FAISALABAD – Punjab government is going to set-up a milk and meat safety agency to explore new horizons of business opportunities in dairy and livestock industry. Livestock and Dairy Development Provincial Secretary Jahanzeb Khan said this while addressing the participants of the concluding session of a three-day international conference titled “Technological and scientific aspects of dairy products with special reference to French Cheeses.”
He was the chief guest at the seminar held as a part of the University’s golden jubilee celebrations at the Nestle Hall of University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). He pointed out some of the challenges regarding the low yield of milk that included poor education on milk and dairy framings, food consumption habits and poor quality of milk.
He urged all the stake holders, agronomists, animal breeding specialists, veterinarians, food technologists, economists and marketing people to not only educate the farmers but also look for new avenues of business. He said that manufacturing sector witnessed a negative growth this year and the investors were looking for new business opportunities.
Underscoring the need for producing safe food products by ensuring a safe and hygienic environment, he said that besides South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, central and far-east Asian countries were deficient in terms of milk and meat intake. He added that Pakistan could tap up the business potentials of billion rupees by exporting halal food and byproducts of milk to them.
He pointed out the need to give incentives to the local farmers as well as the other stake holders so that the business might be promoted to the local livestock sector. He asked the organisers of the international conference to disseminate their findings in a way that the farmers would carry home the message at grass root level.
The right strategy might ultimately benefit the farmer and get him acquainted with the emerging trends and practices focused on the development of livestock leading to an overall growth in milk production, he added. Dr Jean-Francois Grongnet from Agro campus France said that Pakistan was a milk producing country due to the presence of good animal breeds and easy availability of animal fodder.
He added that giant dairy companies were targeting Pakistan to fulfill their requirement of milk products thus having long term planning to invest in this sector. He further said that in Pakistan, the poor produced milk which was used in the production of high quality cheese for the rich.
Man clubbed to death by father and son: A fight between two groups left a man dead and two critically wounded when they attacked each other with sticks and batons. Reportedly, the accused Abdul Khaliq and his son Abu Baker, residents of B Block Gulistan Colony, had an altercation with the deceased Abdul Basit, a resident of Sheeraz Park.
They clashed at Doctor Khalid’s private clinic in Sheeraz Park where all the three were wounded. They were being taken to the Allied Hospital but Abdul Basit died on his way to hospital. Sargodha police registered first information report (FIR) against the injured father and son who were recovering in the hospital.
ROBBER KILLED IN POLICE ENCOUNTER: A robber who killed a man for offering resistance in a robbery was shot dead by police in an encounter. Reportedly, 30-year-old Omer Hayat, a resident of Quaid-e-Azam Block in D-Type Colony, was riding his motorcycle in the Sabzi Mandi area when two unidentified gunmen ambushed him at gunpoint and tried to snatch his bike. When the victim offered resistance, they shot him dead and escaped with the motorcycle.
D-Type Colony station house officer (SHO) chased the dacoits along with a police contingence. When the police reached near the fleeing dacoits, they opened fire at them. The police retaliated and killed one dacoit instantly while the other escaped.
