THIS is apropos of Brian Murphy's report 'Dubai camel dairy hopes to milk health food market' (Aug 23), which, I am confidant, will prove an eye-opener for our dairy industry, which is bound to suffer from the shattering experience due the calamity of unprecedented floods.

Quite a substantial population of our milch animals has disappeared, though they will be replenished in the long run. To make up for the shortages, camel's milk might provide a valuable source.

We are blessed with quite a generous population of camels whose milk is already consumed, though on a very small scale. Our camel owners, under the guidance of livestock scientists, can exploit this natural bounty through application of appropriate technology.

Please come out of the stereotyped complacency and enter the new field asking for your technological expertise. It was time to produce camel milk.

It must, however, be realised that our buffalo, introduced in Europe by some entrepreneurs, is yielding double of what they produce here in their own habitat. The reason is not difficult to discern. Provided with diet balanced according to its production potential, and creating the comfort of machine milking, the same low-yielding animal performs to justify its importance amongst producers and consumers.

How astonishing it is that we have not even thought of introducing machine milking to obtain clean and hygienic white milk, richer in nutrients than that of the cow. The technology can, after some modifications to suit the larger teats, be applied to buffaloes as well, as is being done with camels

M.S.J.
Karachi