The livestock provides essential items of food in the form of meat, milk and egg. Every farming house in the rural area has two to five animals. Some others rear bigger stock as their major source of income.

Livestock also provides useful items such as wool, hair, hide, bones and organic fertiliser. Pakistan has a variety of good milch species cattle. Production of milk has increased over the last several years but a gap between milk consumption and production still exists. Lack of processing and chilling plants and poor distribution system in hot weather keeps milk away from the market.

The production of milk is not picking up fast due to shortage of feed, fodder and increase of concentrate ingredient in animal diet. This is because of population explosion and fast urbanisation leading to shrinkage in area of cultivation leading to decrease in fodder production.

Non-descriptive crossing and lack of proper breeding system are also the factors behind reduction in per animal yield of milk. Traditional farming has been an impediment in achieving the desired production targets. Lack of trained manpower is also a handicap.

Buffalo is the main dairy animal.. It is basically of two types, swamp and riverine. Swamp buffalo is usually light gray in colour and smaller than the riverine breed. The riverine breed is darker in colour with better milk and carcass quality. There are two best breeds of buffaloes Nili-Ravi and Kundi. They are reared in canal-fed areas, where water is in abundance and fodder and crops in plenty.

During the summer, buffaloes need shade and shelter as they have fewer sweat glands. Pakistani buffaloes are adapted to both hot and cold climatic conditions. They are the best milch buffaloes in the world with considerable genetic variation. The gestation period of buffaloes is 312–334 days (compared to cattle with 285 days) with the potential of giving over 4,500 liters milk per period of lactation through efficient breeding, good feeding, health care services and better management.

Milk and meat products are integral part of human diet and account for 70 per cent of animal protein intake. The availability of milk is relatively high here as compared to other regional countries. Presently Pakistan is fourth among milk-producing countries of the world with an estimated 33 billion litres of milk produced annually. Out of the total produce, 75 per cent is contributed by buffaloes and the rest by cows, sheep, goats and camels.

As a major contributor of milk, buffalo acquires an important position as the dairy animal. Lactation in buffaloes varies from two to 20 kg based on conditions, quality of feed and fodder and their genetic make up. Buffalo milk is richer than cow’s milk with an average butterfat content of over seven per cent. The SNF content is around 8.5-10.5 per cent. Buffalo milk is popular throughout the country and sells at higher price than cow’s milk.

Buffaloes and cattle are primarily kept for milk. The males are used in carriages and for ploughing fields. The adult animals are mostly slaughtered when they become un-economical and unfit for work.

Unlike the dairy sector, the meat industry is growing at a very low speed. With the adaptation of proper fattening practice of cattle and buffalo calves, meat production can be increased and the surplus exported.

After the development of Livestock and Dairy Development Board (L&DDB), recently a calf-fattening project has been started. The farmers are being supported technically and financially to attract them towards this business to meet the increasing demand of meat at home and abroad. In addition to the L&DDB, the Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC) is also motivating farmers to invest in the dairy sector by providing them with technical and financial facilities.

Buffalo meat has little cholesterol as compared to cattle beef and its colour is slightly dark reddish. Buffalo is resistant to most of infectious diseases as compared to other cross-bred cattle and is immune to extreme weather conditions.

The by-products of livestock obtained from buffalo, such as hides are thick and are used in multiple products i.e. footwear, handbags etc., and tanned hides are used as clothing. Horns are used in different items like handles of spoons, knives and shoes and combs etc. Its dung is commonly used as fertiliser. The end products such as blood and offal are used in manufacturing poultry feeds, as they are rich source of proteins.

Processing of milk is very important as shelf-life of raw milk is about 2-4 hours. Presently about 95 per cent of milk is taken as fresh. So, a large quantity of milk can be processed and converted into powder form to avoid spoilage in liquid from. Investment in the processing and chilling plants is very important for saving milk from being spoiled.

There is also a need to exploit the genetic potential of the pure bred animals, through efficient management, quality fodder and concentrates supply and through adaptation of measures to control disease. As there is great variation in milk yield per animal, only high milk-producing animals should be kept.

Progeny-tested, disease-free and proven bulls should be used for insemination and service, non-descriptive crosses should be avoided. The Punjab government realising the importance has built four semen production units (SPU) to ensure supply of good quality semen through progeny testing and pedigree analysis.

Adulteration of milk and meat is a common and open practice. Laboratory tests for detection of residues should be adopted, and rules should be followed to avoid health hazards.

Majority of farmers are not linked to markets and are not aware of marketing potential of livestock and dairy products. The government has taken an important step toward marketing of livestock and dairy products and opened a new department of livestock marketing at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, to train the professional and technical people with current demands of livestock marketing. Moreover grading of milk and livestock products is very essential for maximum profitability in dairy business. Collaboration of livestock farmers with research institution is also important to make investment profitable, through use of advanced research.

Investment in livestock and dairy sector is required for training the farmers and livestock holders to deal with the disease outbreak, proper and timely vaccination programme, record maintaining and feed management.

As food is a never-ending need of human beings, quality food can only be obtained through investment in livestock and dairy research institutions, training of livestock farmers, pasteurisation of milk through UHT.

Upgradation of market infrastructure can only prevent the looming food crisis in developing countries. The best way to overcome the crisis and attain economic prosperity is possible through livestock business, white revolution and exporting livestock and diary products.