The dairy industry was represented, as were stakeholders from public and private organisations, researchers/faculty from various educational institutions, and professionals.
A stakeholder discussion on livestock development and research was held on Tuesday at City Campus by the Office of Research Innovation & Commercialization of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore and the Punjab Agriculture Research Board (PARB).
The meeting was co-chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Nasim Ahmed and Chief Executive (PARB), Dr. Abid Mehmood. During the meeting, the two men solicited opinions and technical input from participants and identified the top research priorities for the country’s poor livestock farmers and the development of the livestock industry.
The dairy industry was represented, as were stakeholders from public and private organisations, researchers/faculty from various educational institutions, and professionals. Many of these individuals were present physically and others via video link.
All the stakeholders were welcomed by vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Nasim Ahmed, who also asked for suggestions from the audience on future R&D requirements for the livestock industry. He said UVAS is always prepared to help professionals and business owners in the improvement of the livestock sector.
Dr. Abid Mehmood, who spoke at the event, explained that the goal of the gathering was to give all the participants a forum to discuss crucial issues, areas for future research, and potential obstacles to the growth of the livestock industry.
He also discussed the areas of PARB research that are of the utmost importance. According to him, PARB has recently given projects involving livestock research a lot of attention, and this industry is essential to Pakistan’s national economy’s growth.
He claimed there are a lot more opportunities in the livestock sector. to enhance meat export and dairy value added products.
The meeting’s participants identified areas for breed improvement, milk supply chain and value addition of milk, farm management, good practises, consumer awareness, training for livestock farmers, marketing of dairy and livestock products, production of drugs and vaccines to combat bovine deadly disease, value addition to camel milk, packaging technology, food security, and the need for a workforce that complies with standards to support the livestock industry.
In addition, the participant urged for the promotion of integrated rice and fish culture and suggested research-worthy areas to support saline water aquaculture in Pakistan, particularly prawn aquaculture and the conversion of fish waste into useful products like squalene lecithin, fertiliser and gelatin.
Later Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr. Nasim Ahmed delivered an informative lecture on identifying research priority areas driven by field veterinarians of Livestock Department at UVAS Veterinary Academy.