Foot and Mouth disease – A serious threat for the development of livestock sector
Foot and mouth disease has become a major obstacle to the development of the livestock sector. Due to the absence of a plant to produce foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, the government exchequer is losing Rs 10 billion annually on the import of this vaccine.
According to the details, the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association says that foot-and-mouth disease is a major obstacle to livestock exports. Vaccines have been provided repeatedly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to combat foot-and-mouth disease, but these vaccines could not reach the 230 million small and large livestock across the country in a proper manner and became a victim of corruption, due to which foot and mouth disease remains a major problem even today.
Foot and Mouth Disease Hindrance in Livestock Export
Pakistan cannot export value-added meat products, the main reason for which is the dangerously low production capacity of foot-and-mouth vaccine in the country. Currently, 12 to 20 million doses of vaccine are being produced in the country at the official and unofficial levels, while the requirement is 300 million doses. According to Shakir Umar Gujjar, President of the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association, the vaccines imported by the FAO are not yielding sufficient results because these vaccines are not compatible with the conditions in Pakistan.
FMD Vaccine Management Issue
After the vaccines imported from France, Russia and Spain reach Pakistan, they lose their effectiveness due to lack of proper management of the supply cold chain and despite vaccination, cattle become susceptible to disease, due to which Pakistan’s livestock sector cannot compete in the global markets.
Need for Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Production Plant
Therefore, it is necessary that just as China, India, Turkey and Iran have set up vaccine production plants in the 70s and 80s, similarly a vaccine production plant should be set up locally in Pakistan, for which the federal government should allocate a budget, so that every cattle can be vaccinated and Pakistan’s exports can be increased. In addition, the reasons for not installing the plant so far should be examined and legal action should be taken against those responsible.
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منہ کھر کی بیماری لائیوسٹاک سیکٹر کی ترقی میں رکاوٹ، ویکسین کی درآمد پر سالانہ 10 ارب خرچ
معیشت کو تباہ کرتی منہ کھر بیماری ۔۔ مضامینِ نو، ڈاکٹر محمد جاسر آفتاب
پاکستان میں ڈیری فارمنگ اور لائیوسٹاک سیکٹر کی ترقی کے وسیع امکانات موجود
