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How to Revolutionize the
Dairy Sector?
Vetristo Zoyfro
In most of the developed countries, dairy sector usually comprised of large dairy farms i.e. commercialized farms, being full time
enterprises. The farmers observe economic factors, thus keeps the animals on scientific lines. In Pakistan there are very less large commercialized dairy farms. Most of our farmers have small number of diary animals, may be landless or have small land. The major concern of our farmers is agriculture, thus they provide secondary importance to the animals. Most of our farmers posses no or very less education and have no scientific minds. They have adopted the livestock keeping as a part time hobby and usually take no interest for improvement of their activities on scientific lines.
Our livestock have a great potential. Our country has availed 6th position in milk production in the world. It can improve its position
to a great extent, if we run our dairy farms on scientific lines. We have established many achievements in Poultry sector due to
commercialized farming on scientific lines. Commercialization is the first step toward revolution of dairy sector. But it is not possible
without appreciation of government. The government has to provide some extra ordinary facilities and benefitsto the farmers. Other
wise we have to improve our dairy system by inserting changes in present set up. The substitute of commercialization is the
improvement and organization of coordination extension services. I am representing few
suggestions for a fully organized coordinated extension system.
For better extension services, Livestock department had planned many schemes or projects in the previous century, but no one succeeded. The main reason of failure was that these schemes were based on teaching and recording devices only. Most of them were short term projects based on table and paper work. Only teaching and recording devices on short term basis cannot produce some revolutionary changes in any field.
How can we create an effective system of extension services? Which steps can produce revolutionary changes in present set up? Actually few steps are most essential to start along with extension services for an effective system. These steps remained neglected in the previous century in Pakistan. That resulted into failure of nearly all the schemes or projects related with extension services. Another important reasons of such a failure is that all such schemes were based on paper work and were planned on the table.
During planning, basic workers of extension services. i.e. Veterinary Officers and their assistants were not involved during planning. While field representatives were mostly needed during the planning in order to know the ground facts, field problems and possible hurdles during implementation of expected schemes or projects. Further they can provide valuable suggestions for improvement of such schemes and for better line of action.
Thus in order to revolutionize the extension services, we have to implement the following;
- Establish coordinating activities related with extension services
- Involve the field staff during planning of extension projects.
Coordinated Actmties:
To revolutionize diary sector in Pakistan, following coordinated activities must be started along with extension services:
1 The most important coordinating activity, which can act as key factor for success on long term basis is the establishment of `Elite
Calf Raising Centers'. Unfortunately this key factor remained neglected in the past even up till now. The supposition behind this negligence was "In the presence of Artificial Insemination (A.I.) services, the whole population of dairy animals will improve amazing
to the genetic level of the elite bulls providing frozen semen for A.I. services".
The planners assumed that the A.I. services will
become very extensive and popular in a short period and will revolutionize the milk production miracally. No miracle appeared
because the planners of A.I. system were not aware of ground facts, field
problems,field considerations and about the possible hurdles during implementation of their scheme. They did not provide any importance to the field staff during planning. That's why the results
of A.I. services remained quite below the possible targets. No doubt artificial insemination is a miraculous technique. But there are many
constraints in its 100% adaptation in Pakistan.
On other hand the world is advancing toward more effective modern techniques as "Embryo Transfer" and "Cloning" , while we are lagging behind the world quite away even in the adaptation of A.I. services of frozen semen. In order to cover this deficiency, we have to discover substitutes of frozen semen technique, which may fulfill the objectives of frozen semen and may tackle the drawbacks of frozen semen. One of the important substitutes of A.I. services is the
establishment of "Elite Calf Raising Centers". Such centes should be established at Government Livestock Farms. At these centers
sufficient elite male calves must be available for natural mating or for semen production units in the country or abroad. For this project
we have to utilize extraordinary efforts.
But it can play a great role for producing revolutionary changes in dairy sector. For these
centers, we have to purchase elite or relatively better males of native breeds or crossbreds. Such animals can be selected from animal
fares or milk competitions. Animals getting first prize in competition or their male calves will be near elite animals and must be purchased at any cost. Female off springs of selected animal may be improved further by frozen semen, and male off springs will be available for natural mating or for semen production units. Purchase of near elite animals should be a continuous process with a sufficient budget. Female off springs will remain at the livestock farmers and will be further improved through natural selection and
through artificial insemination technique. While male offspring may be sold out for natural mating or for semen production units. If we will be able to carry on this project honestly, it will bring positive change within few decades.
Another feasible substitute for frozen semen system is the establishment of "Liquid Semen Units" at each district. The drawbacks of utilization of frozen semen in our country, especially in Punjab are as follows.  Less staff is involved for A.I. services. Thus approach to A.I. staff is difficult by the farmers.  Very costly equipment is needed for starting and carrying of frozen
semen.  Supply of liquid nitrogen required per week is an extra financial burden.
We can remove the first draw back easily. Now a day only the veterinary staff of the directorate of Breed Improvement is
responsible for A.I. services. While the veterinary staff of the directorate of Animal Health, which is 5-6 times greater in strength
and spread over it root level in rural areas, can perform A.I. services, but it is not provided with materials of A.I. services.
Thus we are losing the services of a huge staff for A.I. services. However we can remove this drawback simply by involving the staff of Animal Health wing for A.I. services. To compensate this deficiency we have to provide only a short training to each staff member. That
is not a difficult or impossible task. Under the district government both the staff of Animal Health and Breed Improvement wings are
working under single supervision. Therefore implementation over my suggestion is more feasible now a days.
Recently government has introduced a new scheme of "Training of Village Veterinary Workers". Young unemployed but low educated
persons from different villages are trained by Veterinary Officers at different Vet. Hospitals. They are basically trained for vaccination
and artificial insemination services. After training a bank loan will be granted to village
workers. By this loan they are bound to purchase a costly container for frozen semen, liquid nitrogen and semen doses. Similarly they will purchase syringes and vaccines
themselves for vaccination. Governor of Punjab has appreciated this scheme. Therefore by the governor's orders, they will definitely get
the loans. But there is no planning to check the proper utilization of loans. Village workers are independent persons. They may utilize
the loans for their personal needs. Further they may have no link with Vet. Hospitals. Thus their activities and efficiencies cannotbe
supervised.
Thus the success of this scheme may become doubtful. In order to ensure the success of this scheme, the government has to provide some honorarium to these workers on monthly basis. If they will receive the honorarium form nearest hospitals, then they will provide the report or their activities to that hospital. Further their activities can be supervised. I think an amount of Rs. 2000 is sufficient as
monthly honorarium for each village worker. The second drawback is so effective that village workers may hesitate to perform A.I. Services. Similarly great financial involvement may disapprove the scheme of involvement of Animal Health staff for A.I. Services.
The containers of frozen semen are not manufactured in Pakistan, thus are imported and are very costly. Further weekly provision of liquid nitrogen gas is another repeated financial burden. Thus great financial resources are required for supply of even small containers to each staff member of Animal health wing. If we compare the capital investment for establishment and maintenance of "Liquid Semen Unit" with supply cost of frozen semen, it's equipments and liquid nitrogen to the staff members of Animal Health wing. The former will be proved to be more feasible and relatively less costly. The equipment related with Liquid Semen utilization is so cheap and abundant that the staff will not demand for it from government. Only a simple small thermos along with ice is needed for temporary storing and carrying of semen. For long storing especially during night, it can be placed in a domestic refrigerator.
A larger no of doses of semen occupy the space equal to that occupied by only few vials of injections. There fore most of the staff of
Animal Health prefer to use liquid semen. Further many private practitioners, who are now reluctant to adapt A.I. Services due to
high cost of containers and liquid nitrogen, will show full willingness for purchase of liquid semen. In this way A.I. Services with liquid semen can increase up to 10 times as compared with frozen semen. However, an objection to raised by the opponents that the
genetic potential of the liquid semen may not be comparable to that of frozen semen. No doubt it is possible that proven bulls of the
level of frozen semen may not be available at the start. By the time new bulls of
high quality may be available at Elite Calf Raising Centers.
No doubt these bulls will be selected from competitions. There fore they must be quite better than the bulls used for usual natural
mating. However our first target should be to increase the A.I. services. For this objective liquid semen projects can be most
useful. Thus the farmers will adapt the habit of A.I. services and scientific recording. It will improve the genetic make up and
production of dairy animals. By further improving the extension services, we may be able to get our own proven bulls for both liquid
or frozen semen production units. If any body differs from my suggestion, he must have to survey Faisalabad District. Where the University of Agriculture has been running the liquid semen project for many years. Where extra staff (special veterinary assistants related to old District Council) is sufficiently available for A.I. services under the supervision of Animal health wing. Many private practitioners are using this semen also. Here the A.I. staff is more approachable and resulted in more A.I. Services and A.I. Births. Farmers are more familiar with A.I. services in this district.
2 In order to revolutionize the extension activities, we have to establish "Farmer's Guidance Centers". These can be established at
focal points (A town approachable by farmers of a large area around it). The district governments have to establish such centers. These
centers should provide the services of important Agriculture and Livestock specialists, published information and technological aids.
The technical aids may include supply of specific seeds Vet. Medicines, vaccines, calf feeders, chillers, spraying machines, small
tube wells, pesticides and new technological products at minimum prices. The walls of this center should be pasted with published and
manual charts demonstrating the recommendations of specialists. This center should include a seminar room, a library and a local playing radio station. This center will have a team for extension activities, thus it will act as a center for planning of extension activities.
Each center will prepare few modal villages showing adaptation of latest technologies. Thus it will provide guidance and education to
the farmers at each level.
Playing radio station cannot be very costly project a compared to other radio stations. The costly thing is only a small transmitter
having a range of 10-20 km. While there will be no need of studios, recording staff, musicians, announcers, newsreaders etc. Only a very
short staff will search out different programs or receive copies of already recorded programs from different radio stations or TV stations or their channels, which will be played over playing radio station. Such a radio can provide most effective live extension
services in local dialect. It can solve the technical problems of farmers repeatedly at their own homes.
3 In the revolution of dairy sector, our reliable allies will be the Progressive Breeders. Any farmer having at least 3 animals, each
having milk production of 15-20 liters or more should be declared as Progressive Breeders. We have to provide some facilities to them for keeping the animals on the scientific lines. Other wise they will not join us freely. District governments should provide the facilities
for tagging the animals and for maintaining record of the animals on scientific lines. Tagging machines along with tags should be available at the vet. Hospitals. In the area of extension work. For help in recording, the district governments should provide published
registers and guidance for recording. Further these governments should develop a scheme for provision of "teaser bulls" to the
progressive breeders in their districts. It will help to tackle the irritating problem of silent heat. For this purpose simple and
cheaper unrecorded bulls are needed, which can be changed to teasers with a simple operation. At least one teaser bull of required specie should be provided to each progressive breeder free of cost. It cannot be a costly scheme. As there may be only 10-20 progressive breeders in a district. Then only 50 cheep bulls will be sufficient for period of at least 5 years.
Availing these facilities, the progressive breeders will become scientific farmers. Looking at them, other simple farmers will shift
towards progressive farming. Now a days, most of the farmers feel that government does not provide any facility except that of
veterinary staff and few medicines. Available medicines always remain less than demand and finish earlier. That's why most of the farmers have no trend to consult veterinary staff for improvement of their farming system, even for treatment of animals. First of all they consult non-qualified people residing in their village when feel non-satisfaction then they consult the veterinary staff. Provision of
some extra facilities even to the progressive breeders may change the trend. Then they may follow all the instructions given by the
veterinarians. Thus they may run the livestock farms on scientific lines.
4 Farmers need bank loans for improving their farming system. But they have no guidance and linking facilities to get loans. To solve
this problem, agriculture related banks should establish "Link offices" at focal points. For this purpose only one or two persons of
bank staff are needed. They may reside at some government institution as union council office, agriculture office, some school or
Veterinary hospital. However, the best one place can be "Farmer's Guidance Ceuter". They may come there on few fixed days in a week. They should come along with application performs. Their duty will be to provide performs and other information, to guide the farmers for
filling of documents. He will work at head quarters for remaining days to proceed the available cases, to receive the cheque of loans
and linking for recoveries.
To speed up the adaptation of new technologies, "Special Loans" with minimum mark up should be provided to the progressive farmers and technical persons e.g. Agriculturists, Veterinarians, Animal Husbandry experts and their assistants. No doubt they will establish farming on scientific lines, then will provide practical examples for other farmers. Thus other farmers will also work on scientific lines
and will revolutionize the livestock and agricultural farming. District governments should also provide small loans for technological adaptations as construction of silos for silage formation, urea treated straws and molasses storage. Other possible developments may be construction of tick protection houses, solar dehydrators, urea molasses blocks production plant and processing plants of agricultural and livestock products.
5 Pakistan lacks co-operative farming, although co-operative banks are working here. They provide loans for co-operative societies. But these societies remained on the papers, while loans are utilized by influential persons for their personal farms only. In India an
organization "Village Milk Producers Co-operatives societies" (V.M.P.C.S.) was established in 1946 at Anand. Up to 1996 it managed
0.54 million farmers & received 0.63 million liters milk per day, thus earned Rs. 3803 million per annum. Indian government gets the
services of Veterinarians for guidance & management of milk co-operative societies. In Pakistan, Co-operative Bank should involve
the Veterinary & Agriculture Officers for supervision & running of respective co-operativesocieties in an effective way with in their
jurisdiction.
6 Marketing of milk & agricultural products is not proper. The costs of farm inputs are under free market & their prices increased
day by day, but the prices of farm outputs including milk, meat and agricultural products usually remain fixed, thus reducing the profit.
Milk marketing is in the hands of middlemen, whose approach towards the farmers & the producers is apathetic and whose only target is to make maximum money through minimum efforts in a minimum time period. The dealers of livestock feeds, Veterinary medicines, fodders etc, keep their profit high and have no interests with livestock farming. Very less attention has been paid for chilling and processing. Only about 2% of the milk produced here gets access to a processing and marketing channel, while in India 40% of the total milk produced is processed and marketed. The government has to provide facilities to the companies for processing of milk. Further the district governments have to establish marketing and sale centers for agricultural products at district cities. These may be managed by
district co-operative societies. This will also help the organization of co-operative societies at district level and will provide more
profit to the farmers. It may result in a revolution in the milk production in that district at least.
Involvement of field staff in
planning
The second deficiency remained in planning of previous extension schemes was the non-involvement of field staff or their
representatives during planning stages. That's why nearly all the schemes ended in to failure. I am sure that the involvement of field
staff in the planning of extension schemes will result in successful ending or result in revolution when combined with coordinating
activities. For example, where there will be Farmer's Guidance center. Then the extension schemes will be prepared at this center
with consultation of field staff of its area. Such schemes will be based on ground facts, field consideration and farmer's psychology of
that particular area. The specialized working of Farmer's Guidance Center and other coordinated projects will revolutionize the
extension services and in turn will revolutionize the production of dairy sector.
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