Dairy sector: Newly trained technicians get motorcycles

To help educate farmers on improving livestock in remote villages

LAHORE: Forty-three newly trained technicians of artificial insemination (animal breeding) have received motorcycles on a cost-sharing basis under a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The dairy sector technicians have been trained at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

The vehicles will enable the technicians to provide farmers with timely and affordable help to improve breeding of livestock in remote villages.

UVAS Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha said the varsity was collaborating with USAID’s dairy project to transfer its technology and knowledge to small-scale dairy farmers and women in rural areas so that they could contribute in the development of the dairy and livestock sector of Pakistan.



As one of the world’s largest milk producers, Pakistan’s dairy sector offers tremendous potential for the nation’s economic growth, said USAID Punjab Director Alyson McFarland while speaking at the motorcycle distribution ceremony. “Today’s graduates will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this sector as well as the country’s.”

USAID is collaborating with the Dairy and Rural Development Foundation (DRDF) for the project. Through the dairy project, the foundation aims to transform the dairy sector by promoting breed improvement, skill development and best farming practices, DRDF Chairperson Dr Salman Shah said. “Our combined efforts will help maximise Pakistan’s livestock and dairy production.”

The five-year USAID project for the dairy sector is being carried out at a cost of $21 million. The press release stated the project has impacted the lives of over 36,000 small-scale dairy farmers by improving livestock productivity and increasing their income by at least 10%.

The project has made great advances in fostering sustainable dairy farming practices, resulting in a 17% increase in the average milk yield and generating more than 8,000 employment opportunities for rural men and women.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2016.