Milk production can be increased with better management: UVAS VC

LAHORE: Pakistan has become the third largest milk producing country and the production can be increased further by 50 per cent with proper management of animals and disease control, said University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Prof.Dr.Muhammad Nawaz in an exclusive interview with APP here on Sunday.

He said, "We are striving to produce human resource to ensure food security and safety for health and better income of stakeholders". He said that problems of livestock production were related to health, genetics, nutrition and marketing. "Young professionals should be capable of improving production and yield through better management of nutrition and disease preventive measures.

"Competence of graduates in technologies, value addition in milk, meat and fish, wool, skin, hides and casings will facilitate equitable development of rural and urban livestock as well." He explained that 21 million low milk producing cattle and buffaloes should be preferably slaughtered to export meat and earn substantial foreign exchange. To a question on enhancement of meat production, he said that 4.2 million ton meat was available if we replaced low potential animals with best genetic animals. He added that one third of fodder and water was being wasted due to such animals. Responding to another query, Prof Dr Nawaz said that Pakistan could save $6 billion annually which were being used on the import of poultry vaccines by manufacturing biotechnology products.

"The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) has the potential to produce all types of livestock vaccines to save precious foreign exchange," he added. At present, he said, only 10 percent vaccines are produced in the country while the rest are imported from abroad.

"The UVAS not only can help save foreign exchange but also earn it through the export of all types of vaccine. Regarding research work, he said that the UVAS had developed research collaboration and signed 24 MoUs with many national and international institutions to upgrade the standard of education. He said that they were facing resource constraints otherwise the university had the potential to perform miracles in the field of livestock and animal sciences.