Livestock Quetta

 Introduction

Livestock farming is an important source of livelihood for rural population. It not only generates income for flock owners, but also is a major source of nutrition for the population. The final use of livestock produce is multidimensional in nature. Products are exported to other provinces to meet the food requirements. It is an important source of milk, wool, hides & skins. It also serves as an input in certain agro-based industries. Further, animals are an important source of transportation particularly in those areas where speedy transport is not available or for those areas where hilly tracts are present. Hilly tracts and the presence of vegetation are particularly suitable for grazing purposes.

A Poultry Farm in Quetta city.

In the district, a minor but still sizable proportion of the rural population is engaged in livestock rearing activities. In urban areas, milk animals are kept by the dairy farm owners for commercial purposes. Mostly sheep and goats are reared. Some rear them for domestic purposes and others for commercial purposes.

There is only one government poultry farm in Quetta. However, the number of poultry farms in the private sector is 66. In 1986 the number of poultry units was more than 279 thousand.

Sheep Market on Airport Road.

Male involvement in the livestock activities is substantial in the district, while female involvement is limited to households. However, their role within the house is very significant. This is due to the fact that women, due to cultural constraints, cannot effectively take part in outdoor activities. As far as paid labour involvement is concerned, men are paid while women are not paid.

Sources: Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Quetta.

Government Dairy Farm Quetta.

Cattle

In the rural area of the district, people traditionally keep cows and buffaloes; however, their number is very low. In Quetta, dairy farm owners prefer buffaloes to cow. This is mainly due to the higher fat percentage in buffalo milk and consumers’ preference for it. The number of private dairy farms far exceeds the number of Government controlled farms. According to informed sources, the total number of private dairy farms in Quetta district is more than 400. The number of buffaloes in each dairy farm ranges from 8 –

Sheep Market in City.

 160. Most of the dairy farms are concentrated in the Gowalmandi area of Quetta. The milk and milk products (butter, cheese, cream, etc) are sold in the local market. The prices of milk as compared to other cities of Pakistan, except Karachi, are higher; particularly in summer there is a shortage of milk.

 There are two government dairy farms in Quetta. One is situated in the Cantonment area, and is administered by federal government while the other is controlled by the provincial government. Breeding is done both by private and public dairy farms

 The dairy farms are experiencing certain problems. There is normally shortage of green fodder. Therefore only milk cows/buffaloes are kept in the dairy farms. Long dry periods and non-availability of pasture land make holding of cows and buffaloes very costly. The milk is marketed through middle men. They normally give the owners of the dairy farms a handsome amount in advance. Besides, most of dairy farm owners are uneducated and they do not know how to run this industry on modern lines. Therefore the need arises to train them on subjects like feeding and disease control of cattle. Loans and technical assistance may also be given to them.

 There is no meat processing plant, neither in the district nor in the Province. Livestock markets exists in different parts of the city like the Eastern By-Pass and at Killi Almo Chowk. Moreover, livestock is also bought and sold in the villages through middle men as well as by livestock farmers themselves. Livestock prices are subject to fluctuation. There are many factors influencing the prices of livestock in the district. First is the arrival of nomads from Afghanistan. Due to oversupply, the prices normally decline. However, consumers do not get the benefit, because the prices of meat remain unaltered. It is interesting to mention that during drought years the prices of livestock fell, because the herd owners can not afford the expenses of feeding the animals. Moreover at the time of Eid-ul- Azha, the prices are normally very high and they shoot up even after Eid. This is due to the slaughtering of a large number of animals. Similarly in the winter season, the prices go up due to higher demand, whereas in the spring and summer season the prices of livestock slightly come down.

 The given table shows the number of slaughtered animals in Quetta during 1993-94 to 1995-96.

Animals Slaughtered in Quetta District

Source :- Municipal Corporation Quetta/Livestock Department, Quetta.

 It can be seen from the table that an average more than 23.5 thousand cattle, 9.79 thousand buffalo were slaughtered annually. Similarly more than 122 thousand sheep and 117 thousand goats were slaughtered annually. If the figures of the number of livestock (in 5.2.1) and of the number of slaughtered animals are correct, there would exist a situation in which the number of slaughtered sheep and goats is about the same as the existing population of those animals.

 Livestock census figures are not based on an actual count. Indeed, 1996 figures have been projected based on 1976-86 Livestock census. There are reasons to believe that these figures are misleading. During the last two decades (1976 - 1986) there have been significant changes in the population. Due to influx of Afghan refugees along with their herds into Pashtoon areas of Balochistan, further rural - urban migration has taken place on massive scale particularly in Quetta. The number of animals slaughtered in slaughter houses and outside slaughter houses is suspicious. According to informed sources, the number of milk animals in Quetta district is more than 10 thousand. The figures given by 1996 census grossly under estimates them, keeping in view the above mentioned facts. What is needed is to conduct micro-surveys on livestock production e.g. sample survey on the economics of milk products in Quetta city. It would not be unreasonable to assume that cattle is mostly slaughtered, while buffalo are used for dairy purpose.

 Hides and skin production takes place but they are not processed in the district. They are only dried and salted. In the process of marketing of hide and skin, only private sector is involved.

Small Ruminants

Livestock is not only a major source of income for the rural population, but flock owning is also considered as a sign of prestige. Therefore, in the rural areas of the district traditionally people keep livestock. Small ruminants can be observed in the households of every village. Especially women are very much involved in rearing these small ruminants. Price fluctuations are normally witnessed during winter when vegetation for grazing is not available. Further, due to the high cost of feed and fodder for small ruminants prices decline. Due to poverty, the owner is not able to bear the feed and fodder expenses.

 Wool as a by-product is marketed to other provinces for its final use in carpet and blanket industries. The private sector is engaged in the marketing of wool and skins. The marketing of wool is different from skins in the sense that wool is gathered from live sheep and goats and women play an important role in this activity. Wool thus collected is sold to intermediaries, who finally send it to other provinces. Moreover a minor part of this wool is used for family requirements. The marketed skins are of slaughtered animals.

Poultry

Poultry is an important income generating activity of rural women in district Quetta. Rural women are very fond of keeping hens for eggs, because the income emanating from this activity belongs to them. The major proportion of the eggs and chickens are consumed by the family to meet the nutritional and ceremonial requirements of the family. The chicken and eggs produced under free range system are called ‘Dessi’ and they fetch a premium price in the local market.

 The data limitations do not allow an estimate of the production figures for the free range category. Nevertheless, it has been observed that a major proportion of the local demand is met from this source. There is only one government poultry farm in Quetta. During 1994-95, 929,000 eggs were produced. There is no data available to show the  number of layers, broilers produced during the year. However, income emanating from eggs, layers, broilers and other sources is given. The total income of the poultry farm during 1994-95 was 2,300,000 Rupees.

 There are also a few privately owned poultry farms in the district.

Disease Control

Livestock like other animals face certain diseases. The nature of diseases may vary from animal to animal, from season to season and from place to place. The most prevalent diseases among livestock in Quetta are given below.

Source :- Assistant Director Animal Health Qta.

Livestock Treatment and Vaccination 1995-96 in District Quetta.

Source :- Assistant Director Animal Health Qta.

There is a network of government veterinary institutions in the district. Through this network the diseased animals are treated and vaccinated. For example, during 1995/96 29,345 livestock were treated. More than 264,000 animals were vaccinated. The data about livestock dips is not available

Veterinary Institutions

There is a network of veterinary institutions which include hospitals, dispensaries, Artificial Insemination Centre (A.I.C) and Disease Investigation Laboratory (DIL) units. The number of hospitals in 1989/90 was 3 and this remained the same to date. The number of dispensaries was 14 in 1994/95.

 The number of Artificial Insemination Centre (AIC) has grown to 5 during the same period. In addition to these, government funded centres and a large number of privately managed clinics are also working. There are 66 persons engaged in providing veterinary services in the district. They include doctors, artificial inseminators and vaccinators etc.

 Veterinary drugs are available in the market and also in the Government veterinary hospitals. It is interesting to note that in the early years, these drugs were highly subsidised. With the passage of time the proportion of subsidy has decreased and now full cost of the medicine is recovered from the owner. This has created a problematic situation for the owners. In the open market smuggled veterinary medicines, particularly from Iran, are available at a much cheaper rates than the rate which is charged by the government Institutions. Therefore, people normally buy medicines from the open market but they take their animals to government centres/hospitals for diagnosis.

No. of Treatment Institutions 1995-96 in District Quetta.

It is unfortunate that detailed statistics for this vital sector are not available. However, some crude estimates about the treatment expenditure per year show that for small animals it ranges from rupees 10 to 15 and for big animals from rupees 150 to 200.

Department of Livestock Development

The organisational set-up of the Livestock Department is given below.

 Dairy development services are, to some extent, provided by the provincial government supported by donors. Like slaughtering, dairy development services are however mostly provided by the private sector. It is very unfortunate that non of the above mentioned agencies is providing credit facilities to this vital GO/NGO/Private Enterprise, etc. involvement in Livestock Development

As far as involvement in the provision of livestock services in the district is concerned, the provincial government plays a dominant role, followed by private enterprise, international donors, federal government and local government bodies. The role of

NGOs is non existent. Provincial government supported by international donors are actively involved in providing the following services to the live stock sector.  

1. Animal Husbandry

2. Veterinary hospital/dispensaries

3. Artificial Insemination.

4. Input supplies.

5. Dairy Development.

The marketing services and policy pertaining to price setting, are influenced by private enterprise and provincial government. Local government plays an active role in providing slaughtering services. However, the dominant role in slaughtering services is played by the private sector.

sector of the economy. As far as collection of livestock statistics is concerned, data are collected by the Provincial government, and are further processed by the federal government.

Conclusion and major Development Issues

The following conclusions have emerged:

1.  The livestock sector plays a significant role in the economy of district Quetta. It is an important source of livelihood and a major source of income for owners of livestock, but only a minority of the population in the district is involved.
2.  The district has potential for increasing its production of small ruminants provided water resources are fully exploited. The productivity and quantity of small ruminants can be increased through public investment by providing certain facilities to this sector e.g. improvement of disease coverage, livestock extension service etc. Technical assistance should be extended to dairy farm industry.
3.  There is a dire need to educate the farmers through livestock extension services.
4.  The livestock sector, particularly dairy farming industry, needs financial assistance in order to free them from the clutch of the middle men. This would increase their productive capacity having far-reaching implications on the district.
5.  It is essential to synchronize the policies of local, provincial, federal government, donors and private sector for livestock development. Moreover (like in other districts) NGOs can play a significant role in the district.
6.  It has been observed that most of the beneficiaries of government / donors schemes are rich and influential persons of the community, while the poor people neither have access nor have the knowledge and courage to benefit from these services. Therefore, the need arises to organise the poor people through NGOs on community participation basis so that they may be able to share the fruits of development.
7. Shortage of data on livestock activities was noted and people have also complained that veterinary staff rarely visit the village for curative and preventive purposes. Therefore, institutional capacity of this sector at district level should be enhanced.

 Women play a significant role in this sector. There is a need to encourage them and to provide training & credit facilities. Efforts in this respect are called for by government as well as NGOs.

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