to the Livestock Census of 1996, cow milk constitutes 29% of the total milk produced in Pakistan. Beef is a major by-product of cattle that constitutes more than 50% of the total beef produced in the country. The herd size appears to be the major determinant of the type of production system of cattle in Pakistan. The percent distribution of cattle population by herd size in Pakistan as reported in the Livestock Census of 1996 is given in Table 5.2. It is evident from the above-mentioned distribution of herd size that a significant proportion of cattle population (55.5%) is maintained in small herds comprising of 1-6 animals. Herd size for another considerable proportion (20%) ranges from 7 to10 animals. A small yet important proportion of cattle population (19%) is maintained in medium size herds consisting of more than 10 but less than 30 animals. Only 5.4% of the cattle population belongs to comparatively larger herds of more than 30 animals. Based on this scenario of herd size, four types of production system are followed by cattle farmers in Pakistan Table 5.2. Distribution of Herd Size in Cattle Herd Size Percent Cattle Population Cumulative (%) 1-2 16.3 16.3 3-4 22.0 38.3 5-6 17.2 55.5 7-10 20.0 75.5 11-15 9.9 85.4 16-20 4.8 90.2 21-30 4.3 94.5 31-50 2.9 97.4


111

More than 50 2.6 100.0 Irrigated Area Rural Smallholder Production System

This is the traditional cattle production system in the canal-irrigated areas of the country. According to the FAO study of 1987 around 55% of the indigenous cattle population was maintained by rural small farmers at integrated farms in the irrigated areas. The cattle were traditionally kept to provide farm traction with milk as a by-product. Accordingly, an average production unit consisted of 3-5 cattle, usually of non-descript type but some farmers kept cows of indigenous draught or dairy breeds. The unit frequently included one adult cow, one or two bullocks and one or two male young stock. Lactation yield of an average non-descript cow ranged from 700 to 900 liters with a lactation length of 200 to 260 days. Grazing was the most common source of feeding but straw, green fodder and concentrates were variably used. Over the last fifteen years, the composition of an average production unit under this type of cattle production system has changed. The proportion of bullocks has decreased and that of male young stock increased. Moreover, crossbred cows having higher lactation yields gradually replace cows of indigenous dairy and draught breeds. Barani Area Rural Smallholder Production System

In the rainfed (barani) areas, cattle are traditionally kept by small rural farmers mainly for provision of draught power. However, cows having better milk producing ability are considered very important and given a higher value owing to the fact that comparatively less number of buffaloes are maintained for milk production in the rain-fed as compared to irrigated areas. Under this type of production system, the composition of an average production unit is similar to that of the irrigated-area based rural smallholder production system of cattle. Grazing of stubbles, pastures and wastelands provides up to 50% of feed requirements and the remainder is obtained from wheat straw and some green fodder. Concentrates are usually fed to work animals only. The average lactation yield ranges from 400 to 500 liters per cow. During the last two decades, some changes have taken place in this type of production system. The crossbreds slowly but gradually replace the indigenous non-descript cows with higher potential for milk production. Farmers have started feeding some concentrates to the indigenous as well as crossbred cows particularly during the lactation


112

period. As a result, the milk yield per lactation has shown some improvement. Progressive Farmers’ Production System

This type of production system started emerging in Pakistan after the successful introduction of cattle crossbreeding programs during the late seventies and early eighties. Under these programs, cows of indigenous dairy breeds (Sahiwal, Red Sindhi etc.) and non-descript cows were inseminated with imported semen of world-renowned dairy breeds viz, Friesian and Jersey. The resulting female progeny showed more than 100% increase in milk producing ability when compared with their dams. Private progressive cattle farmers started picking up this technology during mid eighties and began to rear crossbred dairy cattle on commercial lines. At present more than 2.0 million crossbred cattle are maintained in Pakistan. Under this type of production system, the farmer owns land for production of fodder and other crops and makes sufficient investment in terms of buildings, water supply and purchase of essential farm equipment. An average production unit consists of about 20-30 crossbred cattle of which 60% are adult females and 30 to 35% are replacement heifers. Most farmers keep one or two bulls in the herd. Male calves are generally sold for slaughter within 7-10 days after birth. Requirements of green fodder and roughages are almost entirely met from the land owned by the farmer. Lactating cows are variably fed with concentrates according to their production requirements. The average age at first calving is around 30 months and the mean lactation yield ranges from 2,200 to 2,600 liters. More than 90% of the milk produced under this system, is marketed.

Peri-urban Cattle Milk Production System

Though dominated by buffaloes, almost all peri-urban dairy colonies contain certain number of cows (10-15%), which are either crossbred or belong to an indigenous dairy breed. Feeding and management of these cows is similar to that for buffaloes. The main objective of keeping cattle at peri-urban dairy colonies is to overcome the shortage in supply of buffalo milk during the months of April to June. Cattle have the ability to calve round the year with highest frequency of calving during spring season. This peculiar characteristic of the cows is successfully used to tackle the problem of winter production of buffalo milk in the dairy


113

colonies. The cow milk produced under this type of production system is commonly mixed with buffalo milk before marketing. SMALL RUMINANT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS Meat production is the main purpose of small ruminant farming in Pakistan. Sheep and goat contribute approximately 40% to the total red meat production in the country. According to 2002 estimates reported in the Economic Survey of Pakistan, more than 666 thousand tones of mutton is produced per annum in Pakistan of which two third is shared by goats and one third by sheep. In addition to meat production, small ruminants are also used for production of wool/hair, skins and milk in the given order. Sheep are an important source of wool for the carpet industry. Some indigenous breeds of goats like Beetal, Dera Din Panah and Kamori have considerable potential for milk production. Percent distribution of population of sheep and goats of Pakistan by flock size as per Livestock Census of 1996 is reproduced in Table 5.3. The distribution of sheep flocks shows a different pattern when compared with that of large ruminants as described in previous sections of this chapter. It may be noted that the pattern of distribution of population by flock size differs between sheep and goats. A significantly higher proportion of goat population (45.1%) is maintained in small flock size (less than 15 animals) when compared with sheep (12.4%). Almost similar proportion of sheep and goat population (36.7 vs 31.8%) is maintained in medium-sized flocks consisting of 16 to 75 animals. The frequency of larger flocks with more than 75 animals is, however, significantly higher for sheep (51.9 %) than the goats (23.1%). The pattern of distribution of flock size of goats is apparently similar to that of large ruminants whereas the pattern is different and unique in case of sheep flocks. The sheep and goats are usually raised together under extensive production system. Majority of the medium and large sized flocks Table 5.3. Distribution of Flock Size in Sheep and Goats.

Flock Size

Sheep Goats Percent Cumulative % Percent Cumulative %


114

1-5 3.4 3.4 19.6 19.6 6-15 9.1 12.4 25.5 45.1 16-30 13.8 26.3 15.7 60.8 31-50 14.2 40.5 10.5 71.2 51-75 8.7 49.1 5.6 76.9 76-100 7.1 56.2 4.2 81.0 101-150 8.7 64.9 4.7 85.7 151-200 6.7 71.6 3.2 89.0 201-350 14.4 85.9 6.2 95.1 >350 14.1 100.0 4.9 100.0

maintained in Pakistan depend on rangelands for grazing to meet their feeding requirements. Small sized flocks owned by rural households get their feed from grazing of available communal pastures along the roads and canals. Crop residues are the mainstay of the feeding system of smaller flocks. Feeding system is, therefore, the major determinant of type of production system of small ruminants. Accordingly, four types of production system have been described for sheep and goats in Pakistan. Nomadic System

Nomadic system of small ruminant production is prevalent in areas of southern Baluchistan, Cholistan and Thal (Punjab) and Tharparkar (Sindh). Livestock owned by nomads mainly consist of sheep and goats but some camels, donkeys and chicken are also kept. Flock size ranges from 60 to 300 with 60:40 ratio between goats and sheep. Nomads keep on moving with their flocks in search of water and grazing. Duration of stay at a certain location depends on quantity of available feed. Utilization of grazing land is generally fixed by tribal customs and there are well established migration routes. All female progeny are retained for flock replacement where as all males are sold before one year of age. Sheep are shorn twice yearly to minimize shearing problems but this practice results into shorter staple length. In the province of Baluchistan, the tribal chiefs own several nomadic flocks and the nomadic families graze the flocks on payment in cash or in kind on yearly basis. This system is basically a low-input production system because the natural vegetation of grazing lands has generally high dry matter yields. Some nomads provide little concentrates to the finishing rams or bucks. Drought, diseases and social disruptions are the major risk


115

factors associated with nomadic system of small ruminant production in Baluchistan.

Transhumant System

This system of small ruminant production is commonly practiced in southern Punjab, uplands of Baluchistan, Northern Areas and some parts of NWFP. This is a migratory system and sometimes described under the category of agro-pastoral system. In the transhumant system of sheep and goat production, the goat/sheep farmers make use of the seasonal pastures located in the different areas separated by a third area through which migration takes place. In these areas, land use is restricted to seasonal grazing due to erratic and low rainfall. Here the flocks are generally large and have higher percentage of goats, owned by families and tribes which may move with the flocks. Their migration routes are fairly well established for centuries and generally follow points of water and grazing availability. In this way the flock may cover several hundred kilometers annually. This system is rather precarious and long periods of drought are not uncommon causing heavy mortality. There are grazing rights for tribes over rangelands. The tribes and families may own large tracts of land where some cultivation is possible if there are timely and adequate rains. If that happens then their flocks may hang around. Otherwise, they wander for several months grazing their flocks on the roadsides, trees and stubble. In Baluchistan, a significant proportion of the owners of transhumant flocks work as tenants on agricultural land. The livestock farmers of uplands of Baluchistan move along with their animals to low lands in winter and vice versa. Their flocks also include some cattle (for draught) and camels and donkeys (for transportation). Some transhumant flocks have access to grazing of crop stubbles at their permanent base so feed supply is more reliable than the nomadic flocks. Higher incidence of animal diseases is, however, the major risk factor in this type of production system. Sedentary System

This system of small ruminant production is prevalent in irrigated and rain-fed areas of central and northern Punjab, upland Baluchistan, Indus valley and southern parts of NWFP. Sedentary flocks consist of about 15-20 animals of which 70% are goats. They derive most feed from grazing on wasteland and nearby rangelands. Crop stubble and lopping from trees


116

are also used as feed, the latter being more commonly used for goats. Generally, several flocks are grazed together by a hired shepherd who may himself own a few goats. The shepherd or grazier may be paid in cash or in kind. A common practice in Punjab is a share (50 percent) in the progeny of the grazed flocks. The flocks are taken out or collected from owners for grazing early in the morning and brought back to villages late in the evening. Housing at night is generally limited to open corrals that may have a mud wall but use of thorny bushes is common. Main purpose of such housing is to confine the flock and protect it from predators. Grazing animals must be guarded, so labour requirements are high. Performance is similar to transhumant flocks, but milk production is more important because of the higher percentage of goats. Female offsprings are kept as replacements and all males are sold at the age of 4 to 12 months. Household System

Very small flocks of less than five small ruminants, mainly goats, are kept by many rural households particularly in the heavily populated areas of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP. This is a subsistence smallholder production system with minimum grazing. The animals are kept confined near the house and fed on kitchen wastes, scraps and weeds. No separate housing facility is developed for the animals that are tied during night or kept confined to some area within the family house. Women and children of the family are generally responsible for feeding, housing and management of the animals. Any milk, particularly from goats is for household consumption. Although some offspring may be sold, most are kept for family consumption, especially for ceremonial sacrifice.

CAMEL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Camels are reared in irrigated plains, dry mountains, sandy deserts, sub-humid areas and coastal areas of Pakistan. In these areas, camels are kept along with other animals for draught power, milk, and meat and hair production. In the irrigated plains of Punjab and Sindh, majority of camel herders (79%) are landless. There is shortage of feed in the remaining areas used for camel rearing. Consequently, the camel farming in Pakistan is migratory in nature and production system is generally determined by the climatic condition, topography of land, plant phenology and water sources, etc. Three types of camel production systems have been described in Pakistan.


117

Nomadic System

Nomadic system of camel production is prevalent in mountainous areas and sandy deserts, particularly in Baluchistan province. Nomadic herds are diversified with other species of livestock (i.e. sheep, goat and donkey). Movement of herds is an obvious fundamental strategy for survival. Lack of grazing and water shortage is a primary motivation and major factor for roaming from place to place. An average nomadic family would own 20-30 heads of camel along with sheep goats and donkeys. Three or four nomadic families move together along with their livestock. An average camel herd consists of 15-22 females and 5-7 males. About 50% of the gross income of a nomadic family is dependent on the sale of live camels and camel services. The nomadic herds of Baluchistan follow seasonal patterns of forage production. They would spend summers in highlands and winters in warmer lowlands of Indus basin. They move across open rangelands where they spend a few days, or sometimes weeks if range vegetation is abundant. They are allowed to pass through local tribal common rangelands, but cannot prolong their stay. In lowlands of Sindh, they have contracts with local farmers for buying stubble grazing rights, straw and other feed and forage (Acacia trees) for livestock. They would sell their own labour, animals and their by-products in exchange. Their arrival schedule in lowlands coincides with harvesting season, extending opportunity to nomads for working as labour force in cultivated fields and to buy cheap feed for their animals. Likewise, their return to highlands in spring and summer coincides with seasonal re-growth of vegetation and with seasonal labour requirements. Sedentary System

In case of sedentary production system, camel herds are rarely moved far away from their permanent base area. The herders are permanent settlers and possess house and land. In irrigated plains, livestock raising including camel production is carried out under this system. Thus, camel production system is predominantly sedentary in the irrigated plains. In these plains as well as some parts of coastal area of Sindh, small farmers, peasants or landless pastoralists generally rear camels. Landless peasants may or may not grow crops in addition to rearing animals, but they raise camel by


118

grazing in the close vicinity of villages. They may be hired as camel shepherds for extensive grazing. These herds are supplemented with cheap stall feeding. Camel rearing is considered as source of investment and income with low risk and minimum management attention. Majority of them invariably possess goats or sheep or both along with camels. Approximately 50% of camel herders inhabiting south-western mountainous areas (i.e. Balochistan) raise camels under sedentary system; where as overall more than 85% camel herders in irrigated plains and coastal areas are carrying out camel herding under sedentary production system. Camel raising contributes more than two third to the household income and helps increasing farm productivity. Women play a major role not only in camel management, but also in converting their by-products into useful food and marketable items like carpets, mats, blanket, bags, etc. Transhumant System

Transhumant system is basically a migratory system differing from nomadism in the nature of movement. Transhumant herd size ranges from 1 to 5 camels along with few sheep and goats. Transhumant camel herds move seasonally due to shortage of fodder and forage. Small farmers, peasants or landless labourers or pastoralists own most camels. The migrations mostly follow fixed annual routes and the extent of movement from one cropping area to other is generally determined by the availability of feed and water. This type of production system is practiced in mountainous parts of Baluchistan and deserts of Sindh and Punjab. In Sindh, the transhumant production system operates side by side with the sedentary system whereas in the Cholistan desert of Punjab it is the only system of camel production. The transhumant camel production system in Baluchistan can be divided into semi-sedentary transhumants and semi-nomadic transhumants. The semi-sedentary transhumants cultivate rain-fed crops, mainly winter wheat. Every winter after sowing wheat fields, they move from the central highlands of Balochistan to the Indus valley where they behave like true nomadic population. The semi-nomadic transhumants are almost completely dependent on their camels and small ruminants. They are co-owners of common tribal rangelands, and in most cases their movements take place only within the limits of their tribal lands. They move from


119

commonly owned rangelands to open rangelands as forage availability fluctuates, and would usually return to their permanent dwellings during summer months. In case of a drought, some of them take their families and animals to adjoining agricultural valleys to work as labourers, and their animals graze on stubble or vegetation in and around fields. Camels and donkeys are used for transportation of harvested crops and other goods.


120


121

Chapter 6

Livestock marketing systems in Pakistan are still primitive and differ greatly for live animals and their products like milk, meat, wool and hides/skins. These are therefore, discussed separately as follows:

MARKETING OF LIVE ANIMALS

Outlets

Thousands of livestock markets are held regularly throughout the country mainly every week on fixed days. But in some large cities like Karachi and Lahore such markets are held daily. Special livestock markets are organized in all towns and cities a few days before Eid al Azha for sale of sacrificial animals. There may be specialized markets for a particular species but at most of the markets both large animals (cattle and buffaloes) and small ruminants are brought for sale. In some areas of the country even camels, horses and donkeys are available at the weekly markets. The proportion of different species on sale depends on the type of animals that are raised in the hinterland of the market concerned. There are very few one-species markets. Annual livestock fairs in different parts of the country also serve as markets but only for breeding and show animals. However, most of the sales take place in the villages at the farm gate. This is more true for the small farmers. But if there is a market near by, they take their animals there because the price is better in the market. Animals are generally traded on individual basis but deals in groups are also made especially for small ruminants meant for slaughter. Work bullocks are normally sold or purchased in pairs for obvious reasons.

Infrastructure

The livestock markets are mostly open space with hardly any facility to help promote marketing. Some may have elementary sheds and water for animals. Vendors sell fodder. There is no electricity, approach roads, loading and unloading facility, veterinary care or record of attendance/transaction. Except in Baluchistan, these markets are under the local government authorities that may run these themselves or contract


122

them out to private sector generally on annual basis. The local authorities or their contractor charge a small fee on per animal basis.

Channels

The farmers in the villages sell their animals to the itinerant trader (Pankari in Punjab), the butcher or other farmers. The Pankari collects animals from the villages and sells them to the wholesalers (Beopari) or takes them himself for sale to the market. In large towns and cities, commission agents (Arhties) also operate in most parts of the country. In Lahore, there is another group of wholesalers called Rewaitees. They buy large numbers of sheep and goats from Beopari through the Arhties, have them slaughtered and then sell them to retailers through secret bidding. Collectively, several butchers may also buy animals directly from the Arhties for slaughters and sale of dressed carcasses/meat to the consumers. Most of the meat trade in Lahore is channeled through the Rewaitees. There are no commission agents in Baluchistan. The Beoparies arrange large number of animals in large markets like Quetta and then transport them to the major markets like Karachi. Transportation

Animals are generally driven to the market on foot but rail and road transports are also becoming common. Small farmers with only a few sheep and goats prefer small pickups but trucks are used for 50 or more small ruminants. Double decker trucks may carry around 150 small ruminants. Only 3 or 4 buffaloes and 6 or so cattle are transported in trucks. Animal drawn carts are not very popular now for transporting animals. Reasons for Sale

On the whole, the major reason for sale is to meet the urgent domestic needs. But animals are sold also as a means of regular income. Another significant reason for sale is the disposal of culled animals due to infertility, sickness, poor yield, etc. Funds needed for investment in the farm, for replacement of stock or for social reasons (marriages) also necessitate sale of stock. Scarcity of feeds and fodders may compel farmers to dispose off animals. Especially fattened/reared animals for sacrifice are sold before Eid al Azha.


123

Seasons of Sale

In arid areas, the pastoralists generally dispose off their animals annually before summer. But even there, most of the disposal is need based i.e. whenever there is need for money. This means that animals are sold at any time of the year. Sale of culled animals takes place periodically and is not confined to any season. Specially fattened animals for sacrifice are sold before Eid al Azha. Its date changes by a few days every year because of the lunar calendar based observation of the festival. Age and Type of Animals for Sale

Two types of working bullocks are generally offered for sale. Firstly, the young pair specially raised and trained for the purpose. Secondly, the old and the no longer very active animal that is generally purchased for slaughter. Good animals may also be sold in emergency situation to raise funds. Adult cattle and buffaloes are sold at the peak of their performance when they are respectively about 5 and 7 years old. They may be sold when they are about to calve or when they are just going dry at the end of their lactation periods. As young heifers they are sold when they are around 30 and 20 months old. At the fag end of their productive lives, cattle and buffaloes are sold for slaughter as meat animals. Mainly young sheep and goats are sold when they are less than a year old. For Eid al Adha these are specially fattened. Older animals are sold when around 2 years old. More young camels are sold than adults. Pricing of Animals

There is no rational system of pricing of animals like grading or classification in Pakistan. Instead, the price of animals is determined by a number of factors that can be divided into two categories. The first group comprises of factors that are general in character and may affect all the animals like location, season and special situations like droughts and festivals (Eid al Azha). The second category of factors contains factors like breed, sex, age, weight, productive stage, freedom from obvious diseases and general condition/appearance. Location may mean different regions or even farm gate or daily or weekly markets. The producer generally gets a lower price at the farm gate. Regional differences are also significant like the price of buffaloes is likely to be much higher in


124

Baluchistan than in the Punjab. Season also affect the price but more so indirectly due to availability of feeds and fodders in different seasons. During droughts the prices fall because all the producers want to sell as many animals as they can to avoid starvation. But the price soars during the period preceding Eid al Azha. Breed also influences the price like Sahiwal cows and Nili –Ravi buffaloes cost more than other breeds respectively of cows and buffaloes. Sex plays a part in determining the price. Female cattle and buffaloes but male lambs and kids fetch higher price. Similarly, breeding bulls, rams and bucks and working bullocks cost more. Age is an important determinant of price for obvious reason. But live weight, although important, does not play a crucial role in determining the price of livestock in this country. Productive status also influences price. A lactating cow/buffalo or pregnant heifer is priced much higher than a dry cow or buffalo or non-pregnant heifer. However, on the whole in Pakistan, the general condition/appearance of an animal plays a much greater role in determining its price than some other rational factors like live weight. Of course, looks can be important in animals meant for sacrifice and show when they are specially raised and groomed for the purpose. It would thus be seen that there are several variables that may influence the price of the animals. The Table 6.1 presents average prices of some categories of livestock together with the variation (range) only as indicative figures towards the end of the year 2003:

Table 6.1. Price of Some Categories of Livestock (000 Rupees) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type of Animal Average Price Range ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Buffalo, Milking 18 15 - 45 Cows, Milking 14 12 – 30 Crossbred Cows, Milking 16 15 – 30 Buffaloes/Cows, for Beef 5 3 – 10 Sheep/Goats 0.8 0.5 - 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARKETING OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS


125

There are four major livestock products namely, milk, meat, wool and hide/skins that also include their value added products. As stated earlier, marketing of live animals is undertaken almost entirely by the private sector with virtually no government involvement at any stage of the system. However, the government plays a significant role in the marketing of the livestock products. This may amount to fixing the retail price of milk and meat or determining the quality and standards for export of the livestock products. Retail prices are fixed by the local administration of towns and cities while quality standards for export are determined by the Government of Pakistan through its Agriculture and Livestock Marketing Authority (ALMA). The main functions of ALMA include the following:

Compulsory grading of agricultural and livestock products intended for export;

Agricultural products research and market intelligence. This department has a network of market inspectors who collect, compile and disseminate the wholesale and retail prices of about 200 commodities. Daily prices are collected from about 40 major markets in the country and made available to all the stakeholders.

MILK MARKETING

General

Some 6 million livestock farmers scattered all over the country especially in the irrigated areas produce milk. Primarily, the family of the farmer consumes the milk produced and less than half of the total production is sold. Farmers producing very small quantities of milk totally consume it mostly as fluid milk or prepare products like yogurt and ghee. Generally speaking, only the morning milk is sold and the evening milking is meant for the family. However, this does not apply to the peri urban buffalo herds, which have been established around large cities over the last 2-3 decades. These are not farmers in the traditional sense of the word. These peri urban farmers are just producers of milk from buffaloes for sale in the cities near them. All their inputs are purchased including the buffaloes. These buffaloes are disposed of as soon as they are dry and replaced by other buffaloes in milk. The supply and demand situation of milk is interesting. When the demand is highest in the summer months of May – August, the supply is lowest.


126

But when the supply is highest in the cooler months of December – April, the demand is lowest. This is mainly due to the somewhat seasonal breeding pattern of the buffaloes that are the major producers of milk. This fluctuation is however, not applicable to the peri urban herds, because breeding is not practiced. Marketing System

Between the production by the animals in the villages and the consumer in the urban areas, milk may pass through up to 7 intermediaries. The first intermediary is the milk collector called Kutcha Dodhi. He collects about 200 liters milk from up to about 20 farmers in and around a village in 2-4 steel cans latched at the back of his bicycle. Now more and more collectors are using motorbikes. This speeds up the collection and also increases his clientele. Milk is purchased on credit and by volume with no quality testing. In hot summer days, ice is added at about one kg for every 10 kg milk to prevent spoilage. After completing the collection that takes about 2 hours early in the morning, he takes it to the second intermediary called Pucca Dodhi. He operates on main roads or near it and close to villages that produce milk. Generally speaking, he handles about 2000 liters of milk daily brought to him by about 10-20 Kutcha Dodhis. However, those supplying dairy plants may handle some 50,000- 80,000 liters received from several hundred Kutcha Dodhis. This is truer for Punjab. However, now the dairy plants are establishing their own collection systems and buying directly from the farmers. They have established chilling plants and use insulated tankers for bulk transport of milk. The Pucca Dodhis assess the quality of milk visually or with their fingers and the quantity is measured by pouring the milk in their own containers. Some also use cream separators to test the quality. Total solids are tested by evaporation of milk in open pans. But those supplying dairy plants use fat testing equipment. None of these Dodhis have chilling facilities and they also add ice to keep the milk cool in summer. Transportation of milk is carried out with motorbike or even pick-ups. Only the smaller operators use public transport. The Pucca Dodhis supply milk to up to 50 clients. This depends upon the demand from his clients and the volume of milk available to him. Their main clients are ice cream manufactures and butter or ghee producers. The bulk of the supply however, goes to the third


127

intermediary namely, the Whole Saler in the urban areas. There may be several of these in towns and cities depending on the human population. They may also deal in some dairy products like Khoa and cream producing some of the latter themselves. However, their main business is to supply milk to the ultimate and the fourth intermediary that is, the retail shops. Their main function is to sell milk to the consumer generally from their shop. Some of them provide home delivery, as well. They also convert milk into cream and yogurt and sell Lassi (yogurt drink) and Khoa. All the milk sold by the retailers is untreated but cooled in summer with ice. The consumers in general always boil the milk purchased from the retail shops. In addition to the foregoing main system of marketing milk, there are two variations of the systems in which the number of intermediaries are cut down to two and even one middleman. These relate to the milk produced by the peri urban buffalo herds and large dairy farms and cooperatives. Generally, these supply milk directly to the whole salers in the towns and cities. Some dairy cooperatives and farms also have their retail outlets in the cities thus selling milk directly to the consumers. The large dairy plants mostly have their own milk collection systems and purchase milk directly from the producers on the basis of fat percentage. They may have several milk chilling centers in their hinterland from where the cooled milk is transported in insulated vans to the plants. The finished products mainly UHT milk is packed in tetra pack or brick packs and distributed throughout the country by their own or specialized distributors. Some of the plants also sell pasteurized milk in pouches or even open in bulk. Most of these dairy plants also manufacture several other products like yogurt, butter, ghee and cheese. Still others have established milk powder plants. But the total turnovers of milk of these plants are still less than 5% of the total milk marketed in the country. MEAT MARKETING

Marketing of meat is closely linked to the marketing of live animals. It is also entirely in the private sector except the slaughterhouses that are established and run by the local governments. There are scores of slaughterhouses in the country most of which have only the basic facilities. In fact, these are nothing more than just covered sheds with floor and poor drainage. Except a few, none have cold stores or chilling


128

facilities for meat. As a result, the carcasses are marketed fresh. Now the retailers in large cities have deep freezers for storage of unsold meat. There are just 3 slaughterhouses, one each in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi that may be called modern. Marketing System

The basic form of marketing is the sale of animal by a farmer to a local butcher who slaughters it and sells the meat to the villagers. Otherwise, collectors purchase the animals from the farmers who may sell these to a whole saler or take these animals himself to the local or the nearby market for sale. Even the producers take their animals to the market for disposal. There the whole salers/commission agents may purchase these for slaughter or sale to others. In Lahore there is a group of whole salers called Rewaitees who purchase and slaughter animals for sale as carcasses. So, these act both as whole salers and butchers. The retailers purchase fresh carcasses from the wholesale butchers and transport them to their shops in the cities. Alternatively, the retailers get their own animals slaughtered for sale. WOOL MARKETING

Until recently, all the wool produced in Pakistan was coarse wool. Now, improved Kaghani sheep in the northwest corner of the Country produce some medium fine wool. But its share in the total wool produced is only marginal. Shearing of sheep is carried out mostly twice a year except in parts of NWFP and Baluchistan where it can be 3 times or even once a year. Shearing is carried out with locally made scissors generally by professional shearers or even by the farmers themselves specially when there are only a few sheep. No preparation is made for shearing sheep like washing them. The shearing is done in the open dusty fields. The wool yield varies from 1-3 kg per head per year from 2-3 shearing. Markets and Marketing System

Virtually, every village with sheep is a wool market at the lowest or primary level. The sheep are sheared by professional shearers or by the farmers. Wool from each sheep is rolled into a bundle called “Pothie”. The wool is then transported to the regional market by the farmer himself or sold to the collector/ commission agent. These agents may have made a deal with the farmers before shearing on per head basis. There is generally


129

one wool buyer/collector in a village and even for the surrounding area. He may also be a shearer or only a collector. Collectors from several villages sell their wool to the nearby town markets where 2-5 commission agents deal in wool marketing. There are about 25-30 such markets in the Country. On the top however, are the major markets in Multan, Mianwali, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal and D.G. Khan with Multan being the largest market. In Multan there are some 20 big commission agents who purchase wool for their own spinning units and/or for wool exporters. But lately, some new markets have also developed where traders have started purchasing large quantities of wool for direct sale to the woolen mills. Cleaning and Grading The farmers do not clean or grade their wool. However, farmers in Baluchistan sort their wool into white and coloured wool. Otherwise, all the wool sold is either got cleaned by the middlemen or the mill owners. The wool from individual sheep is collected into sacks of 20-200 kg for sale and transportation. In the four commonly recognized types of wool in the world wool trade, Pakistan wool is classified as coarse wool. This is considered best for carpet and other floor coverings. The properties that make Pakistani wool amply suitable for carpets include resilience and resistance to abrasion, soiling, matting and crushing. The sponginess of this wool is specially recognized. The Agricultural and Livestock Marketing Authority (ALMA), Government of Pakistan, has prescribed the standards and grades for Pakistani wool. The grades are called Pakmark. This has the following obligatory conditions for the export of raw scoured wool:

The minimum clean wool fibre content should be 70 % or above; The maximum vegetable matter content should be 5 % or lower.

Wool Test House, Karachi of the Government of Pakistan has defined the quality of wool into 5 Grades namely, Pak Super, Pak Medium, Pak Coarse Pak Coloured and Pak Pieces. The grades are based on colour, fibre diameter, staple length, clean wool and vegetable matter. All the wool intended for exports are tested by the Wool Test House and necessary certificates issued. Without their certificate no letter of credit can be opened.


130

The entire wool industry from its production by millions of farmers to thousands of traders, processors and exporters is in the private sector. It is interesting that except the poor producers and small wool collectors/traders all the others are rich and have organized themselves into associations to protect their interests like the Wool and Hair Exporters Association, the Pakistan Woolen Mills Association and the Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association. HIDES AND SKINS MARKETTING There are three sources of hides and skins. These, in order of importance, are the hundreds of slaughterhouses spread all over the country, butchers in thousands of villages and the sacrificed animals during the 3 days of Eid al Azha. These start their journey from the butchers and end up in tanneries that are located only in the provinces of Punjab and Sind. In rural areas, collectors or representatives of commission agents purchase hides/skins from butchers and transport them to their depots on bicycles, motorcycles or even pickups depending on their numbers. In slaughterhouses, the commission agents purchase hides/skins directly from the butchers and transport them to their depots. All the sales are conducted without cleaning and grading. The commission agents clean, salt and sometimes grade them before supplying them to the tanneries by trucks. The hides/skins during Eid al Azha are collected by various charitable and social organizations and sold to the commission agents. The butchers pay no attention to the quality in respect of flaying, cleaning and grading. Similarly, quality of hides/skins is often adversely affected by external parasites like warble fly infestations and long delays in cleaning and salting. Even poor shearing methods damage the skins. Although there is no formal grading system in the main markets, factors like type, size and quality are used in determining the price. However, all hides and skins meant for export are officially graded according to internationally accepted standards.


131


132

Chapter 7

Dairy sector plays a significant role in providing high quality food for the people of Pakistan. The annual milk production exceeded 27.8 million tons in year 2003-04 making Pakistan the fifth largest milk producing country in the world. Economic importance of milk could be well understood considering that the value of milk produced annually in the country is alone more than the total annual value of wheat and cotton and twice than that of sugarcane and rice put together. More than 55 million landless/small land holding farmers are responsible for the bulk of milk produced in the country. Interestingly, about 93% of these farmers have an average herd size of 4 adult dairy animals and milk remains the mainstay of their household income. Milk is a major part of food consumption and plays a prominent role in the diet of Pakistani people. As a food group, milk (both milk and milk equivalents) is second only to cereals in terms of per capita consumption level. By weight, milk makes up nearly one third of all food consumed. The milk is consumed as fresh, boiled, powdered and processed milk, and as yogurt, ghee, lassi, butter, cheese, ice cream, sweets and other confectioneries. About half of the total milk produced is consumed as fresh boiled milk; about one fourth as ghee; and one sixth as yogurt or curd. The average consumer spends on the average one fourth of his food budget on milk and/or milk products indicating that even with this low average national income levels, the consumers can go for spending if product diversification is suitably introduced to match their needs. Rapid urbanization and rising per capita income levels are yet other parameters projecting increase in demand for fresh milk and milk products in the cities. COLLECTION AND MARKETTING OF MILK Bulk of milk is produced in rural areas whereas major consumption lies in urban areas. To ensure regular supply of fresh milk to consumers and milk processing units, different marketing systems are being employed for


133

marketing of milk produced under various production systems. These systems mostly involve several intermediaries who form important components of the marketing chain. These intermediaries include rural milk traders known as Kutcha Dodhis, (Dodhi is the common title given by villagers to local milk collecting persons); highway collectors known as Pucca Dodhi; rural milk vendors or milk processors; urban wholesalers; shopkeepers/processors; commission agents and street or door-to-door vendors. It is estimated that around 70 percent of the milk produced is consumed as fresh milk in rural areas. Presently, about 42 per cent or 11.35 million tons of raw milk is marketed annually through different marketing systems. The rural milk traders or Kutcha Dodhis are the most important middlemen in the milk marketing chain. They use cycles or motorcycles carrying three to four milk canes and collect around 50 litres of milk from small milk producers on daily basis. They mostly operate independently but a few also supply milk to the highway collectors or Pucca Dodhis. The highway milk collectors or Pucca Dodhis operate along the main roads where they have established collection points to obtain their supply of milk from the Kutcha Dodhis. The Pucca Dodhis employ traditional ways of checking the volume and quality of milk. The milk is either tested visually or with fingers for fat/ solid-not-fat contents and the agreed price is paid if the quality of milk meets the purchase requirements. In some cases, cream separation and coagulation tests are also carried out for ascertaining the fat and total solids contents. The Pucca Dodhis either use their own vehicles or the public transport for supplying milk to urban vendors/processors in towns. As they do not possess chilling facilities, they usually add more ice or preservative like hydrogen peroxide to ensure safety of the milk bound for long distances. The clients of Pucca Dodhis include individual contractors, milk shops and dairy plants. Many highway milk collectors are also engaged in fresh cream marketing and supply it to the manufacturers of confectionaries, ice cream, butter oil (ghee) and butter. The ice added to the milk by both rural and high way milk collectors reduces the original fat and solid-not-fat contents. The highway milk collectors have assumed a more important role as suppliers after the emergence of modern dairy plants in the country. Most


134

of the milk processing plants now procure major portion of their requirement from the highway milk collectors. The raw milk supplied by the private milk collectors nevertheless passes through stringent quality testing and is priced according to the fat contents. However, dependence on milk collectors pose difficulty during lean production periods when high price is demanded by them in the wake of supply gap. The milk processing plants thus find it unaffordable to buy milk at higher prices during the lean period for they have to factor in the cost of processing, packaging, transportation, distribution and advertisement to their final product. To eliminate reliance on third party milk supply, major diary plants are now opting for self-collection system. Leading dairy processors have started establishing milk collection centres to improve the quality and volume of raw milk through efficient handling and safe transportation of milk to their plants. Some dairy plants have started to equip milk collection centre with chilling units and use refrigerated road tankers for bulk transport from the centers to the plants. This system has enabled the producers as well as Kutcha Dodhis to directly deliver milk to these centres. Milk shops are the final destination in the milk marketing chain. In urban centres, the milk shops not only perform the important function of supply of fresh or boiled milk to the consumers but also transform milk into traditional products like yogurt (dahi), yogurt drink (lassi) and sweetened milk concentrate (khoa).

MILK PROCESSING

More than 97.5% of the total milk produced in Pakistan is consumed as fresh boiled milk or converted into dahi/ ghee by the households and retailer milk shops and only 2.5% reaches the dairy processors. There are some fundamental reasons for this low intake by the dairy industry. First of all, out of the total quantity of milk produced in Pakistan, 80% is available for human consumption. Secondly, only about 50% of the milk available for human consumption is marketed and the rest is consumed in the rural areas. Thirdly, most of the dairy processors have not established collection networks of desirable size to cover all milk producing pockets. This is clearly illustrated by the milk marketing / processing statistics of


135

2001. During this year, total milk production in Pakistan was 27.03 million metric tons, of which 22 million metric tons were available for human consumption and only 11.36 million tons were marketed. The intake by the dairy industry was only 0.3 million tons.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Based on the mechanism of preparation, dairy products can be classified into two broad categories of fermented and un-fermented products. The fermented dairy products produced in Pakistan include yogurt (dahi), butter, butter oil (desi ghee), and cheese. The un-fermented products consist of milk fat (malai), condensed milk products (khoa, kulfi, ice-cream, rabdi and basundi), UHT milk, pasteurized milk, milk powder and UHT cream. FERMENTED MILK PRODUCTS

Yogurt (Dahi)

Dahi is the curd resulting from the lactic fermentation of milk. It is the most favourite milk product in Pakistan and is used throughout the year. Beaten up with salt or sugar, it is used as drink in the form of buttermilk or lassi. The procedure for making dahi consists of selection of milk, boiling or sterilization; cooling, inoculation with a starter and incubation of the milk. Fresh milk of very good quality able to withstand boiling without coagulation is a must for dahi making. Whole milk or skim milk may be used. Skim milk makes an excellent quality of dahi although it lacks the creamy flavour. The milk is heated to 190 to 200º F for one hour or boiled for 10 minutes. This treatment destroys all pathogenic and practically all non-pathogenic bacteria that may be present. After the milk has been sterilized it must be cooled to incubation temperature before it is inoculated. The inoculation temperature is usually 70 to 72° F. The inoculation of milk consists of the addition of a small proportion of the starter maintained for this purpose. The starter is usually the leftover of the previous dahi. The proportion of starter may vary from 0.5 to 10 percent of the milk to be inoculated, but it is usually between 2 to 5 percent. The lactic acid bacteria present in the inoculum (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus) convert lactose into lactic acid. As the bacterial action progresses the milk becomes quite sour, acidity is increased and pH is lowered. When the pH of the milk is lowered to that


136

of the iso-electric point of casein (pH. 4.4), casein coagulates and a semi solid product, curd or dahi is formed.

The keeping quality of dahi, like that of most milk products, is limited. Usually it is disposed off within 24 hours, unless it is refrigerated. Currently, seven dairy plants are producing yogurt in Pakistan. Butter

Butter is another important dairy product in Pakistan. But very little of it is utilized as such. Most of it is converted into butter oil or desi ghee. The rural households produce it as well as dairy plants using different methods. Under the village method, the milk is boiled, cooled to room temperature and starter is added from the previous run as described in dahi making. The curd is churned in the pot itself with a wooden churn. When the butter granules are well formed, they are collected into a lump and the excess water is squeezed out.

Under the factory method, butter is made from cream. In Pakistan, the cream is collected from villages and by the time it reaches the factory, it is quite sour. The process of neutralizing cream consists of reducing its titratable acidity by the addition of an alkali. The acidity is reduced or standardized to pre-calculated level of about 0.12 to 0.18 percent, which is almost the normal acidity of milk. Cream is pasteurized in vats at temperature of 145° F for 30 minute, after which it is immediately cooled. Cream is ripened to improve the flavour, aroma and keeping quality of butter. The microorganisms used for ripening the cream are the same as mentioned for dahi. Three types of churn are used for butter making at factory level. These include end over churn, combined churn and rollerless churn. Churning continues till butter granules are of the desired size. The buttermilk is then drawn off through cloth or wire gauze to recover any of the butter granules, which pass off with it. After churning, the butter granules are squeezed and pressed together. This process makes the butter granules homogenous and the moisture or salt (if added) is uniformly distributed.

Butter Oil (Desi Ghee)

Ghee is made mostly by what we call village method. However, it can also be made from cream by the factory method. Under the village method, the milk is first converted into dahi. The dahi is churned to produce butter that


137

is then heated to evaporate the moisture and to precipitate any milk solids-not-fat present. Ghee is then produced by purifying the butterfat. Under the factory method ghee can be made directly from cream by heating. The cream is first heated sufficiently to bring about its separation into a fat layer at the top and a water layer at the bottom. The bottom layer of water is then drained off and heating continued. After the water contained in the cream is removed, the higher curd content of the cream make it necessary to heat it to a higher temperature or for a longer time to bring about complete drying and precipitation of the curd. At present, there are four dairy processing plants, which are producing butter oil in Pakistan. In addition, homemade butter oil is also sold in the country.

Cheese

Cheese may be defined as the curd obtained from milk through the coagulation of milk protein, i.e., casein by suitable enzymes and/or by acid produced by bacteria. After its separation from the whey the product may be used without further treatment or it may be ripened through the action of certain beneficial bacteria, moulds and enzymes. Primitive people learned that the curd of sour milk could be concentrated by pressing and partial drying and that the product could be preserved longer than sour milk itself. Early cheese makers used milk of the goat, sheep, cow, buffalo, mare, camel and perhaps other animals. The milk was curdled either with rennet from the stomach or with vinegar or with juices of citrus fruits. In Pakistan, people living in the hilly tracts of Dir and Swat feed milk to nursing kids (goat), slaughter it, and dry the stomach. Slices of the dry stomach are used as starter cum rennet for making cheese. There are about 20 distinct varieties of cheese. More than 400 names are applied to these varieties. However, it is possible to classify the manufactured cheese into two main groups’ i.e, un-ripened cheese and ripened cheese. Cottage cheese is an example of un-ripened cheese. The ripened cheese can be further divided into three types depending on its texture (hard cheese, semi-hard cheese and soft cheese). For the preparation of cottage cheese, fresh whole milk or skim milk is pasteurized at 145º F for 30 minutes or 162º F for 16 seconds. It is then cooled at about 90º F and 5-6% fresh, active starter is added which has been stirred to make it homogeneous. The vat is stirred every 20 minutes


138

during the next 11/2 hours. One hour after the addition of starter, rennet is added at the rate of 1 ml per 450 kg of milk. As soon as the curd becomes firm enough to expel the whey (usually about 3.5 hours), a well is cut in the curd with a dipper and a deep portion of the curd is removed with a cotton filter dish. The clear whey is then titrated. After cutting, a 15-20 minutes holding time is allowed to facilitate the expulsion of whey. The curd is pushed back from front of vat and whey is drained out. The curd is pushed back twice, wash water is added and the whey is drained as completely as possible. The curd is then stirred and salted to taste. For the preparation of cheddar cheese (hard ripened cheese), milk is standardized to 3.25 percent fat and pasteurized. After pasteurization the milk is brought to the setting temperature (29°C to 31°C). A culture of lactic acid bacteria known as starter is added at the rate of 0.25 to 0.5 percent. The milk is ripened to 0.21 percent titratable acidity. After the acidity of 0.21 percent is attained, rennet is added at the rate of 50-100 grams per 450 kg of milk. The rennet extract is diluted with about 20 times its volume of pure cold water and added slowly to the milk to bring a firm coagulation within about 30 minutes. The curd is then cut, heated slowly at the rate of 1°C for every five minutes to a temperature of 40°C. At the same time the curd is agitated first gently and then vigorously to prevent the particles from matting.

Cheddaring is the process of piling the curd and permitting it to rennet for two hours or longer slightly below the cooking temperature but not below 32°C. The small curd particles adhere to one another to form a rubbery moist plastic mass. By means of a large knife the matted curd is cut into slabs. The hooped curd is then placed in press for about 2 hours after which it is removed. It is then placed again in the press for further 48 hours. After removing from the press, the cheddar cheese is placed in a cool dry place for a day or two until a crust or rind forms on its entire surface. The cheese is then dipped into hot liquid wax that prevents evaporation and offers considerable protection against growth of molds. The cheese is then placed in cold storage at 10°C for curing in order to develop desirable flavour and aroma in the cheese. Buffalo milk is less desirable for making hard cheeses such as cheddar. During cheese making it produces acid more slowly than cow’s milk, retains more water in the curd, and loses more fat in the whey.


139

The richness of buffalo milk makes it highly suitable for making soft cheese. To produce one kg of cheese, a cheese maker requires 8 kg of cow’s milk but only 5 kg of buffalo milk. Buffalo cheese is pure white. In several countries like Italy, Iraq, Egypt and Bulgaria, it is among the most desirable cheeses. Italian cheeses produced from buffalo milk i.e., mozzarella and ricoyyain have great demand in European markets. The gemir cheese of Iraq, the salty cheeses of Egypt and pecorino cheese of Bulgaria, all made from buffalo milk are very popular in these countries. UNFERMENTED MILK PRODUCTS

Milk Fat (Malai)

Malai is usually made by simmering large quantities of milk until a thick layer of milk fat and coagulated proteins forms on the surface. The stiffness of malai is caused by partial coagulation of protein by heat or absorption at an air/liquid interface. Malai is generally used as cream on sweats, cream cakes and puddings.

Condensed Milk Products (khoa, rabdi and basundi)

Khoa is dough like mass of concentrated milk made by evaporating milk in an open pan or karahi. In order to prevent scorching, the milk is continuously stirred with a scraper. As heating progresses the contents of the pan wall become more viscous or thick and its volume will be reduced by the removal of water by evaporation. With the reduction of volume the rate of stirring is increased. Vigorous agitation causes a certain degree of emulsification of the fat, which eventually becomes uniformly distributed throughout the body of the finished product giving a drier yet creamy khoa. The finished product contains 65-70% solids and 20% fat. Khoa by itself keeps well for 4 to 5 days. Rabdi is a popular condensed milk product in Sindh and southern Punjab. It is prepared by heating the milk in an open pan for maximum evaporation of water. Sugar is added to the finished product that is used as a dessert. Basundi is another condensed milk product, which contains added sugar, different kinds of nuts and flavours. It is generally served in chilled form and used as a dessert.

Frozen Milk Products (ice cream and kulfi)


140

Ice cream means the clean pure frozen product made from a combination of milk, milk fat, sugar, synthetic stabilizer and flavouring agent. Ice cream should have a minimum of 10% by weight milk fat, 6% milk solids-not-fat and 20% total milk solids. Milk fat contributes a characteristics richness and flavour to the ice cream. Sweeteners are desired in ice cream to improve palatability, texture, flavour and sweetness. A sugar content of 13% may be regarded as low and 17% as very high in plain ice cream. The primary reason for adding a stabilizer to ice cream is to inhibit the formation of large ice-crystals and thus prevent the formation of a course textured product. Some of the commonly used stabilizers in ice cream are: gelatin, guar gum, pectins and even psylium seeds. Flavour is one of the most important factors in consumers’ acceptance for ice cream and several agents giving flavours of different fruits are used.

Kulfi is an indigenous product made from a mixture of concentrated milk and sugar. The mixture is cooled and cold milk cream is added. Addition of nuts and flavours is optional. The mixture is finally frozen in the icebox in the form of sticks of various sizes. Kulfi is an affordable hence popular frozen milk product in almost every village, town or city of the country. Kulfi is either served alone or in combination with macaronis. The latter product is commonly known as faluda.

Processed Fluid Milk (pasteurized milk, UHT milk)

Shelf life of the fresh raw milk can be increased markedly through inactivation of spoilage microorganisms present in the milk. The inactivation of microorganisms can be successfully achieved by heating the milk for specific time periods at temperatures either lower or higher than its boiling point. When the targeted temperature is lower than 100º C, the process is called ‘pasteurization’. When the milk is subjected to temperatures higher than 135º C, the process is termed as ‘ultra high temperature (UHT) treatment’. More specifically, pasteurization can be defined as the process of heating of milk to a specific temperature that is lower than its boiling point for a specific period of time without allowing recontamination of milk during the heat treatment. During pasteurization, the extent of inactivation of microorganisms depends on the combination of temperature and holding time. This combination is determined on the basis of the knowledge about the concentration of microorganisms to be destroyed and the acceptable


141

concentration of non-pathogenic microorganisms that may not be destroyed during pasteurization. Two combinations are generally used for pasteurization of milk. During early days of this technology, milk was heated to 63º C for approximately 30 minutes. Currently, milk is pasteurized by heating at 72º C for 15 seconds under the ‘high temperature short time’ (HTST) method. There are advantages and disadvantages of pasteurization. Its major advantage is low costs of processing, packaging and distribution. Its disadvantages are several. The principal one is being the short shelf life of the product. The shelf life of pasteurized milk varies from 3 to 7 days depending upon the quality of milk at the time of processing. As a result, refrigeration facilities are required for its distribution otherwise the milk has to be sold within twenty four hours of its processing. While pasteurization effectively eliminates potential pathogenic micro-organisms of milk, it is insufficient to inactivate the thermo- resistant bacterial spores present in the milk. Complete elimination of all micro-organisms (sterilization), can be achieved by heating the milk at temperature as high as 150oC for a very short time ranging from one to four seconds. This processing method is called as UHT treatment and the product is commonly termed as UHT milk. The major advantage of UHT milk is its longer shelf life than that of pasteurized milk. The shelf life of aseptically packed UHT milk varies from 15 to 180 days depending upon the type and quality of the packing material. Both pasteurized and UHT milk are produced and marketed in Pakistan. Over the last forty years, 12 plants for pasteurization and 20 plants for UHT milk were installed in the country. Of these, only 3 pasteurization plants with daily milk processing capacity of 50,000 litres and 6 UHT plants with daily processing capacity of 920,000 litres of milk are currently in operation. Milk Powder

Milk powder or dried milk is prepared in two stages, the first stage being concentration and the second drying of the concentrated milk. Concentration is achieved by boiling the milk at comparatively low temperature under vacuum. Drying is effected by exposing the concentrate


142

to heat, whereby the water evaporates. It is common to concentrate the whole milk to 48-50% solids or skim milk to 43-45% solids prior to drying. Several types of evaporators are available, the most common being the tubular and the place type. In the conventional vacuum evaporating plant the milk is heated in a system of tubes provided with steam jacket. Concentrated milk can be dried to powder form using spray method or roller method. In spray drying, a centrifugal atomiser is used. In roller drying, the milk is applied in a thin film on the stainless steel roller and exposed to high temperatures for uniform and quick evaporation. At present, milk powder is the main product of nine dairy plants in Pakistan whereas four plants are producing milk powder as a secondary product. Utilization of milk powder in Pakistan is mainly confined to different establishments of armed forces. The milk powder manufacturing plants have the daily utilization capacity of 770,000 litres of milk. MILK PROCESSING PLANTS

In Pakistan milk processing on modern lines was started in early 1960s. Between 1969 and mid-1970s, largely private investors established 23 modern milk pasteurization and sterilization plants known as ‘first generation plants’. These were located in the milk belts of the country, and more so in and around Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Besides fresh milk, these plants reconstituted saleable milk from skimmed milk powder and butter oil, received under the FAO World Food Program. The first of the ‘second generation plants’ meant for the production of ultra high temperature treated milk (UHT), was set up in 1977. Later on, 19 more plants were installed. At present, there are 43 milk processing plants in the country that includes two dairy plants that belong to the military. Of these, 25 plants have closed down and only 18 are in operation.

A summary description of 25 non-functional or closed dairy plants of Pakistan is presented in Table 7.1. The total built in capacity of these plants for processing of fresh milk is 970,000 litres per day and their main products include pasteurized milk, UHT milk and yogurt.

Table 7.1. Non-functioning Dairy Plants in Pakistan Main Products Number of Processing Capacity Other


143

Plants (metric tons / day) Products Pasteurized milk

8 127 Cheese, UHT milk, Butter.

UHT milk 14 795 ---- Yogurt 3 48 ---- TOTAL 25 970 ----

The pasteurization plants were closed down primarily due to the poor acceptance of the recombined milk and the short shelf life of pasteurized milk. Other factors responsible for their failure were a number of operating problems including lack of market research, shortage of qualified dairy technologists, inadequate and unhygienic supply of fresh milk, poor management, use of wrong processing technology and lack of refrigerated marketing facilities. The closure of UHT milk plants was associated with both production and marketing constraints. The possible reasons for the failure of a large number of UHT milk plants include over estimation of demand for processed milk, too rapid investment in UHT technology, lack of consumer education, very high price of the product, non-development of sustainable milk collection systems, lack of trained manpower and insufficient operational funds. The basic information about the dairy plants currently in-operation in Pakistan is summarized in Table 7.2. Four plants are located in Lahore, three in Karachi, two in Faisalabad and one each in Islamabad, Sheikhupura, Qasur, Bhalwal, Kabirwala, Jarranwala, Jhang, Pattoki, Okara and Renala Khurd. Their total daily capacity for processing of fresh milk is 1.74 million litres and the main products include UHT milk, milk powder and pasteurized milk.

Table 7.2: Milk Processing Plants In-operation in Pakistan (2004).

Main Products Number of Plants

Processing Capacity (metric tons / day)

Other Products

UHT milk 6 920 Cream, Yogurt, Butter, Butter-oil, Milk powder, Pasteurized milk.

Pasteurized milk

3 50 Butter, Yogurt.


144

Milk powder 9 770 Pasteurized milk, Butteroil, Yogurt, Cheese, UHT milk.

TOTAL 18 1740

At present, the growth in demand for UHT milk is constrained by its high price relative to that of competing products such as raw milk and whole cream milk powder. Government taxes and regulations are claimed by the dairy plant owners to be the main contributors to the high processing cost of UHT milk. But this may not be true in the presence of the prices of purchased milk and their UHT milk. The average price paid by the processors is about Rs.10/ litre with 5% fat where as the sale price of UHT milk is Rs.32/litre with 3.5% fat. This big gap cannot be attributed only to taxes and regulations. Nevertheless, UHT milk will continue to be an important source of supply for distant milk-deficient areas where the marketing infrastructure is poor and also for consumers of upper income groups and others willing to pay the higher price for the convenience of its long shelf life without refrigeration. However, its potential market is limited and growth in demand even over the next ten years is likely to be insufficient to accommodate the capacity that has been installed in the country.

The market potential of processed fluid milk is likely to remain limited unless the existing facilities and marketing infrastructure are improved in the country. In the mean time, milk processing sector may consider of bringing a change in its product focus and marketing strategy. Currently, dairy plants are too much oriented towards the production of processed fluid milk (pasteurized and UHT milk) and are trying to replace the fresh milk sold by the middlemen in the country. In order to avoid this competition, it is suggested that the dairy industry should pay more focus on production of other value added milk products like yogurt, butter, cheese etc.


145

Chapter 8

A vast majority of people in Pakistan still lives in the rural areas where they are mostly engaged in farming. Generally speaking, this farming community is poor and their women are the most disadvantaged group socially, economically and technologically. These rural women constitute 36 % of the total population of Pakistan. About 70 % of the female labour force is engaged in agriculture including livestock. Their situation is far worse than their urban counterparts. The rural women have little or no access to productive inputs. Facilities and opportunities available to rural women are minimal and their status is low compared to that of urban women. This is also reflected by their dismal national literacy rate (7.0 %), which is the lowest in the world. Their literacy rate in some provinces is even worse i.e. 1.75 % in Baluchistan, 3.8 % in the NWFP and 5 % in Sindh. It has been said that women have three roles in life namely, reproductive, productive and community management. The reproductive roles of urban and rural women are similar but the latter have a longer role that starts early in life. The community management role is minimal in case of rural women. The productive roles of urban and rural women are very different. For the latter it comprises of working in the family farm, labouring jobs and activities that generate income for the family in the villages. Rural women play a crucial role in farming operations whether it is crop or livestock production and related activities. For a variety of reasons like agro-ecology (rain fed) structural adjustment programs, droughts and dramatic growth in cotton production have resulted in what the United Nations calls the feminization of agricultural tasks in the hands of rural women in developing countries like Pakistan. In Pakistan, crop and livestock production are deeply integrated. There are situations in some areas like in Baluchistan where livestock raising is the main source of livelihood but even in intensively cropped regions of the country, livestock are still important component of the farming system.


146

Nevertheless, whatever the situation, rural women have crucially important role in the agro-livestock production system. The role may be dominant in one area and somewhat lesser in other areas but it is always present and is vital. The relevant stakeholders have always known about the crucial role of women in agriculture (including livestock) production but their contribution to the rural economy has neither been fully recognized nor documented. Even the social scientists have ignored the topic until recently. The information that follows is taken from some recent reports and surveys. But it must be realized that the following apply mainly to the smallholder livestock production system because as the herd/flock size and intensification of the production system increases, there is a tendency to work more with hired labour, which is generally male. Women participation in larger livestock enterprises with larger herds/flocks greatly declines because these are generally in peri-urban areas and far from villages. Tasks Performed Exclusively by Women

Stall feeding of animals Milking Processing of byproducts Fodder Management Detection of sickness Care of sick animals

Hand suckling of young animals

Processing local herbal medicines

Dung management Cleaning animal shelters Detection of heat Watering animals

Tasks Shared with Men

Fodder harvesting and transportation Grazing animals Sale/purchase of animals and animal products Assistance in births Decision making

The above tasks, exclusively carried out by women or shared with man also vary due to farming system, socio-ethnic background, ecology and


147

climate. Therefore, a task performed exclusively by women in one region may be shared with men in another region and vice versa.


148

Chapter 9

Diseases are one of the important factors causing low productivity in livestock in Pakistan. In fact, in present production system scenario of livestock in the country which is dominated by subsistence and small-holdings, the farmers give more importance to diseases than other factors affecting productivity in animals like nutrition, breeding and reproduction. Thus treatment and control of diseases still remains the most critical point of confidence for any extension or technology transfer effort. Diseases cause mortality depriving the farmer from its livelihood and thus farmers have fear from these more than any other factor in livestock production. Furthermore, morbidity resulting from diseases cause production losses (immediate and long term) and in fact these losses are economically more significant than losses from mortality.

Diseases can be classified in a number of ways. The most common method is based upon the etiology of the disease i.e. viral, prion, bacterial, fungal, parasitic, metabolic, toxicity, etc. These have also been classified as infectious and non-infectious or zoonotic (transmissible from animals to humans) and non-zoonotic. With increasing importance of international trade in livestock and livestock products, these can be grouped into those of significance in international trade and those of importance locally. Infectious diseases are more important in livestock in our production system and these can be transmitted through contact, air, feed, water and vectors. The purpose of this chapter is not to discuss each and every disease of livestock found in Pakistan but highlights the main features of important diseases. For detailed account of diseases, the reader is requested to consult any standard textbook of veterinary medicine.

DISEASES OF SIGNIFICANCE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Rinderpest (Cattle plague)


149

This is a disease of ruminants primarily affecting cattle and buffaloes and is caused by a morbillivirus. The disease has the potential to play havoc with cattle and buffalo industry killing thousands of animals at a time. An *This chapter exclusively contributed by Dr. Muhammad Afzal, (Chief Scientist-II), PARC, Islamabad. outbreak of the disease in Northern Areas of Pakistan in 1994-1995 killed approximately 50,000 animals. FAO has set 2010 as the target for global eradication of Rinderpest, the first animal disease to be eradicated from the world. The disease has already been eradicated from most countries of the world. The eradication efforts bore fruit in Pakistan also and the last case was seen in Karachi in September 2000. Pakistan declared provisional freedom from the disease in January 2003 and is following the pathway to get a certificate of freedom from disease and infection from OIE (World Animal Health Organization) by 2007.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)

This is an extremely contagious viral disease of all cloven footed animals caused by aphthovirus. Although small ruminants are also susceptible, the disease is common in cattle and buffaloes. FMD virus has seven serotypes, but only 3 are common in Pakistan (i.e. O, A, Asia-1) with type “C” isolated in 1963-64 from two outbreaks in NWFP. Significant mortality is generally not associated with FMD particularly in local breeds. However, the disease has great economic importance due to trade restriction on export of live animals, fresh meat and milk from the affected countries. The recent example of scenes of burning and burial of thousands of animals (cattle and sheep) on TV following FMD outbreak in United Kingdom in 2001 is still fresh in many people’s minds. This disease can be controlled by a vaccine (trivalent in case of Pakistan) but no effective vaccine is locally manufactured and imported vaccine is costly and is only used in high producing animals. FMD is currently the most important disease hindering Pakistan’s export of livestock products to many countries.

Peste de Petits Ruminants (PPR)

PPR is a disease of small ruminants i.e. sheep and goats and is caused by a morbillivirus that is closely related to Rinderpest virus. The disease also causes heavy mortality and mortality rates are generally higher in goats than in sheep. The disease was first recognized in Pakistan in 1990 and


150

since then has been associated with many outbreaks resulting in heavy mortality. The disease can be effectively prevented by either Rinderpest vaccine or a cell-culture adopted PPR strain. Although currently not produced in the country, recent international cooperation is expected to transfer PPR vaccine production technology by the end of 2005 and then locally manufactured vaccine will be available for use by the interested farmers.

Sheep and Goat Pox

Although caused by two different viruses in the respective species (i.e. sheep pox virus for sheep pox and goat pox virus for goat pox), these diseases have a similar clinical appearance and thus can be considered together. The disease causes heavy mortality in lambs and kids but production losses in adult animals resulting from inability of animal to eat properly due to pox lesions. The disease can be effectively controlled by the use of respective vaccines that are being manufactured locally. Blue Tongue

This is a viral disease of cattle and sheep caused by orbivirus that is transmitted by insects called culicoides. The disease was not known to exist in Pakistan and was first seen in imported Rambouillet sheep (imported for crossbreeding of local sheep for improved mutton and wool production) at Jaba, NWFP at an experimental station. The disease is still restricted to purebred Rambouillet and some crossbreds at Jaba and Swat areas where these animals are raised. Although antibodies against different serotypes of this virus have been detected in local sheep from various parts of the country, clinical disease has not been documented suggesting resistance against the disease in local animals. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or Mad Cow Disease)

It is a disease of cattle caused by a prion. The disease was first seen in United Kingdom in 1986 in cattle and has been reported to be transmissible to humans through consumption of contaminated meat. The disease has never been reported in Pakistan and in fact deliberate search has indicated that Pakistan is free from BSE. In our livestock production system, products of animal origin (the main source of infection) are not used for feeding ruminants, thus excluding the chances of occurrence of the disease in local animals.


151

Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia

It is a disease of cattle and is caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (bovine biotype, small colony). The disease has never been seen or reported in Pakistan. Similarly, Rift valley fever, a zoonotic disease of sheep, goats and cattle (caused by mosquito-borne bunya virus of the genus Plebovirus) has never been seen in the country. Pakistan is also free from Lumpy skin disease. OTHER IMPORTANT DISEASES Anthrax It is bacterial disease of all warm-blooded animals and is caused by Bacillus anthracis. The organism is primarily a soil born infection. The disease is characterized by oozing of dark coloured blood from body orifices that normally does not clot. Sporadic cases of the disease occur in NWFP and Balochistan primarily in sheep although cases have also been seen in cattle and goats. The disease can be effectively prevented by the use of anthrax spore vaccine that is locally manufactured and used in these areas. Anthrax is also transmissible to humans through contact and inhalation.

Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS, Gulghotoo)

It is an acute febrile disease of cattle and buffaloes caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida B: 6. The farmers fear this disease the most as it has high case fatality rate within a short span of a few hours to 2 days. Although sporadic cases can be seen through out the year, most of the cases are seen in rainy seasons. The disease is preventable by the use of alum precipitated or oil adjuvant vaccine.

Black Quarter (BQ, Blackleg)

It is a disease of cattle and sheep and is caused by Clostridium chauvoei. Clostridia are soil born infection and the disease is transmitted through contact or ingestion of contaminated feed or fodder. The disease is characterized by high fever followed by a swelling in thighs or shoulders that upon pressing gives a crackling sound due to emphysema. The disease is mainly seen in hilly and sub-hilly areas of the country and can be effectively prevented by the use of a locally manufactured vaccine.


152

Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP)

This sheep and goat disease is caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp). The disease is mostly seen in Northern Areas, NWFP and Balochistan. The cases of the disease can be seen through the year but prevalence is much higher in winter months. Although a vaccine for the prevention of disease is being manufactured in the country, its efficacy in clinical trials have never been undertaken / proven.

Enterotoxaemia (ET)

ET is a disease of sheep caused by Clostridium perfringens types B, C and D. It is characterized by severe enteritis with diarrhea and dysentery in young lambs. The disease is prevalent in major sheep raising areas of the country. ET is prevented by the use of locally manufactured vaccine.

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is a disease of all ruminants and is caused by Brucella abortus in cattle and buffaloes and Brucella melitensis in sheep and goats. The disease is generally characterized by abortion particularly in the last trimester of pregnancy. The infection spreads via infected semen and contact with secretion at the time of abortion and parturition. The disease is transmissible to humans through consumption of raw milk and as a professional hazard. The prevalence of the disease is on the rise in Pakistan. Although disease is preventable by the use of vaccines (Strain 19 and RB 51 for calf-hood vaccination and Rev 1 for sheep and goats), and their efficacy has been established locally, the vaccines are not manufactured locally.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in cattle and buffaloes is caused by Mycobacterium bovis. This is zoonotic infection usually exhibited in the form of cervical tuberculosis. Although some studies have shown immunological reaction to tuberculin in the cattle and buffaloes, isolation of the organism from the animals is rare and studies on the role of bovine tuberculosis in human disease indicated non-significant contribution of bovine disease in human cases in Pakistan.

Mastitis


153

Mastitis, the inflammation of udder is economically the most important disease of dairy animals. High producing animals are more susceptible than low producers. The disease is caused by a large number of bacteria, the most common being Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Corynebacterium, Escherichia coli and other coliform bacteria. The organisms gain entry through teat canal and cause swelling of the tissue and changes in milk appearance and composition. The disease needs to be treated immediately as late treatment results in poor recovery and permanent reduction of milk yield. No effective vaccine is available. Thus, the disease is controlled by observing improved sanitary practices and post-milking teat dips or sprays.

Babesiosis (Redwater Fever)

The disease is caused by Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina, protozoan parasites found in red blood cells of the diseased animals. Ticks transmit the disease, thus prevalence of the disease is high in hot and humid months of the year. The disease is characterized by high fever and haemoglobinurea. Case fatality rate may be very high if the infection is not treated in early phase of the disease. No effective vaccine is available for disease prevention.

Theileriosis

The disease is caused by Theileria annulata in Pakistan and is transmitted by ticks. The disease is clinically seen only in exotic and crossbred cattle. Jaundice and pre-scapular lymph node swelling characterize the disease. Many clinicians fail to diagnose the disease and thus mortality is usually high. No vaccine is available in Pakistan, thus control efforts should concentrate on eradication of ticks from the farm premises and animal’s body.

Parturient Haemoglobinurea

This is disease of high producing buffaloes that develop haemoglobinurea in the peri- (pre- and post-) parturient period. The disease is probably caused by mineral imbalance in the animal body particularly phosphorus deficiency. Prevalence of the disease is higher during July to November and disease is more common in some areas than the others. Feeding mineral supplements during the peri-parturient period can prevent the disease.


154

PARASITIC DISEASES Internal Parasites

Parasites result in reduced production but are usually not given importance by the farmers, as mortality from them is usually low. Since Pakistan is located in the semi-tropic, this environment is conducive for many species of parasites. The parasite of special importance in calves (particularly buffalo) is Toxocara vitulorum. This parasite can be transmitted via colostrums. Large numbers of these parasites block the lumen of intestine in calves and result in mortality. The strategy to control this parasite is giving first dose of proper anthelmintic at 10 to 14 days of age.

Internal parasites are of particular importance in sheep and goats rearing. Many species of parasites are seen in faeces of sheep and goats and usually include haemonchus, oesophagostomum, ostertagia, chabertia, nematodirus, trichuris, moniezia and fasciola. The most important of these is Haemonchus contortus as it is a blood-sucking parasite and results in significant weight losses and even mortality in young animals. Lungworm belongs to species dictyocaulus and is also found in Pakistan. A scientifically designed regular deworming programme along with hygienic practices at the farms can reduce the parasitic load and losses.

External Parasites (Ectoparasites)

Important ectoparasites of livestock in Pakistan are ticks, mange and warble fly. Ticks not only cause irritation and suck blood, thus reducing productivity in animals but are also a source of transmission of diseases like Babesiosis and Theileriasis. Ticks normally hide in crevices and structure of wood, thus destruction of their habitat is important for tick control. Tick control in animals can also be achieved following a programme of acaricide spray.

Two types of mange occur in animals in Pakistan; the psoroptes and sarcoptes. The mange causes loss of hair and thickening of skin and is particularly important in goats and young calves. Warble fly is important external parasite of cattle and goats in Pakistan. In goats the species is Przhevalskiana silenus while in cattle and buffaloes it is Hypoderma lineatum. The disease has also been seen occasionally in buffaloes along the river Indus. Warble fly is commonly present in hilly and sub-hilly areas of Pakistan and along river Indus. The larvae of warble


155

fly emerge from the skin of affected animals (thus causing holes) from end of October to January, thus causing heavy losses to the skin and hide industry. Warble fly can be effectively controlled by injection of ivermectin soon after the egg-laying season of the fly is over. The time of injection varies for different regions and ranges from July to mid September.

SOME OTHER DISEASES Some other infectious diseases that have been reported in Pakistan are anaplasmosis (clinical disease only seen in exotic and crossbred cattle), bovine viral diarrhea and rabies. Serological evidence for the presence of Leptospirosis, infectious bovine rhinotacheitis, parainfluenza-3, enzootic bovine leukosis and Johne’s disease have also been published but clinical evidence has not been reported. Among the metabolic diseases, milk fever is the most important in high producing animals. It is actually a deficiency of calcium and intravenous calcium injection results in immediate recovery. Mineral supplementation in feed can reduce the prevalence of this disease.


156

Chapter 10

HISTORY

The history of livestock education in Pakistan is the history of veterinary education, which is also the history of the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore that has now developed into the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. The chronological genesis of veterinary education started more than a century ago and is presented as follows: 1871: The first Veterinary School established at Hapur Remount Depot in the United Province in British India. 1882: Hapur Veterinary School shifted to Lahore to form the Punjab Veterinary School that awarded a 2-year diploma course in Urdu. 1890: The Punjab Veterinary School, Lahore upgraded to Punjab Veterinary College to award a 3-year diploma course in Urdu called G.P.V.C. (Graduate of Punjab Veterinary College). 1905: The Ajmer Veterinary School merged with the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore 1920: A 4-year course leading to the diploma of L.V.P. (Licentiate Veterinary Practitioner) started in English with matriculation as the minimum entry requirement. 1942: The Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore affiliated with the Panjab University for the award of a 4 ½ -year degree program called B.V.Sc. (Bachelor of Veterinary Science). The College remained under the administrative control of the Civil Veterinary Department, Punjab. 1954: With the change of the name of the Civil Veterinary Department, Punjab to the Punjab Animal Husbandry Department, the name of the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore was also changed to the Punjab Animal Husbandry College. Consequently, the name of the B.V.Sc. degree


157

was also changed to B.Sc. (A.H.) i.e. Bachelor of Science (Animal Husbandry) without any change in the course content. 1958: The name of the Punjab College of Animal Husbandry changed to College of Animal Husbandry without any other change. 1959: A 5-year course for the degree of B.Sc. (A.H.) introduced with some extra courses in animal husbandry. 1963: The University of Agriculture with two faculties of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry established at Faisalabad. Two degree programs viz., DVM and B.Sc. (Animal Husbandry) each of 4-year duration started with F.Sc. pre medical as entry requirement started. Postgraduate programs leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees also initiated. 1965: The name of the College of Animal Husbandry changed to College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences and that of the degree B.Sc. (A.H.) changed to B.V.Sc., B.Sc. (A.H.) without any change in the duration or the course content. 1971: Name of the College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences changed to College of Veterinary Sciences and affiliated to the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. DVM degree together with postgraduate programs introduced. The Sind Agriculture University established at Tando Jam with a Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences. DVM degree program of 4 years duration with F.Sc. pre med as entry requirement started together with postgraduate degree. 1980: NWFP Agricultural University established at Peshawar, with B.Sc. and M.Sc. Honours degree programs in Animal Husbandry. 1996: With a view to standardize basic and postgraduate education in veterinary sciences and animal husbandry and to regulate veterinary practice in the country, the National Assembly passed an Act to establish the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC) for the purpose.


158

1999: Gomal University established at Dera Ismail Khan with an Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences. The latter was converted into a College of Veterinary Sciences in 2002 and started the composite 5-year DVM degree program. 2001: Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, in its Department of Agriculture Sciences started a M.Sc. (Hons) program in Livestock Management. A private sector Baqai University established Baqai College of Veterinary Sciences in Karachi for a DVM degree program. But it is yet to be recognized by the PVMC. 2002: Through a historic decision, the government of Punjab upgraded the College of Veterinary Sciences, Lahore and established the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, the first such university in Pakistan. 2004: All universities started 5-year composite DVM degree program. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad started B.Sc. Agriculture (Animal Husbandry Honours) program. 2005: University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Faculty of Animal Husbandry established a Campus at Toba Tek Singh and started a B.Sc. (Poultry Husbandry) degree program. VETERINARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS The following universities award the basic veterinary degrees called DVM. In addition, these also award postgraduate degrees of M.Sc. and Ph.D. in various subjects:

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Punjab University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab Sind Agricultural University, Tando Jam, Sind Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, N.W.F.P NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, NWFP


159

Private sector Baqai University, Karachi is also getting ready to award DVM and postgraduate degrees. But it has not yet been approved by the PVMC to start the D.V.M. degree program. Some other universities like Punjab University, Lahore, Karachi University, Karachi, Allama Iqbal University, Islamabad and Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, also award postgraduate degrees in subjects related to veterinary and animal sciences. PAKISTAN VETERINARY MEDICAL COUNCIL (PVMC)

The Government of Pakistan in 1996 through an Act of National Assembly established the PVMC with the following two major objectives:

To standardize basic and postgraduate education in veterinary sciences and animal husbandry throughout the country

To regulate veterinary practice through registration, licensing and implementation of code of conduct and ethics among veterinary practice.

The promulgation of this Act enabled the PVMC to initiate, for the first time, the process of standardization of livestock education in Pakistan. Details of the Act and the PVMC may be found at the website www.pvmc.org.pk. TYPE OF EDUCATION

Until very recently, two types of graduates were produced in the country viz., B.Sc. (Animal Husbandry) by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and the NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, and DVM by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad the Sind Agricultural University, Tando Jam. Instead of being complementary in providing service to the livestock farmers, these two types of degrees were in conflict. This unfortunate situation undermined their usefulness to the livestock. Fortunately, this problem has now been resolved with the introduction of a 5-year composite course for DVM throughout the country. Composite DVM Degree


160

In order to carry out its responsibilities as required under the Act to standardize veterinary and animal husbandry education in the country, the PVMC constituted two committees. The first committee on curricula/syllabi was to frame regulations for standardization of veterinary/animal husbandry education. After long deliberation spread over several months the committee unanimously recommended the following:

The existing basic degree of DVM and B.Sc. (Animal Husbandry) be rescheduled to a composite degree program (DVM) covering different aspects of veterinary medicine, animal production and animal husbandry. The duration of this program be extended to 5 years including 6 months of internship before the award of the degree.

A one-year deficiency/condense course be arranged for B.Sc. (Animal Husbandry) Honours graduates allowing them to obtain DVM degree to become licentiate practicing veterinarian.

The Council approved the above recommendations in the year 2000 and the Federal Government notified these in 2001. Thus the 5-year composite DVM degree program became effective from the academic year 2001-2002. The composite DVM program is spread over 9 semesters of 205 credits comprising of 113 lectures and 184 practicals. In addition, an internship program of 6 calendar months will follow it. The internship will carry no credit hours but compulsory attendance is required.

QUALITY OF EDUCATION

There was a time when the graduates of the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore and of the agricultural universities were held in high esteem both within and outside the country. But over the years the standards of education has sharply declined. There are several reasons for this deterioration of quality. Poor facilities, decline in quality of faculties, inadequate operational funds, weak research support and lack of coordination with the stake holders are some of the causes of the decline. The conflict between the two types of graduates (the veterinary and animal husbandry graduates) also contributed towards the decline. However, the future looks brighter with the introduction of the 5-year composite DVM degree program. But more importantly, the establishment of the PVMC


161

augurs well for quality veterinary education. The Accreditation and Evaluation Committee (AEC) of the PVMC has the primary responsibility of evaluating the facilities of all institutions that offer veterinary/animal husbandry and related subjects and award relevant degrees. This is done through studying the availability of the Essentials laid down by it. The Essentials comprise of organization, physical facilities and finance, clinical facilities, library and learning resources, students, admission, faculty, curricula and research and continued veterinary education facilities. Once these Essentials are in place, the AEC may grant accreditation that will be updated periodically. Thus the qualities of education at the accredited institutions are likely to be of a certain standard.

VETERINARY EDUCATION IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR A private sector university (Baqai University) in Karachi has recently established the Baqai College of Veterinary Sciences near Karachi. It is starting by offering DVM (5-year composite) course. But it is yet to be recognized by the PVMC. SUB PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Sub professional staff of veterinary profession is the backbone of animal health service. In spite of its importance, not much attention was paid until recently, to the education and training of this category of workers. Previously, persons desirous of training as sub professional staff were assigned to veterinary hospitals for varying periods for on the job training. No educational standards were required. However, for some years now several training institutions have been established in all the provinces and entry requirements for the training and duration of training have been fixed respectively to be post matric and 2 years, except at the University of Faisalabad where it is one-year diploma course. All these diploma courses are run in Urdu. On the whole there are now several training centers in the country. The intake of training per course varies between 30 to 75. The diploma holders if employed by the government start with BPS 6. The provincial livestock/agriculture departments manage these and none is affiliated to any university. The sub professional staff is designated as


162

Stock Assistant, Veterinary Assistant, Livestock Supervisors and A.I.Technicians. The situation in each province is presented as follows: Sind

Livestock assistants are trained at two Agriculture Training Institutes located at Sakrand, Shikarpur, Sanghar and Jacobabad and the provincial agriculture department manages these. The entry requirement is Matriculation with science and is for duration of two years. Sakrand has a provision for 40 trainees and Jacobabad for 20 trainees per year but generally more trainees are admitted each year. There is also a Research and Training Institute for Livestock at Tando Mohammad Khan that offers short term training of 1-2 weeks for farmers and field staff. Punjab

The Livestock Services Training Centre, Sheikhupura, runs 2 year diploma courses (post matric) for veterinary assistants, stock assistants and A.I. technicians. In addition, it also organizes 4-month (post matric) training courses for village veterinary workers. The Livestock Services Training Centre at Bahadurnagar (Okara) organizes short-term training courses of 1-2 weeks duration for farmers as well as in-service refresher courses for veterinarians and farm managers. The Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and the Department of Continuing Education, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, also organize courses for veterinary assistants and veterinary cum stock assistants respectively. The course at Faisalabad is of one-year duration (post matric) while that at Lahore is of 2-year duration (post matric). NWFP

The Agriculture Training Institute, Peshawar, organizes 2-year diploma course (post matric) for veterinary assistants, stock assistants and A.I. technicians. Another facility is the Animal Husbandry In-Service Training Institute at Charsadda (Peshawar). This organizes regular in-service training of varying duration for staff of the livestock department and short-term training courses for community workers, NGOs and farmers. Baluchistan


163

This province has only one facility at the Animal Sciences Training Institute at Quetta. This also organizes 2-year diploma training courses for veterinary assistants, stock assistants and A.I. technicians.


164


165

Chapter 11

SERVICES

It can be said that almost the entire livestock services comprising of extension, research and education services are in the public sector. Thus, the role of private sector in providing livestock services is only marginal. The federal and the provincial governments provide the services in the public sector. The federal government has mainly regulatory and coordinating functions although it also undertakes some research in priority areas generally in collaboration with the provincial agencies and the relevant faculties of the universities. Major livestock services in the provinces comprise of providing extension services through their departments of livestock and dairy development. The mainstay of livestock services is the provision of animal health cover. Therefore, in spite of their new titles of livestock and dairy development departments, these are still essentially animal health/veterinary departments because of their marginal animal production activities. The provinces also operate veterinary research institutes/livestock experiments stations/livestock farms mainly for the production of animal vaccines and superior breeding animals. Research on animal production and even on animal health is at best weak. These establishments suffer from acute shortage of operating funds and trained manpower. The public sector agricultural universities and the recently established University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, under the provincial governments provide livestock education. An exception to this is the Baqai College of Veterinary Science, Karachi, in the private sector. Details of these are presented in the chapter on education.

The role of private sector in providing livestock services is limited to manufacture of feeds, supply of drugs and medicines and more recently in provision of some artificial insemination services including semen production, as well. Moreover, a few private clinics have been operating for large animals in addition to more common clinics for pet animals and birds in large cities. An NGO called Idara-e-Kisan is an exception in the


166

private sector. Located some 80 km from Lahore on the Multan Road near Pattoki it provides excellent extension, marketing and some other services to its member farmers. Three more NGOs specially dealing with livestock have also been established recently. In addition there are hundreds, if not thousands of NGOs dealing with rural development. But their role in livestock development is marginal.

The thrust of the livestock services is on the provision of veterinary cover to the animals. This is done through a network of veterinary hospitals, dispensaries and a few mobile dispensaries. The approach for the service is clinic based where farmers are expected to bring their sick animals for treatment. Service in the villages where the animals are located is still a dream. A veterinarian with a few support staff generally heads these clinics. The clinics are ill equipped with medicines, instruments and transport. The situation of veterinary dispensaries that are headed by poorly trained sub professional staff is really pathetic. Although the governments provide these services, there is a de facto privatization because the farmers pay for the services of the veterinarian and has to purchase the medicines prescribed. With all the facilities and finances made available to the departments, the animal health service reaches only about 25 % of the livestock.

On the livestock production aspects the service is somewhat limited. It remains confined to providing artificial insemination (A.I.) service and distribution of superior animals for improving the stock. Although A.I. service was introduced in the country some 40 years ago, the service reaches less than 10 % of the livestock population with vast areas still not covered at all. The number of superior animals made available to farmers is really discouraging. In Punjab, which has the largest number of livestock in the country, only about 2,000 animals have been distributed annually. This is less than a fraction of the number needed to make any impact. There is virtually no program on improvement of animal nutrition. Veterinary research institutes are mainly engaged in production of vaccines whose quality is not checked by any independent agency. Production research is very weak. The technology packages produced are either inappropriate or do not reach the farmers. Even the farmers around these research establishments still use their traditional and age old practices. Therefore, these research centers are islands of knowledge in seas of ignorance. The reasons for poor service are many. Among the


167

major reasons for this are shortage of operating funds, inadequately trained manpower, poor logistic support, and ancient clinic based and fragmented approach to providing extension services and non involvement of farmers in the planning process. The 4 provinces together have 292 slaughterhouses with a total capacity to handle over 6,000 large animals and over 21,000 small animals daily. But these slaughterhouses are primitive and more or less just places for slaughtering animals with utter disregard for sanitation and principles of hygiene. Seven new modern slaughterhouses have recently been established in the private sector in Punjab and Sind. These are meant to export meat and dressed carcasses. INFRASTRUCTURE

The infrastructure for providing livestock services in the country mainly by the public sector through the federal and the provincial government are briefly described as follows: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL), Government of Pakistan, through its Livestock Wing takes care of the livestock services directly as well as through several agencies/departments managed by it. Formulation of policies, regulation and coordination of livestock activities are the main functions of the MINFAL. An Animal Husbandry Commissioner who is assisted by a few professionals heads the Livestock Wing. It also organizes and supports research on priority topics either directly or in collaboration with provincial research institutes and universities. The federal government implements its policies and regulatory and coordinating functions through the following agencies/departments:

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Wool Test House Agriculture and Livestock Marketing Authority (ALMA) National Veterinary Laboratory (NVL) Animal Quarantine Department (AQD) Remount, Veterinary and Farms Corps (RVFC) of the Pakistan Army Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC)

Each of the foregoing is briefly described as follows:


168

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council

Based in Islamabad, this is the apex national organization for agricultural research in the country that also includes a division of animal sciences. It conducts research on critical aspects of livestock through its Animal Science Institute in the National Agricultural Research Centre at Islamabad, supports research in the provinces and the universities and coordinates national and international research.

Wool Test House, Karachi

This fixes the standards for wool quality meant for export. More details about it can be found in the chapter on marketing.

Agriculture and Livestock Marketing Authority, Karachi

Although livestock is included in its mandate, it functions mainly in providing market information for crops. Its work on livestock is marginal.

National Veterinary Laboratory, Islamabad

This has been recently established to cater to the national veterinary regulatory requirements as well undertake research on important aspects.

Animal Quarantine Department

With headquarter in Karachi it has offices in Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad. It looks after quarantine needs of import and export of animals and animal products.

Remount, Veterinary and Farms Corps of the Pakistan Army

Established in 1903, this is an important corps of the Pakistan Army. It maintains animals (mules, camels, horses and dogs) and manages several dairy farms and plants for the supply of milk, butter, ghee and cheese for the troops.

Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council

This was established in 1996 through an act of the national parliament with the following two main functions:

To standardize the basic and postgraduate education in veterinary sciences and animal husbandry in Pakistan, and


169

To regulate veterinary practice through registration, licensing and implementation of code of conduct and ethics among veterinary practitioners.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS

Punjab

The administrative head of the Livestock and Dairy Development Department is the Secretary to the Government of Punjab. Under his control are two director generals- one each for extension and research and a director for planning and Evaluation. The DG (Extension) supervises some 10 directorates dealing with aspects of livestock. The DG (Research) controls 4 directorates of Veterinary Research Institute, Lahore, Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi, Livestock Production Research Institute, Bahadurnagar and Foot and Mouth Disease Research Center, Lahore.

Extension services to farmers are provided through 1,255 veterinary hospitals/dispensaries, 18 mobile veterinary dispensaries, 2393 veterinary centers and 14 diagnostic laboratories. There are 150 artificial insemination centers, 595 sub-centers, 4 semen production units, one each distribution unit and surveillance unit. The department also manages 14 livestock experiment stations/farms spread over 69,294 acres. These are located at Jahangirabad (Khanewal), Khizerabad (Sargodha), Kallurkot (Bhakkar), Fazilpur (Rajanpur), Rakh Ghulaman (Bhakkar), Jogaitpur (Bahawalpur), Rakh Dera Chal (Lahore), Chak Katora (Bahawalpur), Khushab (Bhakkar), Kherimurat, (Attock), Haroonabad (Bahawalnagar), 205/TDA (Bhakkar), Khairewala (Layyah) and Rakh Mahni (Bhakkar). These stations/farms maintain Nili-Ravi buffaloes, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani, Thari, Friesian, Jersey and crossbred cattle, Thali, Sipli, Awassi, Kachi, Kajli, Karakul, Lohi, Afghani, Buchi, Hissardale and Pak Karakul sheep and Teddy, Beetal, Nachi, Angora and Pak Angora goats. These stations/farms undertake research and produce superior breeding animals for distribution to farmers. But as stated earlier, research is very weak mainly because of shortage of operating funds and technical manpower. Punjab has 170 slaughterhouses.

Baluchistan

Headed by an administrative secretary to the government of Baluchistan, the livestock department is managed by a director general assisted by 7


170

directors, 13 deputy directors, 13 farm superintendents, 228 veterinary officers, 612 stock assistants and about 3,000 other support staff. Extension service for animal health is provided through a network of 54 veterinary hospitals and 657 veterinary dispensaries including mobile dispensaries, disease diagnostic laboratories and a veterinary research institute at Quetta for production of vaccines and veterinary research. On the production aspects, A.I. service is provided through one semen production unit at Quetta and 33 A.I. centers/sub centers. There are 17 livestock experiment/research/stations/farms in the province at Usta Mohammad (Nasirabad), Hub (Lasbela), Sibi, Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Noshki, Turbat, Pishin, Yatabad (Loralai), Kohlu, Zhob, Punjgoor, Dera Bugti, Kharan and Maslakh. These maintain mainly cattle (mostly Friesians) with some sheep and goats. Of these 17 farms, 13 have Friesian cattle. Baluchistan has 40 slaughterhouses.

Sind

Just like in the Punjab and Baluchistan, a secretary to the government of Sind is the administrative head of the livestock department. A director general with 3 directors, 21 deputy directors and farm managers, 334 veterinary officers and 742 paravet staff however, manage the department. The province has 179 veterinary hospitals, 608 veterinary dispensaries and 23 mobile units. There are 5 livestock experiment stations/farms and two semen production units at Rohri and Karachi with 13 A.I.centers and 63 sub centers. The stations/farms are located at Tando Mohammad Khan, Nabiser Road (Tharparkar), Rohri, Khudabad (Dadu) and Karachi. Thee stations/farms maintain Kundi buffaloes, Red Sindhi, Thari and crossbred cattle, Kamori and other goats and Katchi and some other sheep. The province has 57 slaughterhouses.

North West Frontier Province

Like in other provinces a secretary heads the department but it is run by three directors one each for extension, veterinary research institute and livestock research and development farm at Surazai (Peshawar). The province has 96 veterinary hospitals, 341 dispensaries and 10 mobile dispensaries. The NWFP has three livestock experiment stations/farms at Harichand (Charsadda), Jaba (Mansehra) and Surezai (Peshawar). These maintain Friesian, Jersey, Sahiwal and Achai cattle, Beetal goats and Rambouillet and Ramghani sheep. The A.I. service comprises of one


171

semen production unit at Harichand with 12 centers and 154 sub centers On the whole, the three directorates have 248 professional and 977 sub-professional staff. There are 25 slaughterhouses in the province.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

A secretary to the government administers the department. For day to day management there is a director general who is assisted by a director, two deputy directors, one disease investigation officer and 99 graduate professional staff with 575 sub-professional staff. Extension service is provided through 17 veterinary hospitals, 108 dispensaries, 296 first aid/extension, 38 AI centers and 6 disease investigation laboratories. In addition, the Department manages one livestock development center and 6 poultry farms.

Chapter 12

WTO (World Trade Organization) is the only international organization dealing with the rules of trade between the countries. It was created in January 1995 by Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-1994) as the successor to GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). It is located in Geneva and has 147 members with about 30 countries negotiating to become members. Pakistan became a member in 1995. The main objectives of WTO are to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, fairly, predictably and freely as possible. It does this by:

Administering trade agreements Acting as forum for trade negotiations Settling trade disputes Reviewing national trade policies Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues Cooperating with other international organizations


172

The WTO rules and agreements are the result of negotiations between the members. At present there are about 30 agreements and separate commitments called schedules. Through these agreements, WTO members operate a non-discriminatory trading system that spells out their rights and obligations. Each country receives guaranties that its exports will be treated fairly and consistently in other countries’ markets. Each promises to do the same for imports into its own market. The system also gives developing countries some flexibility in implementing their commitments. When the WTO was established in 1995, a grace period of 6 years to the developed and 10 years to developing countries was give to adopt and amend their rules to bring them in line with the requirements of the WTO. Thus Pakistan also got 10 years to take appropriate measures for the purpose.

MAIN AGREEMENTS Following are the main agreements of the WTO that are of particular interest to agriculture including livestock of Pakistan: -

Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement on Textile and Clothing Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement on Safeguards Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures Agreement on Preshipment Inspection Agreement on Rules of Origin Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement on Government Procurement International Dairy Agreement International Bovine Meat Agreement

The last two agreements (on Dairy and Bovine Meat) were later scraped with the signing of AoA and SPS agreements.


173

Of the agreements listed above, the AoA, SPS and TRIPS are perhaps, the most important and relevant agreements for livestock in Pakistan. That is why these 3 agreements are discussed in some details together with their implications for the livestock sector in this country. AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE (AoA) This covers the following 3 main aspects:

Market Access Domestic Support Export Subsidies

The agreement provides for reduction in export subsidies and tariff reduction commitments for developed and the developing countries over 6 and 10 years respectively. Likewise domestic support to agriculture also needs to be curtailed. Thus the agreement mainly revolves round the order for fair competition and to reduce distortions. However, it has been observed that after the lapse of stipulated period of 6 years, domestic support provided to the livestock sector by the developed countries keeps on distorting international trade in livestock and livestock products. Such support is highest by the EU and the USA to their producers of milk and beef. As a result, the international prices of these livestock products remain low and make the developing countries’ products non-competitive. Moreover, the de minimis clause of AoA allows the developing countries to provide domestic support to their agriculture (including livestock) up to 10 % of production value of their GDP. Thus Pakistan can provide support to its agriculture up to Rs 96.43 billions because its agriculture contributes Rs 964.34 billions to the national GDP of Rs 4,018 billions. But because of its financial constraints, Pakistan cannot provide such support to its agriculture and livestock sectors. Under the Green Box provisions of the AoA, Pakistan can also take appropriate action for rural development, environment protection, agriculture research, education and extension. AGREEMENT ON TRADE RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (TRIPS)


174

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to people over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of their creation for a certain period of time. Although TRIPS are not directly related to trade in goods, yet they have profound effect on trading systems. TRIPS rules under WTO provide protection for varying periods to patents, copyrights, trademarks, performance and producers of phonograms, broadcastings, industrial designs and layout designs of integrated circuits. More specifically as an example from livestock sector, Pakistan can get its well-known breeds of livestock patented. But in order to get its famous breeds of buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goats and chickens patented, it will have to develop appropriate database for the purpose. This agreement also provides an opportunity to animal scientists or livestock researchers to share the profit or income from their research outputs. AGREEMENT ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES (SPS) The aim of this agreement is to protect human, animal and plant life and health from any risks, hazards or disease. In order to achieve this, the agreement adopted the international standards already established by the following international agencies: - 1. Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC): For Food items 2. Office International des Epizooties (OIE): For Animals 3. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC): For Plants Under CAC, there are 4,821 standards for all the principal foods, processed, semi-processed or raw. These include:

Food standards for commodities Codes of hygiene or technological practices Limits for pesticides residues Guidelines for contaminants Food additives Veterinary drugs


175

The OIE guarantees the transparency of worldwide animal disease status and sanitary safety of world trade by developing sanitary status for international trade in animals and animal products. Thereby, trade in live animals and processed livestock products is now required to meet the international food quality and safety measures to satisfy the conditions/bindings set under the SPS agreement. One key issue in exporting animal products is the accuracy and credibility of the export certificate issued by the veterinary authority in the exporting country. The OIE stresses that both parties must “conform to the highest possible moral principles”. The reliability of suppliers in such a sensitive area as meat products is of paramount importance. The OIE recommends the following 4-step process in preparing international animal health certificates: Listing of Diseases: The two parties (exporter and importer) should agree to a list of diseases from which protection is sought Listing of Guarantees: The two parties should list the level of guarantee required for each disease, for example: disease-free zone, disease-free herd, vaccinated herd, etc. Quality Assurance: The parties should refer to the OIE’s Manual for the necessary laboratory diagnostic techniques, vaccination standards, etc. Certification: Part 4 of the International Animal Health Code contains a model of the certificate that will have to be issued. The SPS agreement also requires all the member countries to base their standards on scientific principles only and those not based on scientific principles to be discontinued. The standards/measures adopted should be given wide publicity for understanding/awareness both for the masses and the external trade concerns.

This agreement has the following clauses: -

General Provisions Basic Rights and Obligations Harmonization Equivalence Assessment of Risk and Determination of Appropriate Level of Sanitary

and Phytosanitary Production


176

Adaptation to Regional Conditions Creating Pest or Disease Free Areas and Areas of Low Pest or Disease Prevalence

Transparency Controlled Inspection and Approval Procedures Technical Assistance Consultations and Dispute Settlement Administration Financial Provisions

The foregoing agreements require every member of the WTO including Pakistan to adopt appropriate levels of protection to stop trade in any item having threat to human, animal or plant life and health. And the measures should be based on scientific assessment of the risks and without any discrimination between domestic and foreign products. In case Pakistan fails to adopt international grades and standards and does not produce accordingly, its exports of agricultural and livestock products may be challenged. Moreover, cheaper and quality foreign products will glut its domestic markets. Therefore, it is imperative for our domestic producers to work hard to compete in the world market or face isolation and ruination. More specifically, our veterinary services will have to play active roles in prevention, control and eradication of diseases and health hazards at all stages of product preparation. This also means enhancing the competence of our livestock extension services in respects of disease surveillance and provision of more effective veterinary cover. To achieve this, Pakistan can obtain international technical and financial assistance under Special and Differential Treatment Clause for developing countries. IMPERATIVES FOR PAKISTAN The grace period for Pakistan for the enforcement of WTO regime expires in 2005. Therefore, Pakistan needs to do the following before that:

Develop Improved Skills: In every aspect of livestock production

Establish National Veterinary Laboratory: For veterinary drugs and drug residue testing, health certification for international trade in livestock and livestock products, collaboration with internationally accredited laboratories, etc.


177

Create Disease Free Production Zones: Also take effective measures to prevent reintroduction of diseases in these zones.

Animal Feeds: Adopt quality standards for both poultry and large animal feeds.

Grades and Standards: Develop national grades and standards and bring them in line with the regional and international standards and grades. Meat Industry: Develop it on commercial lines and upgrade the slaughtering and meat processing facilities with modern technology. Infrastructure: Improve roads, animal transportation, abattoirs, housing, milk and meat processing, etc.

Environment Protection: Ensure that all livestock production and livestock products processing takes place under environment friendly conditions.

National Animal Health Inspection Service: This has to be established as a requirement under SPS.

Quarantine: Establish a more effective service against import of undesirable animals and animal products. PAKISTAN’S STRATEGY AND POSITION

According to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, the strategy and position of Pakistan for AoA in 2004 are as follows: Strategy

The AoA has 3 basic areas reduction commitments i.e. Market Access, Domestic Support and Export Competition. In addition to reduction commitments in these areas there are other obligations and exemptions on related issues. Pakistan is in full conformity with WTO Agreement on Agriculture has nothing to implement further. The reduction commitment targets set in the AoA were to be implemented up to the end of the year 2000 in the developed and 2004 in the developing countries. According to the Article 20 of the AoA, negotiations on reform were started in the year


178

2000. Pakistan’s proposed policy under the reform program in the AoA is based on the guidance provided in the Doha Declaration which asked for “substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support”.

Market Access

There should be drastic cuts in the tariffs of developed countries in order to capture the tariff peaks and escalations within short time period. All non-advalorem tariffs should be converted into advalorem tariffs.

Tariff Rate Quotas should be completely eliminated. Otherwise these should be expanded up to 20 % of their total consumption of final bound within 5 years. In Quota tariffs should be reduced to zero and strict rules for their administration should be agreed.

New entrants should be allowed. Tariff Rate Quotas and Tariff Preferences should be distributed on MFN basis.

The Special Safeguard Measures for the developed countries should be discontinued.

Developed countries should convert their complex tariff structures into a harmonized tariff structure within 5 years.

Having regard to their rural development and food security needs developing countries shall benefit from special and different treatment, including lower tariff reductions, and longer implementation periods of at least 10 years.

Special or sensitive products should be exempted from any reduction commitments and their selection should be allowed on self-declaration basis.

There should be no commitments regarding TRQ expansion and reduction of in quota tariffs by the developing countries.

A Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries shall be established.

Domestic Support

Amber Box: All trade distorting subsidies should be completely eliminated. Otherwise 60 % product specific reduction commitments


179

should be made by the developed countries at the start of the implementation period and the remaining within 3 years. Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS): De minis level shall be reduced by the developed countries. Blue Box: The developed countries should provide no Blue Box subsidies. Article 6.5 should be eliminated. Green Box: Direct payment subsidies Annex II paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 should be eliminated or modified. Actionable Green Box subsidies should be reduced or capped by the developed countries. Scope of Article 2.6 should be expanded for the developing countries. De minis level of developing countries should be maintained. Green Box subsidies should be continued for the developing countries.

Export Competition

Developed countries should completely eliminate all sorts of export subsidies

Otherwise reduce 50 % of their final bound level export subsidies should be reduced at start of implementation period and the remaining 50 % should be reduced within 5 years.

Regarding export credit rule based approach should be adopted and subsidies component should be eliminated.

Food aid should not be used for commercial displacement. Developing countries should be allowed to provide export subsidies. Provision of Article 9.4 shall be continued. Pakistan would not compromise on the terms and conditions regarding

Export State Trading if these will not be favorable to its export regime. POSITION Market Access

Pakistan is in full conformity with WTO Agreement on Agriculture. It has reduced its tariff on agriculture items more than 36 % on average and more than 15 % on each tariff line from the base year of 1986 – 88. Pakistan Custom Tariff on imports has been reduced from maximum 65 % in 1995 to 25 % in 2002 – 03 on agricultural items. Regulatory Duty has


180

been converted into fixed specific duty on import of selected agricultural products. Some items which are harmful to animal, human and plant life, are prohibited under import policy order, which is justifiable under the existing WTO rules on religious grounds. Pakistan’s bound tariffs providing upper ceiling on import tariffs is 102 % on average, however, applied rates on the imports of agricultural items are much lower. According to AoA provisions Pakistan, Special Safeguard Measures (SSG), can be applied on a product whose tariff rate has been associated with a tariffication of non-tariff measures. Pakistan in 1995 did not notify any tariffication in our schedule as Pakistan had converted most of the non-tariff measures into tariffs well before the submission of schedule to the WTO in 1995. So Pakistan cannot avail the provision of Special Safeguard Measures. Out of 144 WTO members only 38 have the right to use this product specific SSG. Pakistan cannot enjoy tariff concessions under tariff quota provision, as Pakistan has no agreement with developed country for such concessions. Pakistan is opposed to the use of tariff quota and wants complete elimination of all types of quota tariffs as it is against the principle of free market economic system. During negotiation under reform programme in WTO committee on Agriculture, Pakistan is continuously pressurizing developed countries to provide market access to developing countries including Pakistan by reducing their tariffs on items of our agricultural exports. Domestic Support

Until recently agricultural producers in Pakistan were provided a notional type of Minimum Support Price for a few commodities. Pakistan has been phasing out this programme due to the pressure of donor agencies in spite of the fact that provisions are available in the AoA. Pakistan’s domestic support price programme at present is restricted to wheat and cotton only. According to Article 4 and 5 of AoA all member countries have to notify their Aggregate Measure Support (AMS) to the WTO every year. It comprises on product specific and non-product specific support. The product specific support is based on the price support provided by the government to the farmers through the procurement of agricultural commodities such as wheat, cotton, sugarcane, rice gram, potatoes, onions and non-traditional oil seeds. In case of Pakistan, this is negative since the


181

emergence of WTO in 1995. Second part of AMS is non-product specific support, which is based on the subsidies provided on the fertilizer, electricity, seeds, pesticides and credit. In case of non-product specific support, budgetary and hidden subsidies on fertilizer and credit have been phased out. A small amount of economic subsidy in lieu of tariff reduction on electricity use by agricultural tube wells has been phased out with effect from July 2000. Punjab Government subsidy on sinking tube wells has been withdrawn. Export Subsidies.

Pakistan cannot provide export subsidy on any item because in the base year period i.e. 1086 – 90 the country was not giving any export subsidy and this was notified in WTO in 1995. The only provision, which is available in the agreement, is Article 9.4 (d and e) according to which export subsidies can be provided for up gradation and transport of agricultural commodities. Pakistan is providing 25 % freight subsidy on the export of fruits and vegetables since July 2003. In major agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, cotton and sugar cane, Pakistan, by and large, has enjoyed comparative advantage. However, because of inadequate infrastructure and inefficient processing/manufacturing sector, the country has not always been in a position to translate its comparative advantage into production and export surplus. Contrary to this domestic scenario Pakistan’s agricultural exports are facing very tough competition in international markets because developed countries are exporting agricultural products through subsidies not only at marketing stage but also at production stage. It has created artificial competitive edge to developed countries, which hurts the export prospects for Pakistan.


182


183

Chapter 13

POLICY

It is incredible but true that no policy has ever been framed exclusively for livestock by the federal or the provincial governments. It has always been tagged, almost as an after thought, to the agriculture policy. There is more talk about breeding policies especially amongst the professionals than about livestock policies on the whole. At the federal level, the policy is formulated by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) and included in the Annual Economic Survey issued by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) or as a separate document. Now, even most of the provincial livestock departments prepare their own livestock policies. These may be only half a page document to elaborate and comprehensive papers giving action programs, as well. But all these are more like wish lists or, at best notional. However, one encouraging aspect of these policy documents is that all these are fairly similar. These are briefly described separately for federal and the provincial policies. But before presenting/discussing the existing documents on policy, which formally started in 1980 (FAO, 2000), it must be understood that absence of a formal document does not mean that there was no policy before 1980. Notwithstanding the fact that the livestock departments in those early days were called veterinary departments, they followed a very clear policy on improvement of animal health services and conservation/improvement of different species/breeds of livestock. This production, improvement, development of vaccines and protection/treatment of animals against diseases were vigorously followed within the limits of their available resources. In addition, on the production side, farms were established/supported for buffaloes, important cattle and sheep/goats breeds and even horses/mules. Similarly, Herd Book projects were launched in several areas for improvement of breeds like Dhanni and others. In fact, the veterinary departments at the time of partition of India and establishment of Pakistan inherited these ideas (policies?). Later, some departments also introduced new ideas on the development of livestock. The current situation about the details of herds/flocks of


184

different species/breeds maintained in the country can be found in the Country Report on Animal Genetic Resources of Pakistan (2002).

AGENCIES INVOLVED IN POLICY FORMULATIONS Several ministries, departments and agencies in the federal and provincial governments are directly and indirectly involved in framing policies, laws, rules and regulations that are concerned with livestock and livestock products. However, in formulating policies the main agencies involved are the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) in the federal government and the livestock departments in the provincial governments supposedly in consultation with other relevant agencies. At the federal level the ministries/agencies involved are Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Commerce, Finance, Environment, Local Government and Rural Development, Industries and Production, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Planning and Development Division, Central Board of Revenue, Collector of Customs, Export Promotion Bureau, Pakistan Standards Institute and the State Bank of Pakistan. At the provincial level the agencies involved are the departments of livestock, agriculture, forests, finance and industries and the district and local governments. FEDERAL POLICIES

The current livestock policy (2004) provided personally by the Animal Husbandry Commissioner, MINFAL is presented as follows: He also stated that these have been “communicated” to the provinces:

Fulfillment of the ever increasing urban demand for livestock products;

Phasing out of import of milk and dairy products; Promotion of exports of livestock and livestock products after

meeting domestic demand; and Rural poverty alleviation.

However, a new and comprehensive policy on livestock development is on the anvil. This is likely to be approved soon. The MINFAL in 2003 produced A Status Report on Agriculture Perspective and Policy. It also includes livestock. The Report begins with


185

the statement that the strategy for future development of the livestock sector revolves round increasing the productivity of the animals rather than increasing their numbers and improving veterinary cover, marketing facilities and livestock products. This is followed by briefs on the situation regarding animal health, improvement of productivity, improvement of nutrition, control of cross border infectious diseases, post harvest (collection of milk, meat and dairy products) and export of live animals and livestock products. This is followed by what appears more like policies on improving livestock marketing, strengthening extension services and exports. The details of the first two topics (improving livestock marketing and strengthening extension services) have been lifted verbatim from the Agricultural Strategies for the First Decade of New Millennium (FAO 2000). Therefore, these are not repeated here but are presented later. However, the details on export are reproduced as under: Export

Control of diseases of economic and trade importance such as Foot and Mouth Disease, Rinderpest, PPR, Newcastle and Fowl Plague in the country.

Establishment of Disease Free Zones for export certification. Strengthening of disease diagnostic and drug residue testing

facilities in the country for quality production of livestock products and consumer’s safety.

Strengthening of Animal Quarantine Department in terms of manpower and disease diagnostic facilities.

Establishment of chilling units and cold storage facilities for collection, storage and transportation of perishable livestock products.

Introduction of quality and grading system for livestock products in the market e.g. grading of eggs (on the basis of weight), milk (on the basis of fat percentage) and meat (rigor mortis and body parts).

A fairly detailed exercise on the subject was sponsored by FAO and carried out by MINFAL, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and Planning and Development Division in the year 2000 entitled Agricultural Strategies for the First Decade of New Millenium.This study inter alia


186

covered agricultural policy, targets for 2010 and an action plan to achieve them. According to this document, “the first regular booklet on the National Agricultural Policy was issued in 1980. It was revised in 1991 with focus on the following goals”: i) Social Equity ii) Self Reliance iii) Export Orientation iv) Sustainable Agriculture v) Enhanced Productivity These goals were to be realized through a plan of action, details of which are given. This incidentally includes livestock. The agricultural pricing policy is described in some details but not a word about any pricing policy for any livestock product. However, “the strategic options and action plans” discusses livestock at some length. Seemingly more like policy on livestock; these are presented almost verbatim as follows: INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY PER ANIMAL UNIT

The emphasis will be on quality rather than on quantity. This will be achieved through:

Expanding the existing breeding programs of Nili/Ravi buffaloes and Sahiwal and initiating similar programs for Kundi buffaloes and Red Sindhi cows;

Production of good quality bulls, rams/bucks and their distribution to the interested buffalo, cattle, sheep and goat breeders;

Introduction and production of poultry grand parent stock within the country to save valuable foreign exchange;

About 10 % of the income from district livestock markets will be reserved for the promotion of high yielding buffaloes and cows of the district.

IMPROVING FEED AND FODDER AVAILABILITY

Evaluation and promotion of high yielding varieties of fodder crops in irrigated and Barani (rain fed) areas along with multiplication and adoption of existing high yielding varieties;

Introduction and promotion of molasses-urea blocks specially in Barani areas to improve feed quality;


187

Treatment of crop residues specially straws, stalks and stovers in Barani areas to improve feed quality;

Promotion and establishment of feed industry in the private sector. IMPROVING ANIMAL HEALTH COVERAGE

Control of animal diseases by introduction and increased production of quality vaccines;

Expansion and modernization of diagnostic facilities for the existing and newly emerging diseases in the country specially in poultry;

Privatization of veterinary services. STRENGTHENING EXTENSION SERVICES

Strengthening of aggressive and effective livestock production extension service to ensure technology transfer to farmers on better feeding, breeding, management and disease control through demonstration, training programs, audio-visual materials and TV coverage;

Outreach programs for livestock production research institutes/livestock experiment stations for effective dissemination of modern technologies to the farmers;

Encouraging poultry feed mills to provide advisory/extension services to the poultry farmers as part of their sales support programs.

IMPROVE LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Organize livestock farmers associations for improved inputs production and marketing of their products. These associations will be encouraged to establish milk collection centers;

Establishment of milk chilling units will be encouraged; Improving and equipping the existing livestock markets with

minimum facilities like weighbridges, sheds, water supply, electricity and provision of feed;

Encouraging establishment of milk powder plants for converting surplus milk during flush season into powder for use during lean production season to reduce dependency on import of milk powder;


188

Encouraging establishment of poultry processing units to store surplus production in periods of low demands for poultry products;

Improvement of existing slaughterhouse facilities and construction of new ones for production and marketing of quality meat;

Establishment of commercial fattening farms/feedlot units with their own feed mills and slaughterhouse facilities;

Use of manufactured feed will be encouraged at farm level. The policies formulated by the Federal Government earlier in 1999 are summarized as follows:

A minimum growth rate of not less than 7 % for the sector. Purebred cattle and buffaloes are to be improved through selective

breeding. Emphasis is on production of progeny-tested bulls of high genetic merit for use in the artificial insemination network.

Nondescript cattle comprising over 70 % of the total population are to be improved through crossbreeding with exotic dairy breeds (Friesian and Jersey).

Extension service including artificial insemination will be strengthened.

The use of non-traditional feed resources like agro-industrial wastes will be encouraged to overcome feed shortages.

Emphasis is placed on maximum and improved vaccination coverage against contagious and infectious diseases and parasitic infestations.

Establishment of farmer associations for better inputs for increased production and better marketing will be encouraged.

Manpower will be trained locally and abroad to meet the demand of the sector.

In April 1997, the government announced the following incentives for the agriculture sector including livestock:

For agricultural credits, an additional Rs 3,000 millions will be made available. A new agricultural finance institution will be established for the small and landless farmers.

A ceiling of one million rupees will be placed on agricultural credits.


189

The 50 % interest on loans up to Rs 300,000 obtained before 1992 is to be cancelled provided all the dues on such loans are paid within the next 6 months.

It will be ensured that small farmers have equal access to agricultural credits.

There will be no upper ceiling on land for duly registered agricultural companies involved in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products on commercial lines.

To provide a safety net to the landless farm workers, 25,000 cows and buffaloes and 50,000 sheep and goats will be provided through the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan and the Poverty Alleviation Fund against personal guarantees. Besides, improving the means of livelihood in the rural areas, this will help improve the gene pool and enhance the population of good-quality livestock. To boost livestock production, special programs will be made which will include fattening of cows, control of diseases and better animal husbandry practices.

The performance of livestock research farms of the provincial governments will be improved.

A training program will be introduced for livestock farmers to develop the pool of quality genes.

During the next fiscal year (1999-2000), there will be no tax on the compound cattle feed and equipment used in the milk plants. The price of tractors has already been slashed down by about 20 %.

PROVINCIAL POLICIES

Punjab

This is very brief and is reproduced from the Annual Report (2002-2003) of the livestock department as under:

Increase the production of livestock products by enhancement of productivity to meet the increasing demand for animal protein foods.

Improve the quality of livestock products for human consumption. Increase marketing and supply of essential livestock products to

urban centers. Contribute to poverty alleviation in rural areas.


190

It also lays down the strategy for implementing the foregoing policy as follows:

Promote productivity per animal, instead of increasing livestock numbers by appropriate measures to raise the genetic potential and provide the price incentives for livestock products.

Encourage livestock farmers to adopt improved methods of animal husbandry by demonstrating greater efficiency and better returns compared to traditional methods.

Devote increasing attention and effort to enhance the quantity and nutritional qualities of feed and fodder supplies along with their processing.

Shift the subsistence mode of livestock production towards commercial orientation through modernization and greater efficiency of marketing channels.

NWFP

This is a more comprehensive document together with a proposed act for restructuring of a section of the department (2003) and states that these are proposed development policies/activities for implementation during the 9th Five-Year Plan. Its salient features are summarized as follows:

Institutional strengthening of the livestock departments: Emphasizes quality and not the number of staff, regular training of staff, adequate operational funds, establishment of monitoring and evaluation and publicity cells, improved overall management and additional source of income for the department through introduction of tax on inter district transport of animals and share in the income of the livestock markets.

Improvement of genetic quality of livestock in the NWFP: Proposes study of local breeds, establishment of nucleus farms and gradual privatization of AI service.

Improvements of feed and fodder quantity and quality: Envisages promotion of high fodder varieties and urea-molasses blocks, development of extension packages and recommends ban/control on molasses.


191

Improvement of animal health service: Suggests increasing the number and quantity of vaccines and sale of medicines and animal health service to be privatized.

Strengthening extension services: Recommends development of technology packages by research institutes, establishment of an information and communication section, a cadre of female extension workers and farmers associations, increasing the budget and development of fattening units for calves and small ruminants.

Improvement of marketing of livestock products: Encourage and promote farmers associations for better marketing of livestock and products, establishment of small scale milk processing units in rural and peri urban areas and provide equipment for small scale feed mills at state farms.

Incentive package for the livestock sector. Sind

This is the most detailed policy by any province. It starts with pictures of buffaloes and important cattle and sheep breeds of Sindh and data on provincial animal population, livestock products and infrastructure of the department compared to that in the whole country. The main features of the policy and finally its details follow it. There are 6 main features, which are elaborated under 31 topics of details. Actually, the detailed policy is more of a strategy/action plan rather than policy. Anyway, the main features are:

Development of livestock breeds of Sindh; Provision of services at the door steps of the farmers; Increasing the income of the farmers through increased production

of livestock products, expanded disease cover and up gradation of livestock;

Training farmers (both males and females) in livestock management;

Creating more job opportunities for the rural population; and Improvement of marketing of livestock and their products.

The salient features of the detailed policy are presented as follows:

Livestock breeds of Sind will be conserved;


192

Milk production of Red Sindhi and Thari breeds will be improved through selective breeding. Non descript cattle will be upgraded with Red Sindhi and Thari, as well as with Friesians for milk and with Drought Master or other beef breeds for meat;

Dairy and beef breeds for the province will be evolved; Special zones will be created for meat, milk, wool and hides and

skins production and export; Fodder and forage programs will be started; Major diseases will be controlled/eradicated through animal health

coverage for 75 % of the population; Barani lands will be leased/allotted for establishing feedlots and

salvaging dry cows/buffaloes; For increased employment 1000 veterinary graduates every year

will be provided with house jobs and credits for establishing small-scale livestock/poultry related enterprise. Similarly, rural population will be trained and provided with credits and other incentives for income generation;

Incentives will be provided for modern technologies, production of elite progeny tested animals, revival of non-operational milk plants and slaughterhouses, mini feed mills, biogas plants and formation of breeders associations;

Existing markets will be improved and new markets with better facilities will be established;

The existing research institutes/farms will be upgraded and new centers for camels and wool will be established;

Milk collection and marketing system will be improved; Import of milk powder will be banned; Marketing of raw unprocessed milk will be banned in cities with

population of half a million or more; Mobility of extension staff will be increased and livestock

development activities will be extended to the coastal areas; and Fellowships for higher education leading to M.Sc/Ph.D. will be

provided to the technical staff. Baluchistan

No policy has been formulated.


193

AJK

Although a seminar was organised on agricultural policy (including livestock) some two years ago, no formal policy for livestock has yet been formulated. EFFECTS OF POLICIES ON LIVESTOCK

In 1947 when Pakistan was established, the livestock departments (then called veterinary departments) inherited their program from the departments in British India that mainly comprised of animal health services and development of livestock. There was no formal policy document. Later on, policy instruments/frameworks or strictly speaking policy ideas began to be conceived and actions thereon initiated by individual heads of the livestock departments. Classic examples of this are the crossbreeding of local cattle and small ruminants with exotic animals and introduction of artificial insemination (AI) technique. Consequently, when formal policy documents began to be prepared from 1980 onwards, topics like crossbreeding, AI and better livestock marketing became their regular features. Thus, policies- formal or otherwise- began to affect animal genetic resources in the form of improved animal health services, improvement of species/breeds through selective and crossbreeding, use of AI technique and attempts at improving nutrition and marketing of livestock and livestock products. Improved animal health services included improvement of existing vaccines and development of new ones, better disease diagnostic facilities, use of modern medicines and expanding the service to larger areas mainly through increase in number of sub-professional staff. These measures reduced morbidity and mortality and improved over all animal health. For improving productivity of livestock, state farms were established to produce and distribute superior breeding stock of buffaloes, well known breeds of cattle like Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar and several breeds of sheep and goats. For this purpose, even private farms were supported through several incentives. Development projects called Herd Book Schemes were launched for several breeds of cattle like Sahiwal and Dhanni. Under the national Land Reform programs, big landowners were allowed to retain thousands of acres of land if they maintained a certain number of approved breeds of cattle and small ruminants. All these


194

measures helped in propagating/maintaining the purity and quality of these species and breeds. The introduction of AI technique was a landmark in buffalo and cattle breeding. Although its coverage is still less than 15 % of the cattle and buffalo population, it has, over the years, profoundly changed the attitude of the farmers to the use of this technology. It has greatly helped in overcoming the serious shortage of quality bulls especially buffalo bulls. But perhaps, the greatest effect on the production potential of indigenous livestock has been that of crossbreeding programs of cattle and sheep. The earliest instance of crossbreeding is in the fifties when Rambouillet sheep were imported from the USA for improving the medium fine wool local sheep breed called Kaghani of the Kaghan valley in the NWFP. This crossbreeding work has continued since then. As a result, a crossbred sheep (now called Ramghani) has virtually replaced the Kaghani breed. It is a bigger breed that grows faster with much finer wool and greater fleece weight. The negative aspect of this policy is the virtual disappearances of the Kaghani breed of sheep and with it the cottage industry that was based on its colored medium fine wool. There are similar examples in Punjab but with little success in attempts to locally produce Awassi and Karakul sheep and Angora goats by respectively crossing imported animals with local Lohi and Kachhi sheep and hairy goats. These efforts had no effects on the local breeds used for crossbreeding because the number of crossbred animals (respectively called Pak Awassi, Pak Karakuls and Pak Angora) has remained very limited and restricted mostly to the state farms. There is also an instance of developing a new breed of sheep called Baghdale. A big landlord farmer in Punjab patronized this work. There may or may not be more than a few of these sheep in existence. In addition to the virtual disappearance of the Kaghani breed of sheep due to a somewhat sustained crossbreeding program with an exotic breed, only the dairy cattle crossbreeding had some effects on the local cattle. Started in the sixties, it was considered the quickest way of upgrading the local low milk yielding non-descript cattle (ND) with well-known exotic dairy breeds like Holstien-Freisian and Jerseys. In addition, some other exotic dairy breeds like Australian Illawara Shorthorns, Brown Swiss, Red Danes, Swedish Red and White and Australian Milking Zebus were also used for crossbreeding the ND cattle. This crossbreeding program received


195

some indirect support from the government policy of increased farm mechanization that reduced dependence on working bullocks that were mainly produced by these ND cattle. The Military Dairy Farms have been crossbreeding local cows with exotic dairy breeds for a much longer period. In pursuit of this program, herds of pure Friesians and Jerseys were established mainly at state farms in Punjab, Baluchistan, NWFP and Islamabad-some for research and production of semen. Most of the crossbreeding work has been based on AI using both the imported and locally produced semen of exotic breeds. However, in later years crossbred bulls of varying exotic blood levels have been widely used for natural service together with some locally produced exotic bulls. As mentioned earlier, the agricultural policy of increased farm mechanization also resulted in the decline of work animals, which were mainly produced by non descript (ND) type of cattle. Thus, tractorization indirectly supported the crossbreeding of ND cows for the production of more milk rather than for producing more work animals. The initial program of crossbreeding ND cows later spread to using cows of recognized breeds specially Sahiwal because of the higher milk yield of their crossbred progenies. Some large private farmers particularly followed this policy so much so that such crossbred cows have regularly won prizes for the highest milk production at the National Horse and Cattle Shows. Some experts believe that this practice has contributed to the decline of pure Sahiwal population. For some professionals as well as big farmers, developing beef breeds has been almost an obsession as a solution for the shortage of quality beef. They do not realize the economic implications of producing meat from beef breeds. They forget that the cost of beef thus produced will be very high although of good quality compared to the currently available meat, which strictly speaking, is a waste product or at best a byproduct. Anyway, the good news is that such fancy crossbreeding programs have remained confined mostly to state farms for many years. For the production of local beef breeds the exotic breeds imported are Australian Drought Master, Simmental and Charollaise. The first attempt was to import Drought Master for crossing with Bhagnari breed in Baluchistan at a state farm in Sibi. Later, Simmental and Charollaise have been used for crossing mainly with Sahiwal breed. Luckily, the number of crossbreds


196

has been very limited and had no effect whatsoever on the local breeds used for crossbreeding. INVOLVEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS IN POLICY FORMULATION

The entire livestock industry is in the private sector managed essentially by three types of farmers. About 6 million farmers, one million of who are landless, maintain majority of animals under extensive system. These farmers are mainly smallholders with 4-6 cattle/buffaloes, a dozen or so of small ruminants and a few indigenous (Desi) chickens. Next are the farmers in villages near large cities/towns and in peri urban areas with bigger herds of mainly buffaloes solely for milk production. Both these systems are generally in the irrigated areas. In the more arid and dry western and northwestern parts of the country, the dominant systems are transhumant and nomadic with small ruminants and camels.

There are several stakeholders in livestock activities/interests. Following are the main players:

Livestock farmers Traders/middlemen involved in marketing of livestock and their

products like milk, meat, wool and hides/skins Livestock departments/agencies of the provincial and federal

governments including research institutes and livestock farms NGOs mainly those dealing with rural development Companies/agencies dealing in various inputs required by

livestock such as drugs, vaccines, equipment, packaging materials and chemicals including large local and foreign dairy companies.

Exporters of livestock and products like live animals, meat, chickens and eggs

Importers of livestock products mainly powder condensed and evaporated milk, butter and cheese.

Veterinary and Agricultural universities (with veterinary and animal husbandry faculties) awarding graduate and postgraduate degrees.


197

Strictly speaking, there are no policy instruments that exist for involving all the stakeholders. Actually, it is mostly free for all due to the following mainly economic reasons:

Official mandate of the public sector agencies for extension, research and training facilities;

Commercial interests of selling various inputs for livestock and livestock products;

Profit motive of traders, exporters and importers; Social and altruistic reasons of NGOs; and For survival by small and landless farmers and profit by large

farmers. However, two or more of these stakeholders sometimes do get together in furtherance of their objectives generally by design but not necessarily by compulsion. But the short or long-term purpose of all these agencies is to seek the attention of the poor livestock farmers. IMPACT ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE / PRACTICE The policies being followed are neither supportive nor they promote the preservation or use of indigenous knowledge / practices relevant to the use of livestock. But these have greatly influenced them. In fact, these policies have been replacing the indigenous knowledge / practices with modern science based knowledge and technologies. The least influenced is the indigenous transhumant/nomadic production system of managing livestock because there is no better and modern substitute for this traditional practice. Over the years, the indigenous knowledge/practices became increasingly vulnerable due to the availability of modern science based knowledge and practices for the use of livestock. It was therefore, only a matter of time that the scientific knowledge about diseases, medicines, feeds and feeding, breeding, etc will replace the traditional concepts and knowledge on the use of livestock. Numerous examples of the change over can be cited to illustrate the point. Diseases are now prevented by vaccines and not by talismans and other ailments are treated by modern medicines as injectibles and not by traditional concoctions. Castrations are carried out by bloodless and painless Burdizzo method


198

instead of the cruel, painful and dangerous crushing method. Similarly, for problems like dystokia and bloat, the farmers now call a veterinarian instead of the village shaman or the “wise man”. Use of AI has taken nearly 4 decades to become acceptable as an excellent means of getting quality germplasm. Impact on Issues

Only two policies namely, allowing export of livestock (and meat) and crossbreeding of local cattle with exotic breeds respectively had some impact on the price of red meat in the local market and the population of Sahiwal. As stated earlier, originally the cattle crossbreeding policy was envisaged to be between the local ND cows and exotic dairy bulls/semen. But a large number of farmers also used Sahiwal cows for higher milk production in the crossbred cows. This is claimed by some experts to be a contributing factor in reducing the population of pure Sahiwal cattle. INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO POLICY FORMULATION For about two years, the FAO through two TCP Projects and in collaboration with the MINFAL has helped undertake background studies, consultations and workshops on aspects of livestock in all the provinces of Pakistan including the AJK and the Northern Areas (NA). These covered livestock management, feeding and health, constraints hampering production, policy issues involved and action plans for the development of the livestock sector. In addition, studies were also conduced on Breeding Policy, Livestock Marketing Systems and Development of Dairy Colonies around Karachi. The results of all these studies, consultations and workshops including policy recommendations and action plans have been consolidated for the whole country and were presented at a Workshop. This document (FAO 2004) briefly examines the constraints to livestock production in Pakistan and presents a framework for developing policies to support increased livestock productivity. The overall goals for livestock production in Pakistan are stated to be to:

Alleviate Poverty Enhance Food and Income Security


199

Create Opportunities for Employment and Investment Improve Access to Markets Increase awareness and Management of the Environment

The main constraints have been identified as follows:

Low Breed Potential and Loss of Germplasm Poor Availability and Quality of Feeds and Feeding Practices Low Availability and Technical Capacity of Animal Health

Services Lack of Marketing Information and Services

Other constraints identified are:

Impact of drought, Poor access to credits, Weak knowledge and application of farm management, Poor research facilities and capacity, Low human development opportunities and Inadequate support for small ruminant production.

Policy frameworks and approaches are suggested at federal and provincial levels. In view of the constraints of the livestock sector and the national macroeconomic goals the following 3 main livestock initiative are suggested for development and implementation by the Federal Government: i) Early Warning Systems for Drought and Trans-boundary Diseases ii) Promotion of Privatization of Animal Health Services iii) Development of Human Capital in the Livestock Sector For the provinces, the following livestock policy objectives are proposed: AJK and Northern Areas

Improve knowledge and application of farm management Improve animal health facilities Promote drought mitigation strategies Develop of feed resources


200

Develop breed improvement programs Increase availability and quality of market information Better access to credit

Baluchistan

Promote drought mitigation strategies Develop feed resources Develop breed improvement programs Increase availability and quality of market information Better access to credit Support for disease control Encourage human capital development opportunities Support and promote small ruminants production

NWFP

Develop breed improvement programs, particularly for dairy animals

Develop feed resources, particularly for dairy animals Improve animal health Improve knowledge and application of farm management Promote drought mitigation strategies Increase availability and quality of market information Better access to credit Improve infrastructure and capacity of research facilities

Punjab

Develop breed improvement programs, particularly for dairy and beef

Develop feed resources, particularly for dairy and beef Improve animal health Increased availability and quality of market information Improve knowledge and application of animal husbandry skills Better access to credit Improve research facilities


201

Sindh

Develop breed improvement programs, particularly for dairy and beef

Develop feed resources, particularly for dairy and beef Improve animal health Increase availability and quality of market information Improve knowledge and application of farm management Increase production of camels, mutton and wool Better access to credit Promote drought mitigation strategies

LAWS

Chronologically speaking, the first livestock law was enacted in 1871 in the British India that was later adapted by Pakistan. Since then, a total of 109 laws have been promulgated. Over the years, several compilations of these laws have been published. The latest and the most comprehensive and incredibly almost identical compilations on the subject in the form of books are Livestock Laws Manual (1983) by Farani and Manual of Livestock Laws (1984) by Awan. Both of them categorize these laws into 19 topics. To update the laws, another category has been added on Livestock Education to make a total of 20 categories of laws. These are presented as follows: Part I: Livestock Improvement

Livestock Improvement Act, 1933 Livestock Improvement Rules, 1935

Part II: Livestock Import and Export

Pakistan Animal Quarantine (Import and Export of Animals and Animal Products) Act, 1979

Pakistan Animal Quarantine (Import and Export of Animals and Animal Products) Rules, 1980

Livestock Importation Act, 1898 Sind Livestock (Import) Rules, 1943

Part III: Livestock Slaughter


202

Animals Slaughter Control Act, 1963 Animals Slaughter Control Rules, 1965 Animals Slaughter Control (Amendment) Act, 1965 Karachi Cattle Slaughter Control Act, 1950 Karachi Cattle Slaughter Control Rules, 1953 Punjab Laws Act, 1872 Buoys and Inflated Skins Rules, 1928 Slaughter of Kine Rules, 1890 Union Councils (Slaughter House) Rules, 1961 Sind Cattle (Restriction of Slaughter) Act, 1950 Byelaws for Regulation of Public Slaughter Houses, 1980 Municipal Committee Beef License Byelaws, 1980 Byelaws for Licensing Slaughtering of Animals, 1981

Part IV: Livestock Conservation

Punjab Conservation of Cattle (Meatless Days) Act, 1954 Conservation (Restriction Slaughter) of Useful Animals Act, 1956 Punjab Meat (Control) Order, 1978 Sind Cattle and Fodder Control Act, 1947

Part V: Livestock Breeding

Livestock Breeding Scheme Notification, 1960 (For Areas not Exceeding 300 Acres)

Livestock Breeding Scheme Notification, 1960 (For Areas not Exceeding 25 Acres)

Mule Breeding Tenancies Notification, 1960 Part VI: Livestock Protection

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890 Amendments in Act of 1890 by Ordinance, 1981 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules, 1961

Part VII: Livestock Restriction Goats (Restriction) Ordinance, 1959 Goats (Restriction) Rules, 1961


203

Part VIII: Livestock Health Development Dourine Act, 1910 Punjab Dourine Rules, 1952 Glanders and Farcy Act, 1899 Glanders and Farcy Rules, 1921 South African Horse Sickness Rules, 1959 Byelaws for Registration and Control of Dogs and Prevention of

Rabies, 1979 Sind Cattle (Contagious Diseases) Act, 1948 Sind Cattle (Contagious Diseases) Rules, 1949 N.W.F.P. Animal Contagious Diseases Act, 1948

Part IX: Livestock Grazing and Pasturage

Punjab Frontier Grazing Regulation, 1874 Grazing of Cattle in Protected Forests (Range Lands) Rules, 1978 Byelaws for Regulating Grazing of Animals, 1981 Pasturage of Animal Rules, 1900 Cattle Trespass Act, 1871

Part X: Livestock Markets

Municipal Committees (Cattle Markets) Rules, 1969 Agricultural Produce Markets Ordinance, 1978 Byelaws for Regulation of Holding of Cattle Markets, 1980 Ibid, 1981 Supreme Court Judgment About Holding of Cattle Fairs, 1980

Part XI: Livestock Local Laws Municipal Administration Ordinance, 1960 Punjab People’s Local Government Ordinance, 1972 Punjab Local Government Act, 1975 Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979 Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 1980 N.W.F.P. People’s Local Government Ordinance, 1972 N.W.F.P. Local Government Ordinance, 1979 Baluchistan People’s Local Government Ordinance, 1972 Baluchistan Local Government Ordinance, 1979 Sind People’s Local Government Ordinance, 1972


204

Sind Local Government Ordinance, 1979 Azad Jammu and Kashmir Local Government Ordinance, 1982

Part XII: Livestock Special Laws

Railways Act, 1890 Cantonments Act, 1924 Forest Act, 1927 Highway Ordinance, 1959 Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965 Police Rules, 1934

Part XIII: Livestock Development

Punjab Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Development Board Act, 1974

Part XIV: Livestock Products (Dairy and Poultry) Pure Food Ordinance, 1960 Pure Food Rules, 1965 Cantonments Pure Food Act, 1960 Cantonments Pure Food Rules, 1967 Milk Boards Ordinance, 1963 Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937 Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Amendment Act,

1972 Animal Hair (Grading and Marketing) Rules, 1961 Egg Grading and Marketing Rules, 1937 Ghee Grading and Marketing Rules, 1938 Creamy Butter Grading and Marketing Rules, 1941

Part XV: Livestock Associations

Punjab Livestock Associations and Livestock Associations Unions (Registration and Control) Ordinance, 1979

Part XVI: Livestock Development through Cooperatives

Cooperative Societies Act, 1925 Cooperative Societies Rules, 1927 Cooperative Societies (Repayment of Loans) Ordinance, 1966


205

Cooperative Societies and Cooperative Banks (Repayment of Loans) Ordinance, 1966

Cooperative Societies Act, 1926 (Application to Tribal Areas of Quetta Division) Regulations, 1967

Cooperative Societies (Reforms) Order, 1972 Cooperative (Reforms) Amendment Ordinance, 1980 Sind Cooperative Societies Reform Rules, 1973 Cooperative Farming Act, 1976

Part XVII: Livestock Department Service Rules

Directorate of Livestock Farms (Punjab) Rules, 1979 Directorate of Veterinary Research Institutes Delegation of Power

Rules. (Amendment), 1978 Directorate of Livestock Farms, Punjab. Delegation of Power

Rules, 1979 Punjab Livestock Production Extension and Artificial Insemination

Service Rules, 1979 Punjab Directorate of Livestock Production and Research Institute,

Bahadurnagar Service Rules, 1979 Part XVIII: Livestock Nutrition

Animals Compound Feeding Act, 1974 Part XIX: Livestock Allied Laws

Agricultural Produce Markets Ordinance, 1978 Agricultural Produce Markets Rules, 1941 Lyalpur Market Committee Byelaws, 1941 Punjab Agricultural Development and Supplies Corporation Act,

1973 Local Government Ordinance, 2001

Part XX: Livestock Education Laws

Faisalabad Agricultural University Act, 1973 Lyalpur Agriculture University (Amendment) Ordinance, 1978 Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council Act, 1996


206

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Ordinance, 2002

In addition to the acts/ordinances and rules cited above, there must be virtually thousands of rules/regulations framed by hundreds of local governments at tehsil and districts levels on aspects of livestock for their day to day administration. Such regulations are formulated within the framework of the acts/ordinances and rules mentioned earlier particularly the Local Government Ordinance of 2001. Getting information on such regulations is not possible within the scope of this assignment. But it can be appreciated that such rules/regulations will be applicable only within the very limited jurisdiction of the respective local governments. EFFECTS ON LIVESTOCK

All laws and rules formulated are intended to promote, conserve or develop FAnGR or facilitate its related aspects like grazing, slaughter (including better management of slaughterhouses, care of animals before slaughter and production of clean, hygienic and quality meat), disease prevention/control, marketing, etc. It also includes production of quality professional graduates and regulation for proper and ethical veterinary practice for the welfare of livestock. The only exceptions appear to be the Goats (Restriction) Ordinance (1959) and the Goats (Restriction) Rules (1961) against goats. It was intended against goats but as it will be seen later, these laws actually ended up promoting goats, instead. These law and rules were promulgated under the mistaken assumption that goats were responsible for the destruction of forests, pastures and rangelands and should therefore, be got rid off. So, it was required that of all the small ruminants slaughtered through out the country, the percentage of goats must be 80 % or more. In addition, goats could only be maintained under stall-feeding system and that too with license to do so. The lawmakers hoped that these major measures would not only discourage goat keeping but would also eventually eradicate goats from Pakistan. However, it was not realized that the compulsory slaughter of 80 % or more goats out of all small ruminants slaughtered would soon create an increased demand for goats. And this is exactly what happened. Very soon it became apparent that these laws were proving to be good incentives for keeping more goats


207

and their numbers were said to be increasing. Thus, it did not take very long for the truth to dawn and the law was repealed. Therefore, there is just one law that was targeted against a particular species (goats). This also misfired and turned out, eventually to be favorable to the goats. Also, may be this factor, along with others, also contributed to the fastest growth of goat population among the local livestock. All the other laws, rules and regulations are supportive to the livestock. But it is quite another matter that most of these laws are not always fully operative. These are generally invoked when the need arises due to some emergency. Law enforcement in Pakistan, in general, is at best weak and the status of laws regarding livestock is no exception. INVOLVEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS

Just like in policy formulation, laws are also framed by the public sector agencies without any consultation or participation of the principal players, namely the farmers. Thus it is generally based on the perceptions of the administrative departments in which even the livestock departments may or may not have been consulted. But in some cases like that of Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council Act (1996) and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Ordinance (2002), the original ideas and the entire spade work came from the livestock professionals. The bureaucratic approach to framing laws is that the government knows what is best for the farmers. This may be true in a case or two like in laws regulating disease prevention and control but not in most cases especially in instances like declaring meatless days and controlling price of milk and meat at retail end without any rationale. Such laws are generally politically motivated to appease the public at large. Incidentally, the law regarding meatless days has been withdrawn in Baluchistan without any adverse effect on the livestock numbers in that province.

IMPACT ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE/PRACTICE

No law has ever been directly targeted at indigenous knowledge/practice. But there are instances that may amount to influencing indigenous practice. Prevention of cruelty to animals act and rules prohibiting baiting or fighting of animals which is a fairly common practice (bear-dog fights, cock fights) are examples of this situation. Although prohibited, these


208

undesirable practices still exist. Similarly, overloading work animals is also prohibited. Regulating the grazing of livestock in areas declared to be protected by the Forest Departments, amounts to interference with the age-old practice of free grazing on such lands. Laws regarding grading and fixing standards of products like milk and wool have certainly improved the indigenous knowledge on the quality of these products. This point could be stretched to include the laws on veterinary education and practice that influence the indigenous knowledge and practice.

POLICY AND LAWS FOR WILD RELATIVES OF LIVESTOCK

According to IUCN-Pakistan (2003) following are the wild relatives of livestock in Pakistan:

1. Indian Wild Ass or Onager – Equus hemionus. Khar in Northern Areas and Kiang, the Tibetan Wild Ass is also found in Pakistan.

2. Wild Pig or Indian Wild Boar – Sus scrofa. 3. Himalayan Goral or Grey Goral – Naemorhedus goral. It is a

goat. 4. Wild Goat or Persian Pasang – Capra aegagrus. 5. Chiltan Wild Goat – Capra aegagrus chiltanensis 6. Bharal or Blue Sheep – Pseudois nayaur. It is actually a goat. 7. Ibex – Capra ibex 8. Markhor – Capra falconeri 9. Markhor – Capra falconeri jerdoni. 10. Sindh Wild Goat – Capra hircus. 11. Argali – Ovis ammon. 12. Marco Polo Sheep – Ovis ammon polii. 13. Urial, Shapu or Gad – Ovis vignei. 14. Urial, Shapu, Shah Kohi, Koch, Mouflon - Ovis oriantalis. 15. Punjab Urial, Harian, Shah Kohi, Koch – Ovis orientalis

punjabiensis. It will be seen from the foregoing that the wild relatives comprise of one ass, one pig, 8 goats and 5 sheep making a total of 15. The wild pig is a serious crop pest. It is baited, poisoned and hunted but there is no letup in its crop destruction habit. At one stage it was planned to eradicate


209

biologically these by introducing swine fever virus. But the plan was shelved due to pressure from FAO for fear of its spread to the neighboring countries where it is an important livestock. Of these wild relatives, the Indian Wild Ass is threatened with extinction and the following are of concern:

1. Wild Goat 2. Markhor 3. Himalayan Goral 4. Argali 5. Mouflon 6. Blue Sheep

POLICY

Policy on wild life (including the wild relatives of livestock) is part of the National Forest Policy of Pakistan (2001). The preamble of the policy states that it “covers the renewable natural resources (RNR) of Pakistan i.e. Forests, Watersheds, Rangelands, Wildlife, Biodiversity and their habitats. The policy seeks to launch a process for eliminating the fundamental causes of the depletion of RNR through the active participation of all the concerned agencies and stakeholders, to realize the sustainable development of the resources. It is an umbrella policy providing guidelines to the Federal Government, Provincial Governments and territories for the management of their RNR. In consonance with it, the Provincial and District Governments may devise their own policies in accordance with their circumstances”. The policy has 9 elements, one of which is Wildlife. The policy on wildlife is rather short and states that “ The Federal Government may provide financial, technical and operating support to the provincial wildlife departments for implementation of international treaties and conventions i.e. CITES, CBD, CMS, Ramsar Convention in provincial territories, and for the protection, preservation and conservation of the threatened species of wildlife and their habitats. Since training institutions for advanced professional training/studies in wildlife are non-existent in Pakistan, the Federal Government may ensure adequate financial assistance for training of officers and staff of provincial wildlife departments for advanced professional studies in overseas institutions to build up the professional capacity of the departments. Simultaneously, the Government may enhance the capacity of Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar to enable to offer education in wildlife management at masters’ level”. In addition, topics like creation of


210

protected areas for conservation of ecosystems that are also relevant to wildlife receive mention in other elements of the policy. Incidentally, wildlife is a provincial subject and this national policy has yet to be formally approved. LAWS

The following is the chronological history of wildlife acts and rules in the pre-independent India and independent Pakistan. Sometimes acts and rules for forests also include wildlife or some of its aspects. All these acts and rules are summarized as follows:

Baluchistan Forest Regulation, 1890 Wild Birds and Animals Act, 1912 Forest Act, 1927 Punjab Wild Birds and Wild Animals Act, 1933 Sindh Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act, 1940 Baluchistan Wild Birds and Animals Protection (Amendment)

Regulation, 1942 Bahawalpur Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection and Shikar

Act, 1945 NWFP Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection Act, 1950 Sindh Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection (Amendments)

Act, 1953 Baluchistan Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection Rules, 1953 Punjab Wild Birds and Wild Animals Act, 1954 Punjab Wild Birds and Wild Animals Rules, 1955 West Pakistan Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1959 West Pakistan Wildlife Protection Rules, 1960 Pakistan Wildlife Ordinance, 1971 Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1972 Baluchistan Wildlife Protection Act, 1974 Punjab Wildlife Act and Rules, 1974 Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and

Management) Act, 1975 Northern Areas Wildlife Preservation Act, 1975 Azad Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Act, 1975


211

NWFP Wildlife Act, 1975 NWFP Wildlife Rules, 1977 Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and

Management) Ordinance, 1979 Azad Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Rules, 1985

It may be seen from the foregoing list that the provinces have framed most of the acts/ordinances and rules because wildlife is a provincial responsibility. These are mainly regulatory and thus punitive in nature. The concept of management especially participatory management came later. This was a very welcome change. EFFECTS ON WILD RELATIVES OF LIVESTOCK

As stated earlier, wildlife is a provincial subject and the policies, laws and rules have therefore, been mainly formulated by the provinces. However, there is a great deal of uniformity in both the policies and laws related to them with the exception of the species. Broadly speaking, the policies revolve round protection of species and their habitats through national parks and protected areas, training of staff, creating awareness amongst the stakeholders and implementing provisions of various international treaties and conventions to which Pakistan is a signatory. Laws are meant to achieve relevant objectives, cover the organization and enforcement, creation of national parks and protected areas, penalties for offence and abatement, exemptions, duties, etc. Early laws were mainly concerned with regulating hunting and were essentially punitive in nature. Now the approach is participatory and egalitarian and the emphasis is on protection, conservation and promotion of species in addition to the game species. The creation of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves (public and private) is a step forward to protect the habitats, as well. Therefore, at present, there are 17 national parks, 101 wildlife sanctuaries and 96 game reserves. Wild relatives of FAnGR are also benefiting from this new approach with protected areas so much so that some of them like Markhor and Sind Ibex are now thriving and are even being allowed to be hunted for trophy under license.

INVOLVEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS


212

As stated earlier, the new approach to conservation of wildlife is participatory and egalitarian. Communities and other stakeholders like hunters and traders are getting more and more involved in the implementation of the policies and regulations in the conservation efforts mainly the creation and management of the protected areas be it national parks, game reserves or wildlife sanctuaries. Provision of incentives like share in the income of the protected areas from tourism/hunting is proving useful in the involvement of stakeholders. Involving the communities in the design and planning of these programs are also helpful. This is already happening but there is still need for greater involvement of all the stakeholders.

IMPACT ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE/PRACTICE

The new more enlightened policies and participatory approach in the conservation of wildlife rather than the old punitive measures for controlling hunting are influencing the indigenous knowledge/practice. The old practice of over hunting the wildlife and degrading their habitats through overgrazing, over harvesting, deforestation and land conversion are gradually but surely been replaced with scientific management of wildlife and their habitats. This is also changing the age-old knowledge about wildlife where conservation and management of habitats were neither relevant nor considered necessary.

LINKAGES WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY OBJECTIVES

Pakistan is a party to the following international conventions:

1. Convention on Biological Diversity, 2. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (CITES), 3. Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) – Bon

Convention, 4. World Heritage Convention, 5. Framework Convention on Climate Change, 6. Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing

Drought and/or Desertification (CCD), 7. World Conservation Union (IUCN), 8. International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, 9. World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF)


213

10. Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (Ramsar Convention),

11. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and 12. UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program.

Of the foregoing, the conventions at Serial Nos. viii and xi are not relevant to the livestock and its wild relatives. All the other conventions are relevant to one aspect or the other of the livestock and its relatives. At the national level, the major agencies concerned with the subject are the provincial departments of livestock, wildlife and forestry. At the federal level, PARC and Forest Research Institute is the major player. For linkage with the international agencies, the Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan is the focal point. At the national level, linkages between the provincial departments are weak but it is more frequent with the PARC and that too is more personal than institutional. But it works out satisfactorily because the objectives are very similar. The linkage with the relevant international agencies is weaker. However, the situation is better with the wild relatives mainly because of the two active NGOs viz. IUCN and WWF. These play a rather pro-active role in the furtherance of the biodiversity objectives. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

It can be said that there has been no tradition of formal policy documents on the management of livestock before 1980. But this does not mean that there was no policy. Actually, at the establishment of Pakistan, all the 5 constituent provinces already had their policies, albeit unwritten. These comprised mainly of:

Prevention, control and treatment of diseases Conservation and improvement of different species/breeds of

livestock; and Training of manpower to serve the livestock sector

This seemed to work well because the animals were in the private sector as it is today and the provincial livestock departments provided services to the farmers’ stock. The federal government had virtually no direct role in the management of livestock and it did not matter to the animals either. The role of the federal government was mainly regulatory and


214

coordination and that too only marginally on subjects like import/export, quarantine, etc. These did not affect the day-to-day management of the livestock by the farmers. Thus, the provinces were independent, as were the farmers to follow their own agendas. Then came technologies like artificial insemination (AI) and crossbreeding, still not labeled as policy instruments. For many years to come, these technologies did not influence the average farmer or his animals and their management. The principal reason for this was the territorial vastness of the production system, the poor linkage between the extension departments and the farmers and the isolation of the livestock research institutes. These factors still plague the management of the livestock. This can be easily appreciated by the fact that even after about 40 years of the introduction of AI and crossbreeding work, only about 5 % of the cattle/buffalo population has access to this technology and only about two million crossbred cattle are available in the country. Then came the fashion, some 25 years ago, of preparing formal policy documents. As has been described earlier, such documents vary from a pathetic less than 4-line document to fairly elaborate documents. Baluchistan and AJK are still without any such written policy document. These documents-large or small- have yet to be approved by their respective competent authorities and remain confined to the files. So, the federal government (read Animal Husbandry Commissioner) is happy to have communicated the 4-line policy to the provinces and the provincial livestock departments continue to provide the services they have carried on since the establishment of Pakistan more as a tradition rather than as a pursuit of implementing a policy. How effective these services are can be gauged from the facts that the animal health coverage reaches only about 25 % of the animal population and AI to only about 15 % of the cattle/buffalo population. The policy situation about the wildlife relatives of the livestock is slightly better but not very different. The first national policy on wildlife was only formulated recently as part of the National Forest Policy 2001 of Pakistan. This still remains unapproved. Since wildlife management is a provincial responsibility, the wildlife departments in each province have their own policies, which fortunately, are very similar. However, in recent times, there has been a major shift in the policy from controlling hunting to


215

conservation. In other words, the emphasis has now shifted from punitive to participatory and egalitarian approach. And this approach seems to be yielding good results. Unlike the situation regarding the policy on management of livestock, the history and tradition of the legal and regulatory framework is much much older having started in the late nineteenth century. Therefore, the first law is the Cattle-Trespass Act of 1871 of the British India that was later adapted by Pakistan. This act related to restriction on the movements of cattle into protected areas to avoid damage to the plantation, land and crops. Since then, there have been a total of 109 acts, rules and regulations excluding hundreds of regulations made by the districts/tehsil governments. These hundred plus acts and rules cover almost every aspect of livestock from disease prevention and control to grazing rights and development/improvement of cattle, mules, horses, sheep, etc. As has been stated earlier, all these rules were aimed at supporting/promoting livestock one way or the other except one that was targeted at a particular species, namely goats. The act was based on the mistaken assumption that goats are destructive to the environment particularly forests. Therefore, goat keeping should be discouraged and eventually eradicated. But as has been shown earlier, this rule had just the opposite effect by creating greater demand for the goats. Had there been some consultations among the stakeholders, this situation could have been avoided. Then laws are promulgated but there is no follow up to assess their impact. Ordering meatless days to conserve livestock is a case in point. It was promulgated in 1954. No one knows whether this restriction had any useful effect on the conservation of livestock. Baluchistan repealed this law many years ago and the situation here is no worse or better than in any other part of the country. The other problem in having a surfeit of laws is their implementation or more correctly their lack of implementation. There are several regulations regarding the clean and hygienic conditions of slaughterhouses and slaughter of useful animals. But a visit to any slaughterhouse in the country presents a completely different picture. In so far as the policy, legal and regulatory framework for the wild relatives of the livestock is concerned, the situation is slightly better. The policy on wild relatives, although still unapproved, is very similar in each province. The number of legal instruments (25) is not as numerous as for


216

the livestock (109). In the beginning the regulations were mainly on conservation through controlling hunting and were thus punitive in nature. Later on, the approach to conservation shifted to creation of protected areas and the approach became participatory and egalitarian. This has given encouraging results. But even now some experts think that the current legislations and enforcements are weak that is still causing degradation and destruction of habitats. To sum up, it appears that the problem with the management of livestock is not a lack or inadequacy of policies, laws and regulations. Actually, the fault lies with the implementation/use of these policies and legal instruments for the betterment of the livestock. At best, the enforcement of these is weak. Other factors that compound this problem are:

1. The formulation of policies and laws is neither participatory nor even consultative, and

2. There is no follow up on these policies and laws to assess their impact/effectiveness.

In the light of the foregoing, the following emerge as conclusions:

Policy formulated on any aspect of livestock is an exercise in futility without the full participation of all the stakeholders and a firm commitment for their implementation;

Laws, rules and regulations formulated without detailed studies involving all the stakeholders are likely to remain unimplemented or unlikely to achieve their objectives; and

A participatory and egalitarian approach to the management of livestock and their wild relatives has greater chances of success.


217

Chapter 14

Current human population of Pakistan is estimated to be more than 150 million and the country ranks seventh in the world in population size. Since independence, Pakistan has been experiencing a high population growth rate, which remained more than 3 percent until 1983. Thereafter, the population growth rate has been showing a slow but consistent declining trend due to several initiatives taken by the government. The current growth rate is 2.1 percent, which is still higher than in most countries of the region. Government of Pakistan is making every effort to further reduce the population growth rate because it is the root cause of diluting the results of development efforts and creating unsustainable level of demand on already scarce resources to fulfill the needs of the population. Rapid population growth also contributes to environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources thus continuously pushing the population below the poverty line. Pakistan is included in the list of low-income countries. Using the most recently announced official poverty line in Pakistan i.e. Rs.748.56 per capita per month expenditure, about one third (31.8%) of our population is living below poverty line. The incidence of poverty is higher in the rural (38.65%) than in the urban population (22.39%). This difference becomes even wider if the population actually participating in economic activities is taken into account. It has been estimated that the total labour force available in Pakistan is 42.75 millions which constitute about 29 percent of the total population. More than 69 percent of this labour force belongs to rural areas where agriculture is the most common family profession. Based on the Refined Activity Rate (RAR) calculated for the year 1999-2000 through labour force survey, the participation rate of male labour force in the economic activities in the rural areas is much higher than the participation rate of female labour force (73 vs 16%). The government has adopted a comprehensive strategy for poverty reduction since November 2001. According to this strategy, the economic


218

growth to reduce poverty, should originate from those sectors that have greater potential for generating employment. Accordingly, the priority sectors identified for targeted interventions are: -

Agriculture including livestock, Small and medium industries Housing and construction and Information technology.

Some notable initiatives taken by the government in order to address the poverty issue particularly in the rural areas include establishment of National & Provincial Rural Support Programmes (NRSP and PRSPs), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Micro-credit Bank, Khushhali Bank, Drought Emergency Relief Fund (DERF) and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF). POTENTIAL OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Livestock is an important sub-sector of agriculture in Pakistan. It contributes 49.1 percent to the agriculture value added and 11.4 percent to the national GDP. Livestock products have a significant share in the total export earnings. According to the latest estimates, the total value of export of livestock products is 53 billion rupees per annum, which accounts for nearly 12 percent of the total foreign exchange earnings of the country. Furthermore, a large proportion of the population is dependent either totally or partially on livestock. More than 6.5 million families in Pakistan are involved in livestock production activities. Nature has blessed Pakistan with a large and genetically diversified population of livestock well adapted to the local environmental conditions. The indigenous livestock belongs to four major species namely buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep. Dairy type breeds of Pakistani buffalo are rated among the best dairy breeds of buffaloes in the world. Buffaloes of Nili-Ravi breed from Punjab and Kundi breed from Sindh are the main source of milk production in Pakistan. Total population of buffaloes has been estimated to be 25.5 million for the year 2003-04. Cattle of Pakistan have mainly been used as draught animals in addition to milk production. Due


219

to increasing farm mechanization, use of cattle for draught purposes has declined over the last 3-4 decades but their contribution to national milk production has increased due to introduction of crossbred dairy cattle in the country. Sahiwal and Red Sindhi breeds of Pakistani cattle enjoy international recognition and are included among the best dairy breeds of tropical regions. According to 2003-04 estimates, there were 23.8 million cattle in Pakistan. During the last 2-3 decades, population of buffaloes has registered a faster growth rate, which is 1.7 times than the growth rate recorded for cattle population. Goats and sheep are used for quality meat production in Pakistan and their recent populations have been estimated to be 52.8 and 24.6 million, respectively. During the last 25-30 years, population of goats has been showing the highest growth rate among all species of livestock in Pakistan. According to recent estimates, 28.62 million tones of milk is produced in Pakistan. Buffalo milk constitutes more than two third of total milk production whereas share of cow milk is about 31 percent. Goats, sheep and camel contribute the remaining 2-3 percent. Because of higher butter fat content and richer taste, buffalo milk is preferred by consumers and is sold at higher prices than the cow milk. The total production of red meat in Pakistan has been estimated to be 1.810 million tones which includes 1.087 million tones of beef (60%) and 0.723 million tones of mutton (40%). Beef is produced in Pakistan as a by-product of cattle and buffaloes and is sold at a much cheaper price than of mutton. Goat meat has the major share (67%) in total mutton production and is generally preferred over meat produced by sheep. Crops- livestock mixed farming with major focus on production of cash crops is the most widely practiced farming system in Pakistan. Under this scenario, the most common production system for livestock is the “subsistence small holder farming”. According to Livestock Census of 1996, more than 42 percent of buffalo and 38 percent of total cattle population are maintained in very small herds comprising of 1-4 animals. The situation is similar for goats as more than 45% of the national goat population is maintained in very small flocks having less than 15 animals. Pattern of distribution of flock size of sheep, however, differs from that of large ruminants and goats as only 12.4 percent of total sheep population is kept in small sized flocks comprising of less than 15 animals.


220

Existing production systems for cattle and buffaloes include: -

Rural subsistence smallholder’s system, Rural market-oriented smallholder’s system, Rural commercial farming system, Peri-urban commercial dairying system and Urban commercial dairying system.

Out of these production systems, the rural subsistence smallholder’s system covers the largest proportion of cattle and buffalo population and more than four million poor rural families are involved. It is a typical low-input production system where several rate-limiting inputs impose continuous and severe pressure on livestock resulting in lower rates of survival or reproduction and overall output. Animals are poorly fed with whatever is available and their nutritional requirements of body growth, maintenance and production are seldom, if ever, fulfilled. No arrangements are made to protect the animals from climatic extremes or environmental hazards. Very little or no preventive measures are taken against the onset of infectious or metabolic diseases and the morbidity as well as mortality rates due to prevailing diseases are generally very high. Under this type of production system, the overall production risks are very high mainly because of limited or non-availability of resources and frequently go beyond human management capacity. Under the rural subsistence smallholder’s system of cattle and buffalo production, an average production unit consists of 3-4 animals including 2-3 adult females. About 50-60% of the feed requirements are met from grazing at no cost other than labour for guarding the animals during grazing. The remaining 40-50% of the feed requirements is arranged through feeding of wheat straw and some green fodder. Concentrates are seldom purchased. Average lactation yield remains around 1200 liters for a buffalo and 700-900 liters for a cow. The farmer tries to ensure that at least one female remains in production at all times. The members of farmer’s family consume most of the milk produced. The prevailing production systems for small ruminants are either migratory or sedentary. The former is adapted by medium to large-size


221

flock owners. Based on the migratory pattern, this type of production system is either nomadic or transhumant. More than three million poor smallholder families mostly living in rural areas practice the sedentary production system. These poor families maintain small sized flocks comprising of 10-12 goats and 5-7 sheep. These flocks derive most feed from grazing on wasteland, crop stubble and nearby rangelands, but return to the village each evening. Generally, several flocks are grazed together by a hired shepherd who may himself own a few goats. The shepherd or grazier may be paid in cash or in kind. A common practice is a share (50 percent) in the progeny of the grazed flocks. The flocks are taken out or collected from owners for grazing early in the morning and brought back to villages late in the evening. Housing is generally limited to open kraals, which may have a mud wall, but use of thorny bushes is common. Grazing animals must be guarded, so labour requirements are high. Female offsprings are kept as replacements and all males are sold at the age of 4 to 12 months. SCOPE OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR FOR POVERTY REDUCTION

Livestock rearing is mainly a rural occupation in Pakistan. Milk and meat producing animals play an important role in the economies of almost all agro-ecological zones of the country. In fact, the role of livestock is more vital in arid, semi-arid and dry areas than the plain irrigated areas because animals not only complement crop production but also serve as a source of subsistence income in case of crop failure. In addition, they provide security against risk and are sold to meet emergency financial needs. Other than production of milk and meat, animals are an important source of draught power and farm yard manure particularly in the difficult hilly and sub-hilly areas. Under the existing low-input livestock production system followed by approximately seven million poor rural families of Pakistan, the production potential of livestock is not fully exploited and per animal productivity remains very low. This does not help to improve the economic condition of this large community of poor farmers. If these small farmers are provided some financial and technical support enabling them to feed their animals as per nutritional requirement; to make arrangements for their breeding and to protect them from prevalent


222

diseases, per animal productivity would significantly improve or could even be doubled. This would, in turn substantially increase income of farmers and thus, help to reduce poverty in a large segment of our population. Several success stories from different parts of Pakistan including that of “Idara Kissan” in district Qasur (Punjab) already exist whereby improved livestock production has been efficiently used to better the economic condition of rural small farmers. Even at individual level, there are several small livestock enterprises that are a success.

POTENTIAL OF IMPROVED LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Income of poor farmers maintaining smaller herds or flocks can be significantly increased through modification or replacement of existing conventional management by improved livestock management. Success rate of such attempts is likely to be high because of the following reasons:

Smaller herds or flocks require less capital and can be easily managed.

Livestock farming uses indigenous sources for supply of operational inputs.

Most of the improvements and interventions have short gestation period.

There is a high demand for livestock products. Livestock production is generally labour intensive. So, it has considerable potential to increase employment and income earning opportunities for a large number of less educated and unemployed rural people. Following are some of the potential opportunities for poverty alleviation in the livestock sector: Small Scale Buffalo Dairy Farming

Milk production capabilities and reproductive efficiency of buffaloes maintained by small rural farmers are very low. Under the conventional management, the age at first calving of an average buffalo is very high (more than four years), the calving interval is very long (more than 20 months) and the average lactation yield is very low (less than 1200 liters). All of these production parameters can be significantly improved through


223

balanced feeding as per nutritional requirements, proper reproductive management and control of diseases. Age at first calving and calving interval of buffaloes can be reduced to 40-42 months and 13-15 months, respectively, through better feeding and reproductive management. Simultaneously, the milk yield of an average buffalo can be increased to about 2000 liters per lactation through improved feeding. All these generate substantial income, both in short and long terms. Small Scale Dairy Cattle Farming

Under the conventional management, the production performance of indigenous non-descript cattle is even lower than that of buffaloes. Average lactation yield of a non-descript cow ranges from 700 to 900 liters only. If these cows are replaced by the cows of indigenous dairy breeds i.e. Sahiwal & Red Sindhi or crossbreds with exotic dairy breeds like Friesian & Jersey, their production performance can be improved through similar interventions as recommended for dairy buffaloes. Under improved conditions of feeding and management, cows of indigenous dairy breeds have the potential to produce 1800-2000 liters of milk per lactation whereas lactation yield of a Friesian crossbred cow ranges from 3000 to 3500 liters. Increased milk yield means greater income. Moreover, male calves of crossbred cattle are heavier in weight at birth and also grow at a faster rate. This would also result in additional income for the farmer. Small Scale Goat Farming

Under the existing sedentary and house-hold production system, the average kidding interval in most breeds of goats is around 250 – 280 days and the average number of kids per doe per kidding ranges from 1.4 to 1.7. Higher mortality rate particularly in young kids up to 30% is the most commonly observed problem leading to severe economic losses. Through improved feeding of does and proper care and handling of young kids, the incidence of multiple births (twins and triplets) can be increased, mortality rate can be reduced to 5% and the total number of kids per doe available for growing can be increased to more than two. All these generate increased income. Short Term Calf Fattening


224

More than six million male buffalo and cow calves are produced annually in Pakistan. Majority of these calves are not allowed to suckle their dams and their nutritional requirements are completely ignored. As a result, a large number of male calves die due to starvation. If such unwanted calves are purchased from dairy farmers at an early age and fattened for a period of 3-6 months would result in more beef and of better quality that would fetch higher price in the market. This means more income for the farmer.

Milk Collection and Marketing

Milk is a perishable commodity and it must reach the consumer within 4-6 hours after collection from the cow or buffalo. Due to lack of milk processing facilities and long chain of middlemen involved in traditional marketing channels, large quantity of milk produced in remote rural areas is not marketed or is spoiled. There is considerable scope for collection of milk from small farmers of remote areas and its sale in the nearby urban markets because the price paid for milk by the urban consumer is more than double of the price at which it is purchased from the rural producer. This system can be greatly improved and made more profitable with the use of milk cooling/chilling equipment and faster transportation. Raising Animals for Eid Al Azha

Every year there is a huge demand for animals qualifying for the sacrifice at the eve of Eid al Azha. People purchase these animals at very high prices. Raising of animals, particularly goats and sheep so that they are ready for sale at the time of Eid, is an enterprise with very high profit margin. This can be undertaken in small or even on large scale. Training Farmers as Paravets (Male and Female)

Vaccination of livestock against infectious and contagious diseases is perhaps, the simplest aspect of the extension service. But even this does not reach more than 15 % of the livestock population. Other aspects of the extension service like artificial insemination, veterinary first aid and feeding management do not reach even 10 % of the animal population. The only feasible strategy to take the extension service to the villages is through training of volunteer farmers as paravets. The paravets may be imparted skills to take care of the common livestock problems over period of few weeks in their villages. These may be then helped to establish


225

themselves as Village Veterinary Workers or Paravets who will provide the needed service against payment right in the villages where they are located including some surrounding villages. This program has two benefits namely, availability of extension service in the villages and extra income for the trained farmers. ENHANCING THE ROLE OF LIVESTOCK IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION

The potential of existing livestock to help in the fight against poverty can be increased considerably if certain steps are taken by the government to improve livestock production environments in the country. Some of the important measures needed in this regards are:

Implementation of programs aimed at improving per animal productivity

Multiplication and distribution of high producing dairy animals Provision of effective veterinary cover Organization of a better system for marketing of livestock and their

products Provision of collateral free credit facilities to livestock farmers.

Collectively these measures will greatly augment the overall productivity of livestock and substantially increase the income of farmers, thus reducing rural poverty.

Improving Per Animal Productivity

The production potential of indigenous livestock can be significantly increased through the implementation of short-term and long-term improvement programs. The short-term improvement program would involve efficient utilization of local feed resources, development of alternate feeds and application of improved management of feeding. The long-term improvement programs should focus on selective breeding of local breeds of buffaloes, cattle and small ruminants with a regular program of castration of undesirable males. Well thought out crossbreeding programs can also improve the productivity of low producing indigenous cattle maintained in the country. These attempts are expected to result in higher growth rates and better yield of milk and meat by the animals, hence more income for the livestock farmers.


226

Distribution of High Producing Dairy Animals

There is a need to initiate a program of producing high milk yielding dairy cattle and buffaloes particularly at private livestock farms in the country. Strengthening of artificial insemination infrastructure and use of semen from pedigreed or progeny tested bulls can help in the production of high milk yielding dairy animals in the country. Such high producing females should be distributed among the dairy farmers. Similarly, better quality rams and bucks should be produced and distributed among the farmers to bring about improvement in per animal productivity of sheep and goats.

Provision of Effective Veterinary Cover

Magnitude and quality of veterinary services needs to be improved in the country. The veterinary hospitals and dispensaries should be strengthened in terms of diagnostic facilities and availability of suitable veterinary medicines. The Veterinary Research Institutes should be strengthened in terms of manpower and operational funds to produce increased quantity of vaccines of international quality standards in order to increase the existing low vaccination coverage. Effective vaccines against common livestock diseases should be made available to the farmers and regular programs of vaccination of animals against these diseases should be ensured. This will reduce the overall mortality and morbidity rates and will eventually lead to better performance of the animals.

Organization of Better Marketing System

The current system for marketing of livestock and their products is highly unfavorable for the farmers. The milk collection system needs to be improved through a minimization of the role of middlemen and introduction of the system of purchase of milk at the farm gate with payment on quality basis. Facilities should be provided for better transport of milk from rural areas to the urban markets. Cooling/chilling units should be established in the rural areas in order to increase the post-harvest life of milk. There is a need to introduce the system of marketing of live animals on live weight basis. This would encourage the farmers to produce better quality meat animals in the country through feedlots.

Provision of Collateral Free Credit Facilities to Livestock Farmers


227

The financial institutions should provide collateral free credits to the small-scale farmers for purchase of animals, medicines, vaccines, feed and construction of animals’ sheds. These institutions should accept animals as collaterals and offer credit facilities on personal guarantee. Preference should be given to rural subsistence livestock farmers for providing soft loans by SMEDA and other financing agencies. Budgetary allocations for livestock sector should be increased under the pro-poor budget of the government and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.


228

Chapter 15

LIVESTOCK POPULATION AND GROWTH TRENDS

There are three aspects that attract attention. These are:

Over all increase in livestock population, Rapid increase in population of buffaloes and goats and slow

growth of cattle and sheep, Environmental concerns due to increasing animal population.

In the last about 40 years, the population of the four major species (buffaloes, cattle, sheep and goats) increased nearly three times. And their population is projected to more than double in the next 20 years. The big question is that can this population be sustained at a reasonable level of productivity? As stated earlier, buffaloes and goats have increased at a faster rate than cattle and sheep. Some 40 years ago there were more cattle than buffaloes and more sheep than goats. But now the situation has reversed. Why are buffaloes and goats increasing at a faster rate? Are they more profitable species or is it a matter of survival of the fittest in an environment of shrinking resources? Whatever the reason, it is a matter that warrants serious examination. Livestock and their manure (if maintained in liquid form) produce methane, which is a greenhouse gas. Because of the current extensive system of livestock production in Pakistan, methane produced from manure is almost negligible. But the livestock themselves produce nearly 2,5000 Ggm annually from enteric fermentation. If the present trend of increasing livestock population continues and intensive production system is introduced, the productions of greenhouse gas (methane) will also more than double in the next 20 years. This is a topic that needs special attention. BREEDS AND BREEDING


229

Sahiwal and Red Sindhi are Pakistan’s two world famous zebu dairy breeds. But their populations are small and declining. Knowledgeable persons claim that their populations are down to few thousands. So, it is not surprising that FAO has put them on the list of endangered breeds. The situation about the world’s best milking buffaloes viz., our Nili-Ravi, is not much happier. Elite female buffaloes used by the peri urban milk producers mostly end up in slaughterhouses when dry. This results in loss of quality germ plasm. There is a serious shortage of breeding bulls both for cattle and buffaloes. In spite of the fact that artificial insemination was introduced in the country some 40 years ago, the service is available to only 2.5 % of the livestock population. Moreover, there are still vast areas with no service at all. Progeny tested bulls are virtually non-existent. For AI to be useful, bull selection is of prime importance. There is hardly any program for providing quality bulls to smallholders and landless farmers. Perhaps, the worst aspect of livestock breeding is the presence of undesirable bulls in herds throughout the country. The situation amongst sheep and goats is no better. There was a time when elimination of undesirable males through castration was a major activity of livestock departments. Not any more. The production and distribution of superior quality males from state owned farms are less than a fraction of the number required. Highly inadequate number of superior breeding males and the presence of undesirable males in the herds/flocks are aspects that require urgent and special attention of all those interested in the development of livestock in Pakistan. PRODUCTIVITY OF LIVESTOCK

So far, the increase in production of livestock products has come mainly from the increased inventory. There is no evidence to indicate that the overall productivity of our livestock, be it for milk, meat or wool, has increased over the years. In fact, some experts even suspect a decline in productivity. This does appear logical because the resources needed for livestock production has not kept pace with the increasing livestock population. This possible decline is more interesting in the backdrop of higher productivity achieved at the research stations. This has also widened the “yield gap”. There are two implications of this situation. First, the increase in the resources needed for higher productivity has not been commensurate with the increasing livestock population. Second, the


230

technology packages for improved productivity are not reaching the farmers. The research stations continue to be islands of knowledge in the seas of ignorance. PERFORMANCE OF LIVESTOCK SERVICES In spite of their new names, the livestock and dairy development departments in the provinces are still essentially veterinary departments with only marginal animal production activities. The whole approach of the departments to provide a comprehensive service to the farmers is flawed and fragmented. The service is still clinic based and dependent almost entirely upon veterinary graduates and inadequately trained technicians. Poor mobility of the extension staff compounds the problem. It is therefore, not surprising that even for animal health, the service hardly reaches about 25 % of the animal population. This is highly regrettable especially in view of the fact that effective vaccines against major diseases are available and produced in the country. Breeding services are marginal. The national coverage of artificial insemination services is only 2.5 % with most disadvantaged groups in the rural areas still ignored. A recent comprehensive study in the Punjab has revealed shocking information about serious lack of breeding bulls in entire villages. There are virtually no feed improvement programs. The technology packages generated by the research institutes are few and in most cases not appropriate. There is no effective delivery system for these packages. Moreover, farmers have hardly any input in research program planning process. The marketing system for milk does not favor small milk producers. Live animals are sold on head basis and not on live weight basis. This discourages feedlot enterprise. DESIGN OF PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS Generally speaking, rural development projects place emphasis on crop input facilities, seasonal inputs, tractors/implements, etc. These favour landowners specially the large ones. The landless, the tenants and the smallholders either do not benefit at all or benefit only marginally often in terms of new knowledge or credits – the latter seldom availed by the small farmers. Most of the livestock projects have focused on strengthening the livestock departments and establishing milk plants, feed mills, livestock


231

farms and slaughterhouses in the public sector on the assumption that this will improve the services for livestock and improve the lot of the poor livestock farmers. This never happened. The following facts are not fully appreciated in the design of the livestock programs and projects:

Livestock is the most effective means to improve the income of the landless and the small farmers.

Within the present social scenario, an effective way to target the rural women is through livestock.

There is a strong synergy between crops and livestock production – one cannot be sustained without the other.

Moreover, there is no farmers’ participation in designs of programs, projects and training. This has resulted in promotion of unwanted interventions or less effective ones.

TYPES OF GRADUATES There was a time when the graduates of Punjab Veterinary College and later of the agricultural universities were held in high esteem both within the country and abroad. Not anymore. Over the years, the standard of the graduates has sharply declined. The two types of graduates produced (veterinary and animal husbandry), instead of being complementary in providing improved services to the livestock farmers, were in conflict. This further undermined their usefulness to the livestock sector. Fortunately, this problem has now been solved with the introduction of 5-year composite DVM program – thanks to the efforts of the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council and the present Governor of Punjab. However, special attention needs to be paid to the quality of even the new composite degree and the post graduate programs. It is one thing to have an extended duration and excellent syllabi but quite another matter as to how the teaching is imparted. Student enrollment appears to be much greater than the available facilities like adequate clinical facilities.

GOVERNMENT AND DONOR SUPPORT Over the years, the government support for the livestock sector or strictly speaking for the livestock department has been declining in real terms. The increasing animal population has heightened this, inflation and


232

continued clinic based and fragmented approach to the provision of services. The services provided by the departments have therefore, not shown much improvement. The conditions of the research institutes and experiment stations that proliferated in the sixties and the seventies are really pathetic. Poorly staffed with highly inadequate operational funds and non-involvement of farmers in their program planning process are some of their major problems. Most of the livestock experiment stations/farms have lost their relevance and usefulness. The sorry state of affairs of the research institutes and farms are an indication of inadequate support by the government. Donor support has also declined. After a fairly long time, a sizable livestock project funded by the EU has just started. LIVESTOCK POLICY This is unbelievable but true that there has never been a comprehensive policy on livestock. Agriculture policies announced from time to time hardly ever mention livestock. For such documents millions of livestock and millions of people dependent on them do not exist. Not many years ago the much-trumpeted Agriculture Package announced by the Government of Pakistan was pathetic in design, content and substance for livestock. The Agriculture Prices Commission does not deal with any livestock product even though their total value exceeds that of all the major crops combined. There used to be a very experienced whole time Advisor on Agriculture to the Chief Executive/President of Pakistan. But he also seemed to have no time, will or interest in livestock as if it does not exist or is not part of agriculture. The exceptions seem to be the present Chief Minister and the Governor of Punjab who are very vocal about and supportive to this neglected sector. A conference on the subject was recently organized in Lahore. But the status of its recommendations is not known. Not long ago, the Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock held a meeting and the FAO also organized a workshop on the subject. Now even the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan talk of livestock. The latest on the subject is that the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock have formed a Task Force to look into it. Let us see what comes out of it.


233


234


235

Chapter 16

There are several factors constraining improved livestock productivity. These can be grouped into economic, institutional, biological and technological constraints as follows:

ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS

Lack of Policy Poor Marketing Government Control on Prices Difficult or No Credit Flawed Designs of Development Projects and programs

INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS

Fragmented and Weak Extension Service Clinic Based Extension Service Inadequate and Inappropriate Research Two Types of Graduates

BIOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS

Low Genetic Potential Poor Performing Large Population Rampant Diseases and Parasites Inadequate and Poor Quality Feeds

TECHNOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS

Absence of Processed Quality Feed Poor Management of Fodder Production Absence of Production Technology Packages Traditional Management

Each of these is briefly discussed as follows: Lack of Policy


236

It is incredible but true that there has never been a comprehensive policy on livestock. Several years ago the Livestock Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture formulated a policy on livestock breeding. This dealt mainly with cross breeding of nondescript cattle with exotic dairy breeds. This was more of a technical advice than a policy and even those concerned with breeding programs paid not much attention to it. Agriculture policy announced from time to time hardly ever mention livestock. For such documents and those involved in their formulation, millions of livestock and millions of people dependent on them do not exist. Not very long ago, the then Government of Pakistan announced an agriculture policy with great fanfare. But this was pathetic in design, content and substance for livestock. Even during the non-political government of about 3 years when there was a very experienced whole time advisor on agriculture to the Chief Executive nothing was done about livestock as if livestock did not exist or it was not part of agriculture.

Poor Marketing

As has been described in the relevant chapter, marketing of livestock and its products is at best poor. On the whole, it is dominated by several middlemen and does not favour the primary producer or in other word, the farmer. This marketing system provides no incentive to the farmer. Take the example of sale of live animals on head basis and not on weight basis. Thus a difference of weight of about 40 kg or so in cattle and 10 kg or so in small ruminants is not accounted for in the sale process at the expense of the producer. This also militates against fattening programs. Milk is also purchased by the middleman in liters without any consideration of its quality.

Government Control on Prices

Local governments fix the price of milk and meat at the retail end without any regard to their cost of production. This is in spite of the fact that there is an Agriculture Prices Commission, which determines the cost of production of crops, and ultimately their retail prices. But livestock products are not part of their mandate. Thus, fixation of prices of livestock products at the retail end acts as disincentive to livestock producers. Difficult or No Credit


237

Credit favors landowners specially the large ones. Credit is seldom, if ever, availed by small farmers. The landless and the tenants can never get any credit because they cannot provide collaterals. Even the small farmers have great difficulty in obtaining credit because of the problem of collateral. Flawed Designs of Development Projects and Programs

In general, rural development projects place emphasis on components like crop inputs facilities, seasonal inputs like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, tractors/implements, and tube well equipment. These favour landowners specially the large ones. The landless, the tenants and the smallholders either do not benefit at all or benefit only marginally often in terms of new knowledge. Similarly, most of the livestock projects have focused on strengthening the livestock departments and establishing milk plants, feed mills, livestock farms and slaughterhouses in the public sector. It was assumed that all these inputs would improve the services for livestock that will eventually improve the lot of livestock farmers. This never happened. The following facts are not fully appreciated in the design of livestock development projects and programs:

Livestock is the most effective means to improve the income of the

landless and the smallholder. There is a strong synergy between crops and livestock production-

one cannot be sustained without the other. Within the development scenario, an effective way to target the

rural women is through livestock. Moreover, there is no farmers’ participation in design of program,

projects and training. This has resulted in promotion of unwanted or less productive interventions.

Fragmented and Weak Extension Service

As stated earlier, the livestock extension service in the provinces regardless of their name as livestock and dairy development departments are still essentially veterinary departments with very little livestock production activities. Moreover, at the village level there are separate personnel for poultry, artificial insemination (breeding) and large animals.


238

Then there are salesmen from the pharmaceutical companies and feed millers who add to the confusion for the farmers. The livestock personnel remain confined to their clinics/centers because of serious problem of mobility. The virtually have no medicine. Thus, all they can do is to advise and write prescriptions for animals that can reach their hospitals/centers. So, it is not surprising the extension service reaches only about 25 % of the animal population. Clinic Based Extension Service

The extension staff is located at the veterinary hospitals/centers or dispensaries, which are often located far away from animal population. This is especially true for urban areas particularly large cities. The latter even ban keeping animals within their city limits. However, even those in small towns and villages expect the animals to be brought to the clinic. The staff cannot visit the sick animals because of lack of transport. Inadequate and Inappropriate Research

Research institutes have serious shortages of trained staff, research facilities and operating funds. Farmers are not involved in identification of research topics. Thus the technology packages generated are few and in most cases not appropriate. Two Types of Livestock Graduates

The two types graduates namely, animal husbandry and veterinary science are a source of conflict and not complementary in providing service to the livestock farmers. However, in future, this problem will hopefully, disappear due to the recent introduction of a composite 5-year DVM degree program. Low Genetic Potential

The genetic potential of all the livestock in Pakistan is, on the whole, low. This also includes the world famous zebu breeds of dairy cattle (Sahiwal and Red Sindhi), the best milking buffaloes in the world (Nili-Ravi), and high quality lean meat breeds of goats and quality carpet wool breeds of sheep.


239

Poor Performing Large Population

The overall performance of all categories of livestock is poor. So, it is not surprising to see that, even excluding the draft breeds, the milk production of the vast majority of cattle is low. This also includes the world famous zebu dairy breeds (Sahiwal and Red Sindhi). Moreover, the population of these dairy breeds is very small. The milk production of even the best milking buffaloes in the world is not very high. The sheep and goat breeds are small in size, slow growing and have low fertility. So, the quantity of meat and wool produced per head is low. Rampant Diseases and Parasites

There are several epidemics that are responsible for high mortality and morbidity in livestock. Parasites particularly internal parasites, though generally not fatal, greatly lower the overall productivity. Inadequate and Poor Quality Feeds

There is an overall shortage of feeds especially quality feeds. Moreover, there are periods of acute shortage of green fodders particularly during winter months. Absence of Processed Quality Feeds

Unlike for poultry, processed feeds are hardly available for large animals. This means that most of the several agro-industrial byproducts and nonconventional feed resources available in the country remain unutilized. This also raises the feeding cost. Poor Management of Fodder Production

The farmers are still following the traditional system of fodder production with a limited number of fodder varieties that creates periods of abundance and serious scarcities. Moreover, not much attention is paid to fodder quality and none to their conservation. Absence of Production Technology Packages


240

The research institutes have failed to develop sound production packages for the livestock farmers particularly the small and the landless. Traditional Management

The farmers are still following the age-old traditional system of livestock management with virtually no scientific or technological input.


241


242

Chapter 17

The emerging economic, social and political scenario in Pakistan indicates the shape of things to come in the livestock sector. The outlook for the next decade or two is thus a canvas of sharp and blurred images. Some of these in the major area of production systems and services are as follows: PRODUCTION SYSTEMS On the whole, the extensive production system of the smallholders and the landless farmers will continue but is likely to become more efficient and productive. This will happen because the farmers will become more disenchanted with the service departments and will therefore, be forced to seek knowledge and skills from the NGOs and other private sector agencies like Idara Kissan and rural support programs. Thus, better marketing of milk and live animals will increase his income and subsequently the productivity of his animals. No change is seen in the increasing animal population and growth trend during the next decade or so. Thus buffaloes and goats are likely to continue to grow at a faster rate than cattle and sheep. However, in longer term, with the expected improved productivity, the population growth rate may decline when the farmers begin to keep fewer but better animals. When this happens, it will also result in reduced emission of greenhouse gas (methane) by the livestock. Buffalo population will greatly increase in the peri urban areas. This will increase the urban milk supply in the short run but it will also aggravate and compound environmental problems. The Gowalas will continue to ply their trade much as they today. The dairy companies will greatly expand if they solve the problems of high cost of their processed milk and conversion of the surplus milk of the “flush period” into powder. Moreover, they will move deeper into the


243

rural areas for milk collection. This will also greatly help sale of milk by the more disadvantaged small farmers. Corporate livestock farming will make a beginning. But its success will depend a great deal on the government policies and incentives and its ability to produce and export quality products. Hopefully, the government will better appreciate the fact that livestock is the most important vehicle to increase the income of the smallholders and the landless farmers including women and therefore, initiate measures to achieve the objective of poverty alleviation of the most disadvantaged rural poor. LIVESTOCK SERVICES The public sector livestock extension services are likely to shrink in spite of the increasing animal population. The services provided by the private sector agencies and community based organizations will increase. They will expand their activities particularly by involving farmers for their skill enhancement and by making the services available locally in the villages. Feed industry for large animals will develop specially about feed supplements like urea with molasses and mineral supplements. The urea-molasses blocks will become more popular because it fits in well with the traditional feeding system. Most of the government veterinary hospitals/dispensaries may have to be closed or privatized unless they are converted into livestock development centers. Sooner this happens, the better. Actually, most of these hospitals are already working as private facility because the farmers pay for the service and purchase the recommended medicines and vaccines. At least the large veterinary hospitals will have to be closed or privatized, if not converted into livestock development centers for providing integrated extension service combining animal health and production. Therefore, the number of private veterinary clinics, artificial insemination centers and even semen production centers providing better service will increase. The veterinary research institutes may have to give up routine vaccine production and concentrate on development of more efficient vaccines in


244

addition to research on pressing disease problems. Routine vaccine production needs to be privatized under the quality control of the National Veterinary Laboratories. The working of animal production research institutes will have to rationalized and consolidated. Most of the livestock and poultry farms, which have lost their relevance or are poorly managed, may have to be closed or privatized or transferred to agencies that can use them better as has been done in the case of some farms/institutes in Punjab by transferring them to the newly established University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. QUALITY OF EDUCATION The very useful work started by the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council in improving and standardizing the syllabi, facilities for teaching and introducing a comprehensive 5 year DVM program throughout the country will go a long way in improving the quality of graduates. The establishment of a new University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences will further help improve the quality of livestock education in Pakistan especially in such areas like biotechnology and livestock business management. The teaching will become farmer friendly. LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY AND VALUE ADDITION In order to become an industry, livestock sector will have to be competitive with emphasis on value addition and quality – be it carpets, leather garments, meat or milk.


245


246


247

EPILOGUE No doubt, there is a vast potential in the livestock sector in Pakistan. If treasured well and effectively handled, without stretching much on the cultural boundaries of the country, it may solve many socio-economic problems of the country as a whole and of the rural segment of the population in particular. Cultural boundaries are precious and those who lost it suffer the consequences. So, those who still have it, have a good seed for regeneration. This opportunity therefore, should not be lost. CRITICAL ISSUES highlighted in this book need to be carefully considered in the light of the OUTLOOK and reflected upon by all concerned to lead to practical solutions. A mechanism should be developed to fully involve institutional and public operators in all related activities from policy down to hands-on operations. To make such operations really farmer friendly, farmers and their representatives should be fully empowered and engaged in monitoring the effectiveness of government programs on livestock. This should also include externally supported programs especially bilateral programs with powers to modify them as needed. Keep in mind that no external agency provides assistance if it does not in turn benefits from them one way or the other. Most of the time they invest in potentially attractive sectors in the name of solidarity and friendship to sell their technology or expertises that may benefit locals only marginally while recycling most of the aid back to them in many different forms. There are subtle ways of the donors to disguise their hidden agendas. The overall cost to the recipients is heavy in the long run.


248

FURTHER READING AND SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Afzal, M, Ashiq H. Cheema and Abdus Salam Akhtar (Editors). 1988. Livestock Diseases in SARC Countries. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad. Afzal, M. and R.H.Usmani (Editors). 2003. Goat Production in SAARC Countries. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad. Awan, M. A. (1984). Manual of Livestock Laws, Pak Publishing House, Lahore. Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan (1991-2001 series). Ministry of Food , Agriculture and Livestock (Economics Wing), Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. Alvi,A.S. (1991). Meat production and technology in Pakistan. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad. Anjum,M.S. (1995). Survey report on wool marketing in Pakistan. Coordinated research project for the development of sheep and wool, PAK/88/032, FAO, Islamabad. Archer, A.C. (1994). Animal Feed Resources. Consultant’s Report. Agriculture Research and Development Project (Phase II). Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad. Bhutto,M.A., Khan, M.A. and Ahmad,G. (1993). Livestock breeds of Pakistan. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Cooperatives (Livestock Division), Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. Census of Agricultural Machinery. (1975). Agriculture Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Lahore.


249

Draft Country Report on Animal Genetic Resources of Pakistan (2002/2003). Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Livestock Wing, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. Economic Survey of Pakistan (2001-2002). Economic Adviser’s Wing, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. GTZ,(2000). A baseline survey for the development of livestock sector in Cholistan. Planning and Evaluation Department, Government of Punjab, Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Lahore. GTZ, (2000). Baseline survey of livestock management in the rain fed farming system of Pothwar and Shakargarh, Punjab. Planning and Evaluation Department, Government of Punjab, Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Lahore. Hanif, M., Khan, S. A. and Ahmad, F. (2003). A Status Report on Agricultural Perspective and Policy, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Islamabad. Hasnain, H.U. (1985). Sheep and goats in Pakistan. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper No. 56. FAO of the United Nations, Rome. Hasnain, H. U. (2004). Technical Report on Policy and Legal Framework Governing the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources. Report for the International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi. Isani, G.B. and M.N. Baluch. (2000). Camel Breeds of Pakistan. The Camel Applied Research and Development Network. CARDN - Pakistan IUCN – Pakistan. (2003). Biodiversity Program. Jasra, A.W. and G.B. Isani. (2000). Socio-economics of camel herders in Pakistan. The Camel Applied Research and Development Network. CARDN/Pakistan, Islamabad.


250

Khan, B.B., Y. Younis and S.H. Hanjra. (1982). Breeds and Types of Livestock in Pakistan. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Khan, A.W. (1969). Afzaish–e–Haiwanat (Urdu), Central Urdu Board, Lahore. Livestock Census. (1996). All Pakistan Report. Agricultural Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Lahore. Mackintosh, J.B. Editor. (1993). Sheep Production in Pakistan. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan. Mohammad, N. (1989). Rangeland Management in Pakistan. ICIMOD Senior Fellowship Series. Katmandu, Nepal. Pakistan Censuses of Livestock (1976, 1986 and 1996). Agriculture Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Lahore. Pakistan Livestock Sector Study (1987). Report of the FAO/ADB Investment Centre No. 55/87 AS – PAK 39. Volumes I and II, FAO, Ro Review of Animal Feed Industry of Pakistan (1990). Report prepared by the Ministry of Industries and Production in collaboration with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. Shah, S.I. Managing Editor (1994). Animal Husbandry. National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan. Shah, S.K. (1991). Buffaloes of Pakistan. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan


251

IMPORTANT ADDRESSES FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS

Animal Husbandry Commissioner, MINFAL, Khalid Plaza, Blue Area, Islamabad. Phone:051- 9205092 Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, 20. G-5/1, Islamabad. Phone: 051-9203070-75, Website: www.parc.gov.net.pk Chairman: 9203966. Member (Animal Science): 9208779 National Agricultural Research Centre, Shahzad Town, Islamabad. Phone: 051-9255012-16. Director General: 9255028. Director, Animal Sciences Institute: Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council, 10. Street: 35, G-6/2, Islamabad. President:051- 4441081. Secretary/Registrar: 2876170

PROVINCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Punjab

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani Road (Outfall Road), Lahore.042-9211374, 9211449-50. Fax: 9211461. Website: www.uvas.edu.pk Vice Chancellor: 9211476. Registrar: 9212868. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Phone:041- 9200161-70. Fax: 9200764. Vice Chancellor: 9200200. Registrar: 9200187. Dean, Faculty of


252

Veterinary Sciences: 9200725. Dean, Faculty of Animal Husbandry: 9200195 University of Arid Agriculture, Muree Road, Rawalpindi. Vice Chancellor: 051-9290461. Registrar: 9290151 Director General (Extension), L &DD, Cooper Road, Lahore. Phone: 042-9201117. Fax: 9201132 Director General (Research), L&DD, Ghazi Road, Lahore. Phone: 042- 9220143 Director, Livestock Production Research Institute, Bahadurnagar, Okara. Phone: 0492-661181 Director, Livestock Farms, Cooper Road, Lahore. Phone: 042 92201126 Director, Veterinary Research Institute, Ghazi Road, Lahore. Phone: 042-9220140

Idara-i-Kisan, Walton Road, Lahore. Phone: 042- 5824632, 5825772. Fax: 042-5825287 Sind

Sindh Agricultural University, Tando Jam. Vice Chancellor: 0221-765618. Fax: 0221-765300 Registrar: 0221-765387. Dean, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences: 0221-765870 College of Veterinary Sciences, Baqai Medical University, Karachi. Vice Chancellor: 021- 4410311. Principal: 021- 4410258 Director General, Livestock Department, Karachi. 021-9205971. Fax: 021-9205971 NWFP

Director, Livestock Department, Charsadda Road, Peshawar. Phone: 091-9210276 Director, Veterinary Research Institute, Charsadda Road, Peshawar. Phone: 091-


253

Director, Livestock Development and Research Station, Surezai, Peshawar. Phone: 091- Baluchistan

Director General, Livestock Department, Quetta. Phone: 081-9202564 Director, Veterinary Research Institute, Brewery Road, Quetta. Phone: 081- AJK

Director General, Animal Husbandry, Muzaffarabad. Phone: 058810-34044 Director, Livestock Development Centre, Muzaffarabad. Phone: 058810-

GLOSSARY OF SOME TECHNICAL TERMS Amino Acids: The building blocks of proteins Artificial Insemination: Deposition of semen into the cervix by artificial means. Basal Metabolism: The minimum energy used by an animal when it is in a resting state and fasting condition and in an optimum environment. Breed: A group of animals, the individuals of which possess, in common, certain well-defined characteristics and which are able to reproduce these characteristics in their offspring with a reasonable degree of surety. Breeding Season: The breeding time during the year when the females come into heat. Breeding Value: The genetic worth of an animal estimated by observing what genes it transmits to its offspring


254

Calorie: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gm of water by 1o C. Carbohydrates: Organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which after digestion are used primarily as a source of heat and energy. Castration: Removal of male gonads or testes. Chromosomes: Rod shaped bodies within the nucleus. They are the carriers of genetic materials. In the diploid cells, the chromosomes appear in pairs. Class: The term used to designate groups of standard breeds which have been developed in certain regions. Colostrum: First milk. Concentrates: Feeds that are high in energy or proteins, low in fiber and are highly digestible. Dahi: Yogurt. Desi Ghee: Clarified butter or butter oil prepared by excluding buttermilk from butter. Draught Animal Power: The work force generated by an animal. Fodder: Cultivated pasture species/grasses. Forage: Naturally growing pasture species/grasses. Frequency Distribution: A recording of measurements in which classes or intervals are set and the number of occurrences of observations in these intervals is recorded. A common representation of a frequency distribution is a histogram.


255

Gene: The smallest unit of inheritance that acts as a distinct unit, which segregates cleanly and independently and has the power of duplicating, undergoing mutation and producing certain biochemical activities. Generation Interval: The length of time from the birth of an individual animal until its first offspring is born, taken as an average over the whole herd. Gestation: The process that begins with the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm and terminates with birth. Grading: The practice of breeding purebred sires of a given breed to the grade of native females and their female offspring generation after generation. Hay: Green fodder/forage harvested during the growing period and preserved by drying for subsequent use during fodder scarcity periods. Heterosis: The increased vigor of the offspring over that of the parents when unrelated individuals are mated (also called Hybrid Vigor). Horse Power: Rate of work equivalent to 550 foot – pounds per second. Hull: The hard outer covering of grains obtained as a by-product during seed processing or milling. Inbreeding: The mating of individuals more closely related to each other than the average relationship of the population. Kutcha Dodhi: A small milk trader who collects small quantities of marketable surpluses of fluid milk from several farmers and sells it either directly to the consumers or to the milk collection centers or to the milk sellers in small towns. Kilocalorie: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water by 1o C. One kcal is equal to 1.184 kilojoules. Libido: Willingness of males to mate.


256

Lipids: Organic compounds found in plant and animal tissues including the nutritionally important fats and oils. Macro minerals: Minerals that are required in relatively large amounts in the body. Mass Selection: Selection based on a single record of an individual’s performance. Microminerals: Minerals needed in relatively small amounts in the body. Monogastric: Having one stomach, i.e. the non-ruminants like horses, dogs and rabbits. Pack Animals: Animals that carry weight on its body like donkey and camels. Pakka Dodhi: A milk trader who gets milk from Kutcha Dodhi and sells milk to the collection centers or to shops in urban areas. Parturition: The physiological mechanism that enables the uterus to expel the foetus after a certain period of development. Pedigree Selection: Selection based on the performance of ancestors. Progeny Testing: The selection of an individual based on the performance of its offspring. Proteins: Complex organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Some proteins may also contain sulfur, iron and/or phosphorus. Puberty: The age at which reproduction becomes possible; the first oestrus with ovulation. Rewaitees: Wholesalers who sell meat to butchers in Lahore.


257

Roughages: Plant material in a fresh, dried or ensiled sate for animal feeding. Rumination: The remastication and reswallowing of regurgitated matter by ruminant animals. Silage: Green plant material preserved in a moist state in the absence of air for animal feeding. Sperms/Spermatozoa: Mature male germ cells. Stover: The mature dry stems left after removal of ears of maize or sorghum Strain: A sub-group of a breed that has some physically identifiable features such as size, colour, spots variation and often found in a particular geographical area. Straw: The mature dry stems left after removal of grain portions of wheat, rice, barley, etc. Type: A farm animal raised principally for a particular purpose or function like for work, meat or milk production. UHT Milk: Ultra High Temperature treated milk for long shelf life. Variety: Subdivision of a breed being more specific in some characteristics such as colour, body form, horns, etc.

Livestock of pakistan

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of Livestock of pakistan