Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Arshad Jatt at a consultative meeting with University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha discussed various steps to further improve the livestock sector of the province and resolved to work together for the socio-economic development of the country.
The meeting also mulled over short and long-term strategies with a focus on Punjab government’s prophylactic measures against deadly diseases like foot and mouth disease, HS, PPR in sheep and goats, etc. Both the Special Assistant to the CM and the Vice-Chancellor agreed to work on a proposal to produce large-scale vaccines in the country through private sector investment to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of livestock against deadly diseases.
The other areas came under discussion included breed improvement, use of molecular techniques for selection of progeny-tested bulls to increase productivity of local breeds and capacity building of field veterinarians through training and transfer of technology to these professionals for the benefit of farming community. Arshad Jatt desired that the university should establish a biogas resource centre and model bio-gas tube wells and energy generation units on Ravi Campus Pattoki. He assured the Vice-Chancellor that the Punjab government will fully support the development needs of the UVAS.
He also appreciated the role of the university in producing professionals, conducting need-based field-oriented research and providing extension services for the socio-economic development of the country. The Vice-Chancellor assured the CM’s special assistant that the UVAS will fully assist the initiatives of the Livestock and Dairy Development Department and the government of the Punjab for the development of the livestock and allied sectors of the country.
Speaking about the importance of livestock sector, Arshad Jatt said that livestock sector plays a major role in rural economy and over all the socio-economic development of the country. He said that this sector is highly important in supplementing family income and generating employment opportunities in rural areas especially among the landless labourers, small and marginal farmers and women, so the need is to fully exploit the potential of this sector for the benefit of farming community, consequently contributing to the national development. Later, Arshad Jatt visited various laboratories and departments of the university.
