Pakistan focusing on enhanced poultry production
A new policy regarding poultry development aimed at increasing the annual growth of the poultry sector from the present 12% to 15-20% using modern technology in production and processing has been approved.
At a meeting to review progress in the poultry sector and decide steps required for its further development, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government was encouraging development of the livestock and poultry sector due to their significant potential in bringing improvements in the living standards of the people.
Aziz added that the new poultry development policy would facilitate the private sector for sustainable poultry products to provide meat, eggs and value-added products to the domestic and international markets at competitive prices.
The government would encourage environmentally controlled housing for broilers and layers, and would create integrated production and processing systems, including value addition in the poultry sector.
Secretary of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) Muhammad Ismail Qureshi said poultry had 1.12% share in the national GDP and 1.5 million people were employed in this sector. He said the current 10-12% annual growth of the poultry sector was a result of steps taken by the government, including reduction in tariff on poultry feed ingredients and medication, duty-free import of machinery and equipment not manufactured locally and better credit availability to the poultry farmers.
