ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced that the federal government would establish a national-level plant to produce modern and effective livestock vaccines using indigenous resources.
The prime minister chaired a high-level meeting regarding ongoing reforms in the livestock sector, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
The prime minister also directed the restructuring of the Livestock and Dairy Development Board which was established in 2007 to promote livestock breeding, increase milk and meat production, and foster the development of the livestock sector in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the Livestock and Dairy Development Board should be transformed into an effective and functional organization by incorporating experts from the private sector.
He directed that a plan for the restructuring of the Livestock and Dairy Development Board should be presented without any delay.
The prime minister also directed that imported livestock, housed in special bonded warehouses, should be integrated into a value-addition process. He emphasized that meat and dairy products derived from imported livestock through value addition should be exported.
He also encouraged the private sector to step forward and drive the development of the livestock sector.
The prime minister directed that a strategy for establishing a livestock vaccine plant at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) be presented within one week.
During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on the progress of reforms in the livestock sector and measures taken to increase exports related to this sector. He also briefed that the process for third-party audits of slaughterhouses has commenced.
The officials during the briefing highlighted that the vaccines currently available for livestock in Pakistan are not approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP); therefore, steps are being taken to initiate the domestic production of purified livestock vaccines. Furthermore, they said measures are underway to establish dedicated bonded warehouses for imported livestock.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Dr. Musadik Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, and Jam Kamal Khan, along with the Minister of State for Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani, and representatives from relevant institutions.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
