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European
Commission to provide Rs. 1.2 billion for Livestock
development
 ISLAMABAD, Mar 16 (APP): The European Commission will provide
a grant of Rs. 1.2 billion for carrying out an ambitious
project to develop potential of Livestock sector.
The project covering all areas of the country will greatly
help to improve existing provision of livestock services.
Ambassador Kurt Juul of the European Commission Delegation In
Pakistan, and Nawid Ahsan, Secretary Economic Affairs
Division, government of Pakistan concluded the contract.
The signing ceremony was chaired by the Federal Minister for
Food, Agriculture and Livestock Khair Mohammed Junejo.
The duration of the project is six years, from the date of
arrival of the Technical Assistance in Pakistan. The
implementation partners are the Federal Ministry of Food,
Agriculture & Livestock which is the Executing Agency,
represented by its Livestock Division and the provincial
Departments of livestock.
The first year of the project will be dedicated to
strengthening of organizational structures, procedures
(training, setting up of data bases and reporting systems,
etc.), and to carrying out a number of studies and surveys.
The specific objectives are to strengthen the government's
capacity of plan and manage the sustainable delivery of public
services to the sector in the context of a difficult economic
situation, while at the same time examining ways in which the
private sector delivery of services could be improved.
The immediate beneficiaries are the national, provincial and,
eventually district livestock services, while the ultimate
beneficiaries are the farmers,particularly smallholders, whose
livelihoods will be improved.
The European Commission project will target the problems of
Animal disease control by looking specifically at the final
eradication of Rinderpest and conception of a progressive
strategy to address the problem of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD),
the control of which is essential for the export of animal and
animal products and by addressing other key diseases.
Animal nutrition, feed supply strategies (especially fodder
supply), together with improvement of markets and the
marketing systems for internal as well as for export needs,
are other essential components of this European Commission
project.
The creation and putting in place of a Livestock Sector
Management Information System (LSMIS), including an
epidemiological disease surveillance programme is said to be
one of the main components of the project. This will allow
both the federal and provincial governments to better address
policy issues concerning the operation of the livestock
sector.
The project also envisages training of field staff,
strengthening ' of the disease reporting system, emergency
field intervention, establishment of well-functioning network
of epidemiological units and diagnostic laboratories will be
set up, strengthened and coordinated.
Cost-benefit analysis will also be carried out to determine
The viability of producing different vaccines to
internationally Recognized standards, and in commercial
quantities. As a result, appropriate Vaccine production units
will be strengthened, and assisted through Contracts concluded
as required with relevant world reference laboratories, and
with a view to an eventual privatization, if relevant.
March 17, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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