PM chairs high-level meeting on ongoing reforms in livestock sector

Islamabad (Report by Muhammad Saleem ) — A high-level meeting on ongoing reforms in the livestock sector and increasing exports was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
Chairing the meeting, the prime minister directed that a plan for the restructuring of the Livestock and Dairy Development Board be presented at the earliest. He said private-sector experts should be included in the board to transform it into an effective and active institution.
The prime minister directed that imported livestock brought to special bonded warehouses for the livestock sector be brought into the value-addition process. He said meat and dairy products should be produced from imported animals and exported.
He said the private sector should come forward for the development of the livestock sector. The federal government will establish a national-level plant for the production of modern and effective vaccines for livestock through its own resources.
The prime minister directed that a strategy for establishing a livestock vaccine plant at the National Agricultural Research Centre be presented within a week.
The prime minister was briefed on the progress of measures for reforms in the livestock sector and increasing exports from the sector. The briefing was told that the third-party audit process of slaughterhouses has begun.
According to the briefing, vaccines currently available for livestock in Pakistan are not approved by DRAP; therefore, steps are being taken for the production of purified vaccines for livestock in the country. Measures are also being taken for the establishment of special bonded warehouses for imported livestock.
Federal Ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazir Tarar, Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema and Jam Kamal Khan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, and senior officials of relevant institutions attended the meeting.