Pakistan’s livestock sector—over 60% of agricultural GDP and a lifeline for rural households—faces chronic productivity and health constraints: low milk/meat yields, weak biosecurity, and limited veterinary and breeding infrastructure. Traditional systems and fragmented policy have struggled to keep pace with demand, climate stress, and evolving diets.
A modernization wave is emerging around genetics and data. Selective breeding that preserves resilient indigenous traits (e.g., Sahiwal, Red Sindhi), strategic use of exotics and crossbreeds (e.g., Holstein, Girolando), and scaled artificial insemination/embryo technologies are raising yield ceilings. In parallel, genomic tools—marker-assisted selection for resistance to mastitis, FMD, IBD, etc.—and AI-enabled farm health monitoring are cutting mortality and stabilizing performance, with case evidence from cattle and poultry and lessons drawn from Brazil, India, the Netherlands, and Kenya.
Turning pilots into national gains requires closing capacity and cold-chain gaps, expanding diagnostic and extension services, lowering adoption costs for smallholders, and aligning incentives through coherent policy and finance. Initiatives like GCLI show a viable blueprint: combine superior genetics, farmer training, and digital disease surveillance within public-private partnerships. With targeted investment and governance, Pakistan can build a resilient, higher-productivity, and more inclusive livestock economy.
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