PDDC upgrades 800 model dairy farms LAHORE (June 15 2009): Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC) has upgraded 800 dairy farms to model farms

against its target of 3000 model farms over the next few years. Dairy Farm development programme is designed to introduce more modern and productive dairy farm management practices to existing dairy farmers in the country, said

Geoff Walker, Chief Executive of the Company here on Sunday.

He lauded the efforts made by the staff of PDDC in reaching this milestone, despite financial stress. He told that the programme carries steps to improve access to drinking water for dairy animals, fodder with enhanced nutrition compared

with traditional feed, mastitis prevention and control, temperature mitigation and improving calf rearing.

PDDC has recently launched its new publication 'Behta Doodh Darya' to mark three years of activity. With the guidance of PDDC, farmers are earning more money and they are putting this additional income to good use, better education for

children, health and increasing investment on their farms.

Bill Stevenson, General Manager Extension for PDDC said that PDDC farmers will continue to progress with the further support of the company. 'Our goal is to ensure that the nutrition provided to dairy cows and buffaloes, and the health and

other critical factors, are managed so that animals have a half each year.

PDDC's Community Farms Programme is about technology transfer to existing dairy farmers. Jim Burrel, General Manager Community Farms said that just as with the Model Farm Programme, great results are being achieved, with more than 550 client farmers being supported under this programme, and outstanding financial results being achieved

through higher milk production and better milk marketing. PDDC's extension programme is also under way, despite difficulties in identifying the training farms which PDDC believes are critical to the development of the human resources

needed to drive the progress of the sector.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2009

Annual Plan envisages 3.3 percent GDP growth: agriculture sector to contribute 3.8 percent, services 3.9 percent

RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD (June 14 2009): The government on Saturday launched the Annual Plan as a component of the 2009-10

budget that envisages a 3.3 percent GDP growth rate with major contributions from agriculture (3.8 percent), manufacturing (1.8 percent), and services sector (3.9 percent). The Annual Plan mainly focuses on the strategy to ensure economic recovery consistent with stabilisation of the economy, maintaining the growth momentum of agriculture sector,

and revival of the industrial sector.

The Plan also emphasises achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reducing poverty through a comprehensive social protection system with an exit strategy. It would facilitate balanced development by reducing

regional disparities and ensuring rehabilitation and reconstruction of conflict zones.

The strategic thrust of the Annual Plan 2009-10 has been derived from the nine-point economic agenda of the government which envisages supporting critical infrastructure gaps in water, power and transport sectors with the

objective of enhancing competitiveness in the economy.

The agriculture sector is projected to grow by 3.8 percent, to be contributed by growth rates in major crops (3.5 percent), livestock (4 percent), fisheries (2.4 percent), and forestry (1 percent). Extra efforts would be needed to increase the

agriculture output, given the high production base of 2008-09, attributed to good harvest of wheat, rice and cotton. The prospects for economic growth in 2009-10 focus on the revival of the manufacturing sector growth rate, which has been

targeted at 1.8 percent during 2009-10.

The large-scale manufacturing is targeted to grow by 1 percent. This should be viewed in the backdrop of 7.7 percent negative growth recorded in 2008-09. Based on the growth in agriculture and manufacturing combined with the expected

contraction in imports by 5 percent, the services sector is likely to grow by 3.9 percent, with wholesale and retail trade growing by 3.3 percent and finance and insurance by 3 percent.

Total investment is projected in the vicinity of 20 percent of GDP in 2009-10. National savings as a ratio of GDP is projected at 14.7 percent, implying that almost 74 percent of investment will be financed through national savings. This

will leave 26 percent of investment to be financed from foreign savings, which will be 5.3 percent of GDP.

The main thrust of fiscal policy during 2009-10 would be to keep the fiscal deficit within sustainable limits by furthering reforms in the tax system, broadening the tax base, improving tax compliance and minimising tax evasion. The monetary expansion for the year 2009-10 will be in line with the projected GDP growth of 3.3 percent and CPI inflation of 9 percent.

The target rate of inflation for 2009-10 is set at 9 percent as against expected 20 percent in 2008-09. CPI Inflation would remain sensitive to growth in money supply, increase in utility prices, fluctuation in international oil and commodity prices

and, above all, to inflationary expectations.

On account of the global economic slowdown and due to domestic energy and law and order situation, exports (fob) for 2009-10 are projected at $18.3 billion, against $18.6 billion estimated for 2008-09. Imports during 2009-10 are estimated

to decrease by 5.6 percent to $28.9 billion from $30.7 billion in 2008-09. As a result, the trade balance is projected to be in deficit by $10.7 billion in 2009-10.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009