Animal Diseases Surveillance System to Improve Livestock Sector in Pakistan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG, Al-bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad 3 February 2023 Despite its importance in terms of income, trade, employment, livelihood, nutrition, and share in agriculture GDP, the livestock sector has not received the attention it deserves. To harness, livestock potential and development in Pakistan meaningful collaborations between organizations are required.  Taking a step in this direction Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Pakistan and the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, the Government of Pakistan have initiated a Project under Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) to improve the animal disease surveillance system and establish a real-time animal disease reporting system in Pakistan. The announcement was made at a two-day inception workshop held at a local hotel in Islamabad on Wednesday.

 

In his welcome address, Dr. M. Akram, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Ministry of National Food Security and Research Government of Pakistan (MoNFSR) said that this collaboration with FAO under TCP is a welcoming step. It is hoped that the feasibility study will be completed in the next six to nine months to establish an animal disease surveillance system in Pakistan. Livestock has huge potential but we only earn USD 350 million annually in exports. In addition, we cannot meet our local per capita requirements. A majority of the livestock farmers are living on a subsistence level and are unable to make livestock a commercial enterprise. Being the custodian of the livestock sector in Pakistan, this is a huge challenge for the MoNFSR.  We need to enhance the productivity of our livestock as well as add value to it. Therefore, this collaboration with FAO is very encouraging. The inception workshop will be the first milestone, as it will allow deliberations from the experts, learn about the existing disease surveillance systems in various provinces, best practices, and lessons learned. The valuable suggestions from the participants will steer the feasibility study in the right direction.