The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will start compensating the flood-hit livestock owners of the province from next month to help them stand on their feet, says Provincial Minister for Livestock and Dairy Development, Hidayatullah Khan.
“The verification record of losses and damages incurred to livestock sector due to devastating floods has reached PDMA and compensation process to flood-hit livestock owners will start from Malakand Division next month,” he informed this news agency on Friday.
The chief minister will likely inaugurate compensation process from Malakand Division, he added.
To cater to the growing milk and meat demands, the minister said, Achai (mountain cow) breeding programme is being launched in Malakand Division with an estimated cost of Rs280 million to bring white revolution in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The cross-breading of Achai cow has been started that would bring laurels to the flood-hit farmers. The Achai cow eats less fodder and gives more milk, he added.
Mr Hidayatullah said livestock sector being the linchpin of the province’s economy continued to be the single largest sector and dominated force for economic growth and development. In the new fiscal year, he said, the government is starting a number of livestock projects for breading, conservation and protection of native livestock breeds.
To conserve native livestock breads and improve rural poultry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said a modern livestock and poul try research centre at Jaba in Manshera district costing Rs230 million has been established for conducting research on animals and poultry diseases and preparing medicines for treatment. He said anti-bird flu vaccine would also be prepared in the centre that would save valuable foreign exchange for Pakistan.
To help the needy farmers in far-flung areas, the livestock minister said, the government has restarted mobile veterinary dispensaries project where a quality team under supervision of DVM doctor will visit each union council after every 15 days to examine and provide free treatment to animals.
The government will establish 200 veterinary dispensaries besides 2,400 mobile veterinary camps in the next fiscal. He added it was a three-year project that would be completed with cost of Rs80 million.
Dairy colonies are being launched in Peshawar, Mardan and D.I. Khan districts where plots would be given to livestock owners to expand their business.
Another project costing Rs150 million will be launched for repair and reconstruction of damaged veterinary hospitals and dispensaries. He said federal government has been approached to allow detailed examination of Indian livestock at Peshawar to avoid spread/transfusion of diseases.
Another project costing Rs250 million would also be launched for capacity building of females associated with livestock and dairy sector, he added. A milk and meat project would also be started costing Rs300 million to get self-sufficiency in milk and foods besides model livestock
farms would be established in the province.
Courtesy : Dawn Newspaper
