Speakers for developing data on farm animals

These animals can be relied on to address food security challenges.

FAISALABAD: Pakistan has a rich population of farm animals that can be exploited to address the challenges of food security, say speakers at a three-day workshop on Country-based Indigenous Domestic Animal Genetic Resource Information System for Pakistan.

The workshop was organised by the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) in collaboration with the International Livestock Institute on Thursday.

Addressing the audience, UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad said world had become a global village and people were sharing their experiences in order to cope with challenges. He asked scientists to join hands in order to minimise the threat of food insecurity to the people by utilising all available resources.

Ahmad said collated information and existing diversity in indigenous farm animals were the basis for their present and future sustainable utilisation and conservation. Such information was generally incomplete in developing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, he said.

Dr Tadelle Dessie Alemayehu, an expert from the International Livestock Institute, Nairobi (Kenya) said African counties were bringing animal breeding resources from the US and Europe, but Pakistani genetic resources could be more suitable for them.

He said his institute was developing a web-based electronic information system on selected indigenous animals, which could be exploited for food security as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2012.