LAHORE: The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore held a post-budget dialogue on Tuesday where various industry-stakeholders from poultry, dairy, meat, and leather sectors and senior university faculty discussed the current budget’s implications for livestock sector.

UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad along with Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr Muhammad Akram co-chaired the session. The dialogue participants lauded the exemption of import duties on agricultural machinery and several other initiatives of the government.

However, it was noted that the current budget largely maintains the status quo and it is devoid of any notable initiative to ameliorate the woes of livestock sector. It was suggested that allocations for livestock sector should be enhanced keeping in view the mammoth contribution of the sector in the GDP.

The dairy sector should be given industry status and duties on imported milk should be increased to protect local farmers who are facing increasing pressure from rising costs of production.

It was underscored that there is need for significant policy and budgetary initiatives to ensure the viability of livestock business in order to stop small and medium farmers from quitting livestock farming.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022