AVN Report
LAHORE: Punjab Livestock Minister Ibrahim Hasan Murad has stressed the need to collaborate with the private sector in scaling up the production of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine to meet the growing demand for it on a larger scale, ensuring an adequate supply to address livestock health concerns effectively.
Emphasising the significance of international verification, the minister advocated for establishing partnerships with top market companies for the production of the FMD vaccine. He underscored the detrimental impact of past policies, citing estimated losses of 6 to 8 billion dollars for Punjab in terms of milk and meat production.
The minister said this chairing a recent meeting at the livestock department, attended by Additional Secretary Technical Dr Asif Suleman, and other relevant officials, including the director general research.
The meeting decided to elevate the FMD control programme to level three, establishing an FMD controlled compartment to bolster dairy and meat trade in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and level three countries. The department resolved to draft a National FMD Control Programme with prior approval from the federal government.
The minister instructed the department to formalise a framework for third-party validation and testing of indigenously developed FMD vaccines, while also conducting a review of the suspension culture plant project at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS).
A committee, chaired by the provincial minister, was proposed to assess the substantial losses incurred by the government. Furthermore, Murad proposed the initiation of a one-year fellowship programme for postgraduate/PhD scholars at FMD for various research projects.
The livestock department is also expected to establish a framework for revenue generation related to the sale of specimens to private companies.
