Pakistan Agriculture Developments

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Pakistan Agriculture Developments.


Agriculture plays an important role in generating economic growth, and increased agricultural productivity tends to increase rural employment and help alleviate poverty. A collection of papers on agricultural issues in Pakistan, this book assesses the past performance of Pakistan ' s agriculture sector, analyzes the major issues and constraints facing the sector in recent years, and proposes a strategy for accelerating and sustaining growth in the coming decades.

Dairy and livestock

Dairy and livestock segment is 12% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 56% of its agriculture. With dairy segment alone accounting for 27% of agriculture sector, Pakistan is one of the world’s top five producers of milk having an annual turnover of over 36 billion litres of tradable milk.

By contrast, the majority livestock ownership is at subsistence level, which increases the risk of loss.

“In order to mitigate the risk of losses of small livestock farmers, the government is introducing the Livestock Insurance Scheme for all farmers getting financing for up to 10 cattle,” .

 

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... Agricultural revival in Punjab

In recent years, the media portrayal and the common perception of the Punjab government’s economic performance suggest a preference for mega projects related to urban infrastructure in central Punjab. The crucial sectors of agriculture, health and education are said to be lower down the scale of priorities.

While the neglect of education and health is a recurrent national story, not specific to Punjab, the failure to address the agricultural crisis in Punjab has implications for the country’s exports, industrial growth and, above all, food security and poverty alleviation. Nearly 69 per cent of the total cropped area of the country is in Punjab, producing over 80 per cent of cotton, wheat and fine rice, besides 63 per cent of sugarcane.

Around 80 per cent of the country’s total exports are concentrated in agricultural commodities and agro-based products. In July- February 2015-2016, exports of rice, raw cotton, cotton yarn and major textile items were all in the red. In manufacturing during July-January 2015-16, the growth of wheat and grain-milling was negative, cotton yarn grew under two per cent and cotton cloth under one per cent.

Deficient demand has reduced tractor production by as much as 47 per cent. Agriculture has suffered not just from the slump in international commodity prices. It is a sector in which overproduction hits the grower (remember the story of the farmer who hanged himself for fear of plenty) and underproduction hits the country. Although agriculture is largely a private-sector activity, the state has to balance these two extremes through a sensible price support policy. In addition, the state has to subsidise relevant research and, when appropriate, inputs.

After the devolution under the 18th Amendment, there is considerable confusion in policy formulation and ownership. This is why the farmers’ package announced by the prime minister has not made much headway. The convening of the Punjab Agriculture Conference 2016 last week has raised hopes of an agricultural revival. The conference made a serious effort to recognise that the prosperity of Punjab depended on the prosperity of the farmer. It brought all the stakeholders together to set the future strategic direction for agriculture, formulate a plan of action for 2016-2018 and thinking up a supportive policy framework. In a vertically operating bureaucracy, a holistic sectoral view involving horizontal coordination is not easy.

Hopefully, the active participation of all the five departments involved — agriculture, livestock, forest, irrigation and food — laid bare the constraints and produced a consensus on a prioritised agenda for 2016-18. Good policy cannot deliver without political will, adequate resources and the capacity to govern and execute. Reputed to be a doer, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s presence at the conference signaled political commitment.

The announcement of a hefty Rs100 billion package by him removed the financial constraint. His unequivocal statement that the money will be in addition to the allocations for the existing programmes is a departure from the practice of announcing packages by lumping together existing projects and programmes.

A Kissan Commission is to be set up to oversee the implementation. The chief minister also hoped that the agriculture package would benefit small cultivators. This is crucial, as majority of the cultivators are small landholders. The conference resolved to transform every farmer into a progressive farmer. But there was a presumption that only large farmers can be progressive. Corporate agriculture, a nonstarter so far in Pakistan, was allowed a full session.

There was no discussion on the skewed land distribution, absentee landlordism and the relationship between farm size and productivity. That said, a beginning is in sight to address the neglect of agriculture.

 

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Dairy farming in Pakistan and factors affecting Milk Production

The livestock sector is one of the vibrant sectors of Pakistan. This sector makes important contribution to socioeconomic development of rural household and has significant positive impact on poverty alleviation. More than 35 million people are engaged in this sector for earning their livelihood. It contributes 11.5% to the national GDP and has shown growth rate of 3-4 % over the last years despite unfavourable conditions.

DAIRY PRODUCTION:

Dairy farming has been a prestigious occupation or pre occupation from time immemorial. Dairy production is defined as all those aspects and explicit activities relating to raising of dairy amounts during their various phases of life to get whole some milk successful dairy farming must harness all the available resources into a productive and profitable unit.

Types of dairying:

There are many types of dairying adopted in Pakistan as follows:

Seasonal dairying:

During summer some rural farmers shift to urban and sub-urban areas and during winter when prices low down they come back.

Part-time dairying:

Some low income families employed otherwise in big cities maintain one or two animals to supplement their family income.

Commercial dairy farming:

This type of farming is rare in Pakistan. This type of farm consists of 5-50 animals. The urban and sub urban milk production system is by and large a commercial venture.

Public sector farm:

In all the 4 provinces of Pakistan, provincial live stock and dairy development departments are maintaining the buffalo AND CATTLE FARM for research and are production purposes.

Land grant farms:

A few government farms have been leased to farmers for the purpose of producing pure bred cattle of some dairy breeds of Pakistan. These farmers are mandated to produce and make available pedigreed animals of specific breeds according to their contracts.

Corral dairying:

On these farms, only lactating animals are maintained.

Salvage dairy farming:

It refers to farms where dry animals are taken after lactation to be fed, bred and kept until a few weeks before calving, after which they are again transported to urban and sub-urban areas to join the milking herd.

Factors affecting milk-yield and composition:

1-Changes occurring during a normal lactation:

In general, cows and buffaloes reach their peak milk production about 3 to 6 weeks after parturition then output declines gradually.

2-Day to day variation;

Daily variations in milk yield are caused by excitement, estrus, incomplete milking, diseases or other short term factors.

3-Dry period and body conditions;

A dry period is important for replenishing body reserves. A normal dry period of 6 to 8 weeks should be practiced.

4-Age and seasons of calving;

Milk and fat production of dairy animals increases with age up to 6 to 8 years and then declines.

5-Gestation;

Milk production of dairy animals decreases as pregnancy advances.

6-Calving intervals;

Dairy animals with longer calving intervals produce milk in a single lactation, but those who calve each year produce more milk during their productive life.

7-Milking intervals;

Generally, the animals are milked twice a day at equal milking intervals. A longer interval is associated with lower fat test.

8-Feeding;

Feeding according to recommended allowances is absolutely necessary for exploiting the production potential of the animal. The composition of the feed, physical form of the ration, the concentrate to roughages ratio and the proportion of unsaturated oils or fats in the feed effects the composition of milk.

SOME TIPS FOR INCREMENT OF MILK PRODUCTION;

BREED

Sahiwal, red Sindhi and cholistani should be kept and not the exotic species as it is more pronged to diseases.

SELECTION OF ANIMALS;

Animals should be selected which are free from diseases and well healthy and high yielding.

VACCINATION;

Proper vaccination against various diseases should be practiced at regular intervals.

PREVENTION OF MASTITIS;

It is the inflammation of mammary glands. It is serious problem of dairy animals not only in Pakistan but also in developed countries. It can result in direct and indirect losses to the farmers including an early culling to the animals, decrease milk production, milk that must be discarded and increased vet cost. So it must be prevented.

Use of concentrates and other feedings:

Meals and cakes are high in energy value so these substances fulfill the daily nutrient requirements of animals. They must be used in a proper concentration and other green fodder is excessively provided to the milking stock.

Water provision
Clean and fresh water should be provided 3-5 times a day in summer and 2-3 times in winter or as large as animal desires.

 

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Banana cultivation........................Modern techniques

 

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vegans ke liye aik aur khushkhabri

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Livestock Technology Park To Be Set Up At Pattoki

The University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore has planned the park at its Ravi Campus Pattoki, this was informed at a consultative meeting of UVAS here on Friday.
Vice Chancellor UVAS Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha and renowned industrialist Syed Yawar Ali jointly chaired the meeting and sought suggestions from the stakeholders about the
technology park.

Speaking on the occasion, the vice chancellor said it was an era of knowledge-based economy and planning the park was a step by the UVAS towards this direction. He said the technology park would contribute enormously to development of livestock, dairy and related
sectors by addressing the issues/problems of these sectors. He said in the establishment of Livestock Technology Park, the UVAS will have partnership/collaboration of Agriculture University Peshawar, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojm and Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences Baluchistan and the livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab.

He said that technology park would have components of livestock information management, livestock breeding, genetics and genomics, livestock product development, livestock entrepreneurship,livestock exhibition, technology transfer and display centre etc.

He also spoke about university’s research, training and extension projects and said that the technology park will add value and strengthen these services.

He said the UVAS would also seek input from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore in this project.

 

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USAID to facilitate olive cultivation in Punjab

RAWALPINDI: Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with USAID to establish an Olive Research Center (ORC) at Chakwal to conduct research to facilitate private sector investment.

The signing took place at a meeting with the Olive Development Group and was held at BARI in Chakwal. Agriculture Department Secretary Capt. (Retired) Muhammad Mahmood, Provincial Director for USAID/Lahore Alyson McFarland, and sector stakeholders witnessed the signing. The Olive Development Group serves as a platform for the emerging olive sector in Punjab and represents an integrated approach to sector development based on quick decision-making, rapid advocacy for policy reforms, and investment mobilization and job creation avenues," said Ms. Alyson McFarland. "USAID is pleased to support the development of the Potohar region as an olive valley."

Secretary Mahmood said, "The Government of Punjab realizes the significance of the socio-economic opportunities offered by the olive-producing regions in the Potohar Valley of Punjab. Today's meeting of the Olive Development Group highlights the government's commitment to facilitate private sector stakeholders in taking an active part in the olive sector development in Punjab." The Olive Development Group, created by the Government of Punjab with the support of USAID's Punjab Enabling Environment Project, works with public and private sector entities to improve the business environment of the olive sector in Punjab. The ODG is chaired by Secretary Mahmood and is comprised of representatives from the olive value chain, academia, and industry associations. The Government of Punjab provides more than two million plants free of cost over five years to develop the Potohar Valley and catalyze 15,000 cultivated acres.

USAID's Punjab Enabling Environment Project is a five-year, $15 million project to improve the business environment in the livestock, dairy and horticulture sectors of Punjab. BARI, Chakwal was established in 1979 to resolve the agricultural challenges of barani [rain-fed] areas. In addition to establishing the ORC, PEEP is introducing international olive oil standards, developing standard operating procedures for registration of olive nurseries, and supporting a feasibility study on olive farming.
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Pakistan stands 5th in sugarcane production

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan has said that sugarcane is an imperative cash crop and Pakistan is on the 5th position in the world for sugarcane production.

Addressing the seminar on “Mobile Sugarcane Crusher” by National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) here on Thursday, Sikandar Hayat Bosan said that Punjab is the foremost province in sugarcane production, which contributes about 68% of the total sugarcane production.

Appreciating the efforts of agricultural scientists, he suggested that such a mechanism be devised which can cater to one of the biggest challenges which our country is facing. He further said that the challenge is to increase the amount and availability of our labors, by introduction of specially designed machinery. His main emphasis was the reduction of difficulties that poor farmers are facing.

Director General (DG), Engineering Division Dr. Nadeem Amjad in his remarks mentioned that a major part of sugarcane is crushed at farm level to produce gur, shakkar and brown sugar (khand). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is a traditional gur making zone of the country. They just not only make Gur for domestic use but also export to Afghanistan for foreign exchange earnings. He further said that the farmer can earn 57% more profit by making gur than selling the sugarcane to sugar mill. At the end of his speech he said thanks to the audience and chief guest.

DG NARC, Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan said that sugar industry is the second largest agro based industry in Pakistan comprising 86 sugar mills, where over 50 million tons of sugarcane is crushed annually. The gur-making process has been an important cottage industry of Pakistan.

Senior Director (NARC), Dr Tanveer Ahmad said at the occasion that Agricultural and Biological Engineering Institute, (NARC) Islamabad has designed and developed a new version of farm level sugarcane crusher for gur making. The crusher consists of six (6) horizontal rollers powered by a 30-hp diesel engine. He explains to the formers that this crusher is mounted on a trolley for easy transportation from one field to the other.

Besides Minister NFSR, chairman PARC, Dr. Munir Ahmad, DG NARC, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, the seminar was also attended by Dr. Nadeem Amjad, Dr. Naveed Ahmad Senior Director ABEI- (NARC) and farmers.


Ghee, oil production up by 2.6pc, 2.05pc in nine months

ISLAMABAD (APP): Domestic production of vegetable ghee and cooking oil during first three quarter of current financial year increased by 2.86 percent and 2.5 percent respectively as compared the production of corresponding period of last year. According the computation of Quantum Index Numbers of large scale manufacturing industries, during the period from July-March, 2016-17 domestic production of vegetable ghee grew by 2.68 percent and 955,610 tons of ghee manufactured as compared the production of 930,676 tons produced in same period of last year. During the month of March, 2017, about 105,226 tons vegetable ghee manufactured as compared the manufacturing of 105,083 tons of same month last year. Meanwhile, about 290,885 tons of cooking oil produced in last 9 months of current financial year as compared the production of 285,017 tons of same period last year. Domestic production of cooking oil in month of March was recorded at 33,482 tons as against the production of 32,238 tons of same mont last year.

During last nine months, blended tea production also grew by 5.34 percent as about 111,577 tones of tea were produced as compared the production of 105,923 tons of same period last year.

On month on month basis, about 12,972 tons blended tea produced in March, 2017 as compared the production of 12,142 tons of same month last year.

 

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Mango cultivation area on rise

MULTAN - Despite mango orchards cutting for residential purpose in suburban areas of various cities of South Punjab, the cultivation area of mangoes is on the rise continuously.

This was said by Mango Research Station (MRS) In-charge Abdul Ghaffar Grewal. "In past, mango growers were not taking too much interest in improving mango cultivation area because these were not highly paid. Now they are ambitious to enhance cultivation area as they are earning handsome amount by exporting this fruit", he informed.

According to crop reporting sources, mangoes orchards were located at an area of 117,000 hectares in the province during year 2011-12 while the cultivation area increased to 180,000 hectares in 2015-16. The mango crop is turning into industry and offering handsome returns to growers, he added. To a query about enhanced area of mango, the MRS in-charge informed that different programmes including Australia Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (ASLP), USAID, and Punjab Agriculture department provided much needed facilitation for quality fruit, imparted training to growers how to manage orchards and follow export standards. The income of growers has increased manifolds and this is basic reason behind increase in cultivation area, he added.

The expert further said that millions of mango plants are being planted annually in South Punjab. He said that there are over 35 mango nurseries in the city, adding that almost every nursery sells more than 50,000 plants during season.

Besides this, Mango Research Institute (MRI) and Mango Research Stations are also providing nursery to growers.

He further added that he himself knows over 100 progressive growers who have enhanced mango cultivation remarkably. The future of mango crop is much bright, he stated adding that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will enhance export of the delicious fruit. He claimed Pakistani growers will find large space in international markets.

http://nation.com.pk/business/19-Jun...n-area-on-rise

 

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Telenor and PITB Set to Digitize Agriculture in Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan, one of Pakistan’s leading telecom and digital service providers, along with Telenor Microfinance Bank, has joined hands with Agriculture Department of the Government of Punjab and the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) for the “Connected Agriculture Platform Punjab” program.

Telenor Pakistan and PITB Join Hands to Digitize Agriculture Sector

PITB seeks to capitalize on the immense potential offered by Digital Mobile technology, smartphone penetration and branchless mobile banking services to uplift the Agriculture Economy of the province. Telenor Pakistan, being the largest cellular operator and mobile financial services provider in the rural areas of the Punjab, has positioned itself as the ideal partner for this project.

As part of the program, Interest-Free Loans to small holder farmers will be disbursed through EasyPaisa Mobile Wallets while Telenor will also develop a digital platform comprising multiple mobile and web apps to help millions of farmers in Punjab to improve their yield through easily accessible advisory of modern agriculture practices and improved access to agri experts and agriculture input providers.

According to estimates, Punjab has over 10 Million farmers out of which approximately 2 Million are already using smartphones and the number is growing every day.

The Connected Agriculture Platform Punjab (CAPP) aims to revolutionize agriculture practices across the province by connecting all stakeholders in the Agriculture Value Chain including but not limited to agriculture input providers, research institutions, commodity buyers, supply chain services provider, and agriculture extension workers.

As part of CAPP Program, 500,000 plus eligible farmers will also get 3G/4G-enabled smartphones along with free SIM cards and data bundles. To enable farmers to utilize the full potential of this platform, hundreds of facilitation centers and booths will be established across the province and training of thousands of farmers and creating Digital App Gurus at each Mosa/Village level.

“By providing easy access to financial aid, fast internet connectivity, and expert advice, this initiative would bridge the gap between farmers and the information they need to maximize their production capabilities.” – Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO, Telenor Pakistan

 

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Rs29.560m plant installed to produce olive oil

ISLAMABAD - Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) Chakwal has installed an extra virgin olive extraction plant to produce world class olive oil.

The extraction plant has been imported from Italy with a total cost of Rs29.560 million, which has the fruit deleafing, washing system, crushing mill and transfer pump, Head of BARI Dr Ahmad Tariq said.

Talking to APP here on Wednesday, he said the initiative aimed at facilitating the growers as well as encouraging them to cultivate oil seed for enhancing edible oil production in the country.

He said the plant had the capacity of 500 kg per hour oil extraction and it was expected to extract about 10 ton of the olive during the current season starting from the third week of current month.

He informed that during the last year about 4 ton olive was extracted as the plant had capacity of extracting 50 kg per hour only. He said the olive trees had been planted over 3,166 acres of land in Potohar region of Punjab province to reduce dependence on oil imports and bring the marginal agriculture land under cultivation to alleviate poverty from the country.

As many as 428,000 olive saplings had been planted under the five year 2015-20 Olive Valley Project, he added. Under the project, as much as 15,000 acres of land would be brought under the olive cultivation by planting about 2 million olive saplings.

The main purpose of the project was to enhance the olive oil production by bringing the waste and marginal land under its cultivation, he added.

Reducing the reliance on imported olive oil to fulfil the domestic consumption as well as to encourage the local industry was the other purpose of the project, he added. He informed that the government of Punjab, in collaboration with the international development partners and donor agencies, had initiated a five-year 'Olive Valley Project', in order to enhance the olive oil production in the country. He said the Potohar Region was declared olive valley and olive plantation was started in six districts including Rawalpindi, Jehlum, Chakwal, Khoshab and Attock.

The government, he said, was providing free of cost olive plants to growers, besides 60 percent subsidy on the installation of drip-irrigation and 70 percent subsidy on the water resource development. He said under the project, rural women were also trained on producing by-products of olive like olive jam, pickle and oil to promote the industry. It may be recalled here that Pakistan has spent $1.748 billion on the import of about 2,409,220 metric ton olive oil in 11 months during the last financial year.

http://nation.com.pk/business/20-Jul...duce-olive-oil

 

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Pakistan’s first hybrid rice research centre opens at ICCBS

The vice chancellor of the University of Karachi, Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, inaugurated the Sino-Pakistan Hybrid Rice Research Centre (SPHRRC) at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), KU, on Wednesday.

The audience was informed that it was first of its kind centre in the country and had been set up at a cost of Rs150 million on the premises of the country’s leading research establishment of the ICCBS.

“The research centre has state-of-the-art research facilities, including NMR spectroscopes, plant tissue culture technology, genomics and greenhouses.” The curtain-opening ceremony was attended by ICCBS Patron-in-Chief Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, Consul General of China in Karachi Wang Yu, China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou’s Director General Professor Dr Cheng Shihua and ICCBS Director Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary.

The provincial governor, Mohammad Zubair, who had consented to be the chief guest in the opening ceremony, could not attend the event due to some reasons. Meanwhile, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of SPHRRC, held at the Professor Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium, ICCBS, the varsity’s VC said that Pakistan needed to make a massive investment in science and technology for a long period to entertain the desired progress.

He maintained that substantial development of any country or nation was associated with the true commitment of its leadership and enormous investment. “China is an excellent example, which made an unbelievable progress in a limited time.”

He observed that true promise and vision of Chinese leadership, as well as huge investment, got China on the top among the developed countries. Earlier, Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that Pakistan had 100 million young people (below the age of 20) in its total population, which needed to be educated and trained.

He pointed out that natural resources had lost their importance and been replaced by quality human resources that contributed towards high-tech industrial development. Talking about the drastic cut in the higher education budget, he said that the finance ministry had slashed the development budget of all universities of Pakistan by more than 60 percent.

He said the government had left the universities of Pakistan in a shocking state of disarray by reducing the budget. He observed that for any country there were four pillars of progress, including high quality education, science and technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, and vision and strategy of leadership

Chinese Consul General Wang Yu said that Pakistan was famous for its high quality rice, while China was great importer of high quality Pakistani rice. Talking about the hybrid rice centre, he observed that the ICCBS owned highly qualified scholars and state-of-the-art research equipment.

 

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Urea off-take up by 103 pc in June



LAHORE - As per numbers released by National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC), urea off-take numbers for the month of June 2017 clocked in at 1,060,000 tons, up 79 percent annually and 103 percent monthly. The numbers remained in line with market expectations.

DAP off-take also fell in line with expectations and clocked in at 112,000 tons, posting increase of 161 percent annually and 61 percent monthly. Strong numbers can be attributed to depressed urea prices and pre-buying by dealers in anticipation of price hike from reduction in urea subsidy by the government. It is believed that sales are likely to revert to normal levels during 2H2017

Cumulatively during 6M2017, urea off-take has posted increase of 51 percent YoY to clock in at 2,752,000 tons whereas DAP off-take during the same period posted increase of 21 percent YoY to stand at 590,000 tons. The industry ended the month with inventory in-hand of 1,084k tons, down 35 percent YoY. The inventory levels are expected to pick up going forward again as Kharif sowing season reaches conclusion. During the month of June 2017, Fatima Fertilizers (FATIMA) remained the star performer with urea sales of 152,000 tons (+426%/+107% YoY/MoM) followed by Engro Fertilizers (EFERT) with off-take of 318,000 tons (+168%/129% YoY/MoM).

Exports continued in June 2017 as well with all mainstream manufacturers namely Fauji Fertilizer (FFC), FATIMA and EFERT exporting quantities of 5,000 tons, 7,000 tons and 43,000 tons respectively.

http://nation.com.pk/business/30-Jul...-103pc-in-june
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Pakistan Among the Top Countries Where Biotechnology Has Thrived

Pakistan has been ranked seventh among the 26 countries growing biotech crops.

This fact was presented as part ‘Global Status of Commercialisation Biotech/GM Crops: 2016’ report at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) of Karachi University.

Out of the 3 million hectares that are used for agriculture in the country, Pakistan achieved a 97% adoption of Insect Resistant (IR) biotech cotton, which roughly equates to around 2.9 million hectares.

Having achieved this milestone last year, the stakeholders are looking for an economic boost through biotech varieties of Maize.

https://propakistani.pk/2017/07/31/p...ology-thrived/

 

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Int’l Poultry Expo kicks off

LAHORE - Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Malik Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan has said that poultry industry is making a tremendous contribution in bridging the gap between the supply and demand of meat protein.

He said the government will take up the poultry industry’s problems on priority basis, helping the industry to exploit its true potential. He was addressing the media and representatives of poultry industry at the inauguration of Pakistan Poultry Association’s (PPA) International Poultry Expo 2017 at the Expo Centre Lahore.

He said that the government was working for provision of level-playing field for all industries and creating a win-win situation for the country and business, and the poultry industry’s contribution in this regard had always been encouraging. Addressing inaugural ceremony, the chief organiser Abdul Haye Mehta said that commercial or modern poultry in Pakistan is one of the largest agro based segment of Pakistan, having an investment of more than Rs730 billion.

About 25,000 poultry farms have been established in Pakistan. Moreover, the annual growth rate of poultry production is about 10 percent while 40 percent of the total meat is being procured from poultry products. Furthermore, other poultry products that are producing annually in Pakistan are followed by table eggs 9,410 million; chicken meat 954 metric tons.

The International Poultry Expo (IPEX) was arranged from August 24 to 26, 2017 at Expo Centre, Lahore. On the occasion, different local and international poultry companies, poultry feed manufacturers, poultry farm consultants and poultry equipment manufacturing companies exhibited their products in this expo.

 

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Three olive procurement centres established in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI/ SIALKOT (APP): The provincial agriculture department has established three olive procurement centers in Rawalpindi division.

According to the Director Arid Agriculture Research Centre, Mr Tariq, all the growers of Chakwal, Attock and Fateh Jang have been asked to bring graded olive fruits to the authorized procurement centers set up in their areas for having better financial returns.

Meanwhile, the procurement centers have been providing crates to the farmers for packing the fruit.

According to the agriculture experts, soil and environment of the Potohar region is best suited for growing of the cash crop of olive in the province.

They have recommended that the growers may switch over to grow olives. Meanwhile, Livestock Department has given essential training about livestock caring to 1,040 male and female farmers in Narowal district, with a stipend of Rs 5,600 each.

According to Assistant Director Livestock Narowal Dr Saima Irum Syed, the training would help farmers take the best care of their cattle-heads. It will ensure their better growth and development in the local livestock sector, she added.