Project launched to improve productivity of livestock sector

ISLAMABAD (APP) - European Commission (EC) has launched a project for improving livelihood of rural households by enhancing productivity of livestock sector.
The project signed with Plan Pakistan, a non-government organization will help mitigate the affects of exorbitant price hike through improving the yield and supply mechanism of the livestock sector.
The project will also promote modern animal husbandry and commercial dairy practices among rural subsistence and semi-subsistence livestock farmers in District Vehari. The primary beneficiaries are 3,000 subsistence and semi- subsistence farmers member of village farmer cooperatives which will be established by the project.
The dairy farmers both male and female participating in the project activities would be the direct beneficiaries. Owing their significant role in dairy farming, women will particularly benefit from the project including those in the landless and non-farm categories.
Other stakeholder involved in the dairy value chain will also be benefit directly or indirectly on account of increased demand for their goods and services.
A training workshop was held here in this regard for capacity building of Plan Pakistans national and field staff, associate partners, and the donor.
Country Director Plan Pakistan Haider Yaqub on the occasion apprised the participants that a large number of employment opportunities will be created both in input supply and output disposal through the project. He added consumers will also benefit from higher quality and timely availability of good and safe milk and milk products.
He said all stakeholders including dairy producers, milk collectors, milk transporters, milk processors on small scale, milk retailers, dry milk importers, larger processors and consumers of dairy value chain will benefit from the project.
Haider Yaqub said the small dairy producers will be major beneficiaries due to their capacity building in best practices including improved milk production, milking techniques, handling of milk and milk selling.
He said milk collectors and transporters will also reap benefits through their capacity building on proper milk collection methods, transportation and proper handling and care of collected milk as this will help them to achieve targets.
Similarly, milk processors will get benefit through improved collection and increased supply of milk, capacity building on processing techniques, market intelligence and enhanced shelf life and quality of milk for domestic markets, he added.