M. Mahad Naghman (DVM of Riphah International University)
Milk is the most valuable agricultural product, Renowned as the “white gold of Pakistan.”. The rural families in the country owned nearly 54 million goats, 1 million camels, 27 million buffaloes, and 30 million cattle. Here lies the challenge because 8 million rural families cannot fulfil their personal and minimal milk. Small farmers are disconnected and unconcerned about the potential of developed livestock.
Consequently, in order to fulfill public demands, Pakistan imported 185,749 metric tons of packaged liquefied milk valued at 50 billion Pakistani rupees which is equivalent to 474 million US dollars over 3 years establishing itself established in 2014.
Annually, Pakistan imports more than 500,000 tons of milk and items made from milk. Poor genetics and unbalanced nutrition, together with ineffective and inaccurate management, have been found in several studies to be the main obstacles to progress in Pakistan’s dairy cattle industry. Significant impediments are also created at the individual level by illiteracy, poor ambition among a big percentage of dairy producers, lack of understanding, and economic concerns. The corporate farms of Pakistan and wealthy different farmers import enhanced genetically breeds to achieve great milk production in response to low productivity and bad genetics. Nevertheless, they have difficulties in managing these breeds to provide milk outputs that are both sustainable and consistent in Pakistan’s climate, frequently running the danger of excessive culling that might potentially lead to the closure of their business.
Automatic sensor-based management systems of livestock are now existing in established dairy industries to support monitor, calculate and elevate operations in real-time plus they have been shown to boost profitability and production.
Pakistan possesses the capability to effectively succeed its animal resources, particularly its dairy herd, in order to mitigate poverty and hunger while promoting economic expansion. Nevertheless, the majority of farmers have low expectations for their livestock, which leads to inefficiency, inconsistent and often poor yields, a rise in the number of underperforming cattle, and frequent culling, all of which reduce productivity and cause shortages even for the personal requirements and needs of the farmers. Enhancements in management are required. Pakistan may gain valuable insights from established dairy businesses, since many of them are currently implementing precision management techniques to enhance and optimize their output. Such technologies might be used by Pakistan’s major corporate dairy farms, and some are already beginning to do so. But they also have difficulties with technological adoption and obstacles related to culture and education.
Thus, Pakistan must implement regional or national policies to make use of cutting-edge technologies while also creating domestic livestock scrutiny systems. The utilization of accuracy livestock experts, the establishment of high-tech establishments in the area, and the training of the upcoming group of farmers of dairy to employ these arrangements will contribute to the preservation of livestock resources and potentially enhance food security and economic prosperity on a national and worldwide scale.