HIGHLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LIVESTOCK, POULTRY AND

FISHERIES IN AGRICULTURE. WHAT MEASURES ARE TAKEN FOR

THEIR PROMOTION IN PAKISTAN?

Pakistan has a rich and vast natural resource base, covering various ecological and climatic
zones; hence the country has great potential for producing all types of food commodities.
Agriculture has an important direct and indirect role in generating economic growth.

The agricultural sector plays an important part in Pakistan's economy by:

• contributing 24 percent towards GDP;

• providing food to about 130 million people;

• earning about 60 percent of the country's total export earnings;

• providing employment to 47 percent of the total work force;

• providing the main source of livelihood for the rural population of Pakistan;

• providing raw materials for many industries and a market for many locally produced industrial
products.

“LIVESTOCK”
“Livestock (also cattle) refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an
agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor.”

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, the livestock sector accounts for approximately
49.1 % of the agricultural value added, amounting to nearly 11% of Pakistan's GDP, which is
more than the crop sector. The livestock includes: cattle, buffaloes, mules, asses, horses,
sheep, goats etc. The leading daily newspaper Jang reports that the national herd consists of
24.2 million cattle, 26.3 million buffaloes, 24.9 million sheep, 56.7 million goats and 0.8
million camels. These animals produce 29.472 million tons of milk (making Pakistan the 5th
largest producer of milk in the world), 1.115 million tons of beef, 0.740 million tons of
mutton, 0.416 million tons of poultry meat, 8.528 billion eggs, 40.2 thousand tons of wool,
21.5 thousand tons of hair and 51.2 million skins and hides.
The culture and cultivation of livestock in the agricultural sector of Pakistan is verily important
and immensely popular. Firstly because livestock breeds animals, which serve as a source of
draft power in the course of the farming process in tasks like threshing, ploughing and
harvesting. Animals are also a useful and cheap means of transportation. Secondly, animals are
a great source of food. Like chickens
give eggs and cows give milk, which becomes the source of further by-products for subsistence
purposes or commercial purposes. Furthermore their dung is a great source of domestic fuel
and as manure.

Moreover the process of livestock breeding contributes hugely in providing raw material for
domestic industries providing material like leather, wool, bones, animal hair etc. Not just in the
local market but these products (some of them) have a high demand in the international market
as well. The share of these livestock products in the generation of foreign exchange is about
13%.
In Pakistan, 73.5% of the farms fall in the range of 0 to 5 hectares whereas only 9.1 % are over
10 hectares in size. The majority of livestock belongs to landless or small farmers and it is kept
under extensive farming. The 84% of farmers keep 1 to 6 number of livestock and only 16%
possess above 6 number of livestock.
Pakistan’s economy witnessed a moderate recovery during FY07 with real GDP growth
reaching the 7.0 percent target, as compared with 6.6 percent in 2006. This was the fourth year
of average annual growth rate of 7.0 percent, 2003-07. The agricultural sector as a whole
recovered in FY07 primarily due to improved performance of cropping and the growth of the
livestock sub-sector. The value-addition in the livestock sub-sector grew by 4.3 percent, which
was the second highest increase in the decade, exceeded by only the exceptional rise of 7.6
percent in 2006.

“ESTIMATED LIVESTOCK POPULATION”

Species 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Cattle 22.4 22.4 22.8 23.3 23.7
Buffalo 22.6 23.3 24.0 24.7 25.5
Sheep 24 24.2 24.3 24.5 24.7
Goat 47.4 49.1 50.9 52.7 54.6
Camels 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Horses 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Asses 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.1
Mules 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

“ESTIMATED PRODUCTION OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS”

Products Units 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04

Milk (000 25566.0 26284.0 27055.0 27811.0 28624.0
tonnes)
Beef // 985 1009.0 1035.0 1060.0 720.0
Mutton // 649.0 666.0 683.0 702.0 723.0
Poultry // 322 339.0 355.0 372.0 378.0
meat
Wool // 38.9 39.2 39.4 39.7 40.0
Hair // 17.9 18.6 19.3 19.9 20.7
 Bones // 234.0 331.4 339.4 347.64 356.2
Fats // 120.6 123.5 126.5 129.7 132.9
Blood // 40.9 41.8 42.9 44.0 45.2
Eggs Million no’s 8463 7505.0 7679.0 7860.0 8102.0
Hides // 7.6 7.8 7.8 8.2 8.4
Skin // 37.2 38.2 39.3 40.3 41.1

Apart from all the efforts made by the government our livestock sector is still lagging behind as
compared to other countries .A lot of problems are faced by our livestock sector like Low breed
potential and loss of germplasm; Poor availability and quality of feeds and feeding practices;
Low availability and technical capacity of animal health services; Lack of marketing information
and services. Impact of drought; Poor access to credit; Weak knowledge and application of farm
management.
Recently, the unfortunate flood in Pakistan in this year has set a great debacle to the livestock
sector. Around 200 000 cows, sheep, buffalo, goats and donkeys have already been
confirmed as dead or missing but the final numbers will be much higher, possibly into the
millions. FAO estimates that millions of surviving animals are now facing severe feed shortages,
threatening generations of Pakistan's livestock. Many animals died because people had to leave
them behind when they were rescued by the Pakistan military.

“MEASURES FOR PROMOTION OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR”

A lot of efforts have been made by the governments for its promotion and development but still,
a lot needs to be done as it is the major sector of our agriculture. Some of these efforts are
listed below:
 Imported plant and equipment not manufactured locally shall be subject to custom duty
of 10%, with complete exemption from sales tax.
 The imported plant and equipment not manufactured locally shall be subject to custom
duty of 10% with complete exemption from sales tax.
 · Income tax structure of projects in agro-food industry will be entitled to debt-equity
ratio of 70:30. Projects will be entitled to financing from all banks and development
finance institutions.
 The project shall enjoy 50% exemption from the central excise duty, on production, for
5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production.
 Expatriate personnel of the units will be entitled to import their personal effects,
excluding motor vehicles, free of duty and taxes in accordance with the personal
baggage "Transfer of Residence Rules". They will also be allowed to import food items
and other consumable without any duty/taxes up to US $600 per person per year, and
on payment of duty/taxes up to US $2000 per person per year.
 Import of breeding stock will be allowed subject to an import duty of 10%.
 Locally manufactured machinery will be provided credits under the LMM credit line.
 The projects may be exempted from provincial, municipal taxes for 5 years from the
date of commencement of commercial production.
 Parts and components up to 5% of initial C&F value of imported plant and equipment
shall be imported at 10% duty if imported together with the plant.
 Livestock improvement demands the efficient use of available feed resources. The
 provision of feeding stuffs of adequate nutritional quality is likely to be the most limiting
factor in increasing livestock production in the developing countries. The area under
fodder production is about 3.35 million hectares out of a total cropped area of 21.85
million ha, in the country, producing more than 60 million tonnes of fodder (Economic
Survey 2003-04).In 2001 the Government of Pakistan requested assistance from FAO
in developing federal and provincial livestock development policies and action plans,
reflecting renewed recognition of the importance of livestock to the economy of Pakistan
particularly in achieving macroeconomic development goals.

 In view of the importance of livestock in the economy as well as in the life of a

common man, the Government is trying by all means to fix priorities to increase
production of milk, meat and poultry to meet rising domestic demand of ever increasing
population and produce exportable surplus as well. The efforts and planning for the
purpose will precisely create job opportunities, which would have a multiplier effect on
the economy. Going forward for a meaningful planning and execution of the livestock
development activities, the role of accurate and upto date statistics need no further
emphasis. To meet out this data need, the current decennial census fourth in
succession was planned and executed in phases according to the peculiar conditions of
the country.

“POULTRY”

“Poultry is a category of domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of collecting their
eggs, or killing for their meat and/or feathers.”

The poultry farming has now become one of the most dynamic associated parts of agriculture
throughout the world. Poultry culture in South Asian countries is expanding rapidly and the rate
of growth of commercial layer and broiler (meat producing) farms is phenomenal to meet the
ever increasing demand for proteins through poultry meet and eggs. In Pakistan, poultry
industry had made considerable contribution to food production and plays a vital role in the
economy of the country. Raising of poultry in Pakistan has virtually proven a profitable
enterprise as it is the best source of cheap, palatable and nutritious food protein. The poultry
production commenced in Pakistan in 1963. Hen birds were mostly maintained in the backyard
of the houses in villages on a small scale, with very little investment by the villagers in terms of
money and material. The return on those birds was too little, and there was hardly any attraction
for investments to operate the same on large scales. Poultry as on a commercial scale in the
private sector started due to pioneering effect made by PIA (Pakistan International Airline) in
1965, when the first modern hatchery unit in Karachi was established. Later on, the investments
have taken keen interest in this sector, as was result of which substantial development has
taken place towards expansion of this industry. The commercial poultry farming emerged
through the combined efforts and foresight of the government and the private enterprises. Now
commercial poultry production is concentrated around the large urban centers in the provinces
of Sindh and Punjab and initially at Karachi, Lahore with the passage of time, it is now fairly well
spread all over the country.Poultry production provides an increasingly popular low-cost source
of protein. Modern poultry production is constrained by high mortality, high incidence of disease,
poor quality chicks, and poor quality feed, combined with an inadequate marketing system.
Frozen poultry have only recently been introduced.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced guidelines for poultry financing. The SBP
report said the poultry sector has a vital role in the agricultural sector and there is vast potential
to invest in the poultry industry, since the per capita consumption of poultry meat is
increasing at the rate of four percent per annum. The disbursement of credit to this sector
during 2006-07 was only Rs. 12.9 billion or 7.6 percent of total agricultural loans of Rs 169
billion disbursed during the year. It said one of the main reasons for low disbursements to the
poultry sector was lack of awareness and no familiarity of commercial banks with the sector.
Therefore, for capacity building of banks, major classification of the sector along with guidelines
for financing the poultry sector have been developed by the SBP in consultation with banks,
MINFAL, Pakistan Poultry Association and other stakeholders.

Poultry farming can further be classified into the following three categories.

1. BREEDER FARMING

2. LAYER FARMING

3. BROILER FARMING

Its importance can be judged from the fact that almost every fifth family in the urban
areas is associated with poultry production activities in one way or the other.

Poultry is an important sub-sector of livestock. It has great potential and can play a significant
role in the national economy by contributing towards food security of the country, reducing
pressure on the demand for mutton and beef, and earning foreign exchange. Poultry’s
contribution to meat production was 20 percent. It is a good source of cheap, palatable and
nutritious food protein. Poultry has around 1.1 percent share in the national GDP, 4.8 percent in
the agricultural GDP, and around 1.5 million people are connected with this field. The poultry
industry can broadly be divided into hatchery, poultry farming and the feed sector. Poultry
produce is being developed through commercial and rural poultry farming. The commercial
poultry farming sector is a classic example of private sector enterprise with a phenomenal
growth of 40 to 50 percent per annum.

The population of the poultry in Pakistan in year 1971-72 was 17.7 million it rose into 80.3
million in just 10 years period from 1982-83. The poultry meat production was 14,000 raise to
75,000 tons. The number of egg was 583 million to 4,213 millions. Per capita availability was
from 9 to 47. There are 8,000 commercial farms was in the country in the year 1982-83. In 1986
the poultry population in Pakistan was 57.5 million heads while in Sindh it was 8.7 million heads.
In 1994-95 the total meat was 2.1 million tonnes/million out of which 308,000 tonnes was poultry
meat. For the same year the egg production was 5,927 million. The poultry industry showed a
10% annual growth rate. This made Pakistan not only self-sufficient in poultry production but
earning millions of dollars foreign exchange, gradually poultry industry has developed an
investment base of about Rs.60 billion. Poultry industry proved to be an employment source of a
large number of people, particularly to those living in the rural areas
.

“ESTIMATED PRODUCTION OF COMMERCIAL AND POULTRY

PRODUCTS”
Production Units 2002-03 2003-04
Day old chick Million No’s 350.5 356.0
Layers // 19.3 22.1
Broilers // 227.2 280.1
Breeding Stock // 6.5 6.5
Poultry Meat (000 tonnes) 279.5 303.0
Eggs Million No’s 4632.0 4850.0

Pakistan’s poultry industry in terms of breeder population is considered among top ten poultry
industries worldwide. Country’s broiler production peaked at approximately 800 million per
year in 2007-08. Presently the industry is in recovery phase after suffering heavy losses due to
some unfavorable circumstances, which forced a lot of farms and even breeding companies to
close down. If you count poultry losses, then millions of animals have already died with the
entire poultry stock wiped out in some areas. The prices of chicken meat will start to decline in
couple of months as the industry has entered recovery phase and the rates of raw materials
have also reduced. These views were expressed by the Executive Director of K&N’s Adil K
Sattar while briefing to the members of Lahore Economic Journalists Association (LEJA) at
K&N’s poultry processing plant near Lahore

Almost 40 per cent industry was closed due to drop in sale of chicken after bird flu and increase
in prices of poultry feed, this slump had badly affected the poultry industry and out in into a
sudden slump. All these factors pushed the prices of chicken meat upwards; but the poultry
sector has now been recovering from the crisis, which ultimately reduced the prices of chicken
meat.

Talking about chicken export, European Union gives subsidy to its poultry sector, which makes
Pakistani raw chicken meat uncompetitive in those markets; the potential in exports of value
added chicken products, especially to the Middle East. In order to make Pakistani chicken
products very competitive in the international market the government needs to ensure
agricultural productivity, which has a direct link with the production of poultry feed. The local
poultry industry must continue to modernize for attaining efficiency, and thereafter should
strongly consider adding value to poultry meat if it wants to compete effectively in the global
arena.

We observe various constraints in meat and egg production in Pakistan these are:
• High rate of mortality due to contagious diseases and other diseases:
• Lack of disease diagnostic facilities.
• Deficient managerial and feeding practice.
• Lack of availability of better productive stock.
• Lack of trained staff in poultry husbandry.

The other drawback of poultry industry in Pakistan are:

High cost, low standard of commercial feed, poor management, poor housing facilities, high rate
of infection and diseases, high rate of mortality due to lack of diagnostic laboratories, shortage
of qualified veterinaries and high price of feed.

“MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE PROMOTION OF POULTRY”

 K&N’s is promoting the poultry industry on modern lines, meeting international
standards and providing consumers with world-class chicken products. K&N’s
endeavored to move in this direction to ensure quality and food-safety.

 The government is providing incentives to the poultry sector for growth in the
form of duty-free import of poultry vaccines, feed additives and coccidiostats used in
poultry feed. In the Avian influenza affected areas, about 12 laboratories have been
set up, along with a central laboratory in Islamabad. In addition to this, special
poultry zones are being established and the government has given incentives to Thai
investment CP Group to establish breeder farms and feed mills in the country. The
incentives have resulted in the establishment of infrastructure comprising 285
hatcheries with a capacity to produce 600 million day-old chicks per annum, 141
feed mills with a capacity of producing 4.7 million tonnes of compound food per annum,
and 19,154 poultry farms with the capacity of producing 100 million broilers.

 The poultry sector has faced the problem of avian influenza outbreaks in 2006 in
broiler, layer and breeder poultry farms, which affected 66 farms involving
approximately 280,000 birds. The resurgence of disease occurred in February 2007 in
backyard poultry, zoo and commercial poultry in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Abbottbad and
Mansehra. As part of the international obligation, the occurrence was notified and the
National Contingency Plant was activated to increase surveillance for the disease.
A project amounting to Rs. 40 million is under implementation to strengthen the
surveillance and emergency preparedness for Avian Influenza. Moreover, an
umbrella project of Rs. 1180.142 million is being prepared for which negotiations with the
World Bank ($ 500 million) are going on.

 The new policy will bring radical changes in the current livestock production system as it
provided incentives such as:
Import of agro-based machinery and equipment used in the livestock sector, and not
manufactured locally, has been allowed. In addition, poultry vaccines, feed additives,
coccidiostats used in poultry feed manufacturing has been allowed at zero percent
custom duty.
  In view of the importance of the poultry industry to the economy and to exploit its
untapped potential, the SBP has formulated guidelines to enhance flow of formal credit
to the poultry sector. These guidelines are aimed at assisting and facilitating banks to
penetrate into the poultry sector by rigorously financing poultry-related activities.
The main objective of the guidelines is to facilitate banks in developing internal expertise
and products for poultry financing, and encourage and facilitate the financial sector to
provide needed working capital and term finance to the poultry sector. The farmers
would be encouraged to adopt modern and efficient poultry farming techniques. The
SBP will encourage increasing poultry meat, poultry food production for local
consumption, and the export of poultry meat and poultry food and its processed
products.

 Poultry farmers need financing facilities for daily expenses, i.e. working capital
requirement and long term investment for purchase of incubators, generators and
feeding lines machinery, farm equipments and construction of sheds, etc., and the
guidelines cover both types of financing.
The limit of loan amount may be assessed by the bank on the basis of the financing
request, appraisal or feasibility report. Banks will determine mark up as per instructions.
The poultry stock and equipment should be comprehensively insured from
reputed insurance companies or groups of companies. This would also cover the
risk of avian influenza.

“FISHERIES”
Marine fisheries in Pakistan engage some 90,000 people. They operate mainly from Karachi
and the cost of Sindh. The export of fish and fishery products, particularly shrimp, is an
important source of foreign currency (FAO, 1989). Fisheries is an area of interest to women .It
has been found that traditionally, women were involved in fishing business as entrepreneurs.
But presently with the expansion of fishing business into an industry, women no longer manage
the business as they did in the past. Rather they are involved in peeling shrimps, weaving nets,
making fish baskets, etc. as labourers (GOP, 1995).

Pakistan's fishing industry is relatively modest, but has shown strong growth in recent years. It
contributes nearly 1.4 % to our agricultural sector. The domestic market is quite small, with per
capita annual consumption of approximately 2 kilograms. About 80 % of production comes from
marine fisheries from 2 main areas, the Sindh coast east from Karachi to the Indian border, and
the Makran coast of Baluchistan. 90% of the total marine catch is fish; the shrimp which
constitute the remainder are prized because of their greater relative value and demand in
foreign markets. During 1999-00, total fish production was 620,000 tons, of which 440,000
tons consisted of sea fish and the remainder were fresh-water species. About one-third of
the catch is consumed fresh, 9 percent is frozen, 8 percent canned, and about 43 percent used
as fish meal for animal food.
It is one of the largest contributors to Pakistan Exports.  As in fact, from July 2002 to May
2003 alone, fish and fishery products export amounted to as much as US$117
Million. During the year 2004, a total of 90,225 million tons of fish and fishery products
were exported, earning Rs 7.6 billion. The Federal Bureau of Statistics provisionally
valued this sector at Rs.18, 290 million in 2005 thus registering over 10% growth since
2000.

This has since continued to perform well even during global economic crisis.  Pakistan has
major fisheries that produce the fish requirements of Pakistan and the countries where Pakistan
exports its products. Pakistan is one of many countries in the east wishing to improve its
commercial fishing industry. In addition, a brief analysis of Pakistan's export in fisheries
products reveals over dependence on few species with little value addition. The dependence on
a limited number of species causes an imbalance resulting in over exploitation of few and under
exploitation of other species. This imbalance is also reflected in fishing grounds with over 99%
of landed catch being generated from continental shelf while EEZ contributing less than 1%.

Fishery plays an important role in the national economy. It provides employment to about
400,000 fishermen directly. In addition, another 500,000 people are employed in ancillary
industries. Federal Government is responsible for fishery of Exclusive Economic Zone of
Pakistan.

The major fish harbours of Pakistan are:

* Karachi Fisheries Harbour is being operated by Provincial Government of Sindh.

* Karachi Fish Harbour handles about 90% of fish and seafood catch in Pakistan and 95% of
fish and seafood exports from Pakistan.
* Korangi Fish Harbour is being managed by Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Livestock.
* Pasni Fish Harbour being operated by Provincial Government of Balochistan.
* Gwadar Fish Harbour being operated by Federal Ministry of Communication.

Fisheries are important for the nutrition, income and food security of Lao people. Freshwater
fish account for 48% of dietary animal protein intake—per capita consumption of inland fisheries
products is 29 kg/year (compared with 4, 5 and 5 kg/year for beef, pork and chicken
respectively). It is estimated that 80–90% of the yield is derived from river and flood-plain
(including rice field) fisheries, with the remainder coming from aquaculture. ACIAR work focuses
on management and improvement of the capture fisheries and community-based aquaculture,
including better valuing the socioeconomic importance of fisheries within an environment of
rapidly evolving rural and aquatic resource development.

“MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE PROMOTION OF FISHERIES”

 At the moment new projects are being introduced to help the much-needed fishery
sector. Among the measures are included lower interest bank loans to help the industry
to modernize and become more competitive in domestic and export market. The State
Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan have
already agreed a 14% interest rate on fisheries loans, which is the same rate available to
the agricultural sector. The Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Khair
 Mohammad Junejo, has said that the SBP will be asked to cut interest even further. He
also said the Central Board of Revenue will be asked to suspend customs and sales
taxes on equipment used in fisheries. This will allow fishing communities to equip
themselves with modern infrastructure to catch, store and market their fish.
Consequently, it will improve the quality of the catch resulting in bringing competitive
rates in the local as well as international market.
 Realising the importance of improvement of quality fish and fishery products and
effective introduction of quality control measures, a programme of up gradation of quality
control has already been introduced.
 Other instruments include strengthening of extension services, diversification of fishing
efforts, improvement in post harvest techniques, development of value-added products,
enhancement of per capita consumption and up-gradation of socio-economic condition
of the fishermen community.

 Another important measure that is being introduced in Pakistan is the utilisation of a

research vessel to monitor marine resources in its territorial waters. Pakistan last
conducted seafood resources survey in 1984. Marine experts say some of the species in
Pakistani waters have become extinct. On the other hand, they say the local fishermen
catch only 40% of the total seafood hidden under Pakistan's EEZ with hundreds of
species still remaining untapped in the country's waters. In addition, experts claim, up to
date statistical data on species, their size and population are essential if the fisheries
sector is to develop in a sustainable manner

 Pakistan has launched its first National Fisheries Policy which aims to increase exports
of fish and shrimp to US$1 billion a year in six years time, up from about $200 million
annually at present, reports David Hayes. Supported by a 2 billion rupees (US$33.4
million) budget to increase fish and shrimp output, the government programme is
intended to boost fisheries exports through a public-private partnership based on
sustainable production growth of marine and inland fisheries.
 Marine Fisheries Department(MFD) is executing 3 development projects i.e.” Monitoring
of DEEP SEA FISHING VESSELS” through establishment of 3 Base Stations and
Deputation of MFD Representative on each vessel which is aimed for controlling
poaching and management of deep sea fishing vessels. Another project entitled
“Strengthening of Quality Control Laboratories” is also being implemented to improve
quality control system in Pakistan. Whereas, under “Acquisition of a Fisheries Research
Vessel for Marine Fisheries Department ”, the Department intends to acquire a vessel
through a JAPANESE grant in the coastal and offshore waters of Pakistan.