Livestock issues

The following issues are considered as pressing in the livestock sector (Khan, 2003).

Fodder - The quantitative and qualitative shortage of fodder is the principal constraint to livestock production in the Northern Areas. The situation is particularly acute during late winter and early spring, when crops from the previous season have been largely exhausted. During this period the animals are in advance pregnancy or in early location and thus require more nutrition inputs. Pasture degradation further contributes to shortages of fodder. Additionally, there are insufficient research and development programs for developing improved varieties of fodder and forage. Similarly, there are insufficient facilities for the production of quality fodder seed. However, projects like Dost (1996) prove that improved fodder situation can be attained through suitable interventions and thus such efforts need to be replicated throughout the region.

Animal health - Inadequate fodder resources lead to under-nourishment, which in turn is a major factor contributing to low milk, meat and wool production. The 1996 Livestock Census suggests that the proportion of lactating cows has decreased from 74 % to 67 %. Similarly the proportion of young sheep and goat stock has declined significantly. This might be due to high infant mortality resulting from poor mothering ability of under-fed mothers.
Poor genetic animal resources - Genetic production characteristics of cow, sheep and goat breeds of Northern Areas are defined as poor because their production of milk and meat is low. There have been almost no research and development programs focusing on upgrading of the genetic potential of livestock either through selection or cross breeding. Some efforts have been made by FAO and AKRSP to cross breed the local cattle with jersey bulls to increase the milk production of their progeny. However, other factors such as proper nutritional input and disease control have to be considered for real progress. Therefore R&D programs should be carefully planned and executed to make them effective and sustainable.

Inadequate health coverage - Livestock diseases in this region are common. The provision of veterinary services however is constrained by: insufficient staff, equipment, drugs, and transportation, the seasonal movement of livestock, and the rugged and inaccessible mountain environment. Nonetheless the AKRSP has made efforts to train communities in livestock vaccination and provided them with para-veterinary kits. Such efforts need to be duplicated on a wide scale by government and NGOs.

Lack of human resources - In Northern Areas the animal husbandry department is part of the Department of Agriculture. The department is largely concerned with vaccination and treatment practices. However the sub-sector that deals with nutrition, breeding and management is poorly endowed with trained manpower. Therefore research and development programs are not conducted in an organized manner. There is a need to initiate well integrated R&D programs to upgrade the genetic resources of animal and develop appropriate strategies. Trained veterinary manpower has also to be developed.

Rangeland degradation - The growth in the Northern Areas livestock population over the last forty years has placed increasing pressure on pastures and rangelands. Although there has been relatively little research on this subject to date, the research that does exist shows that the productivity and floral diversity of the Northern Areas alpine pasture is decreasing (NLH/AKRSP et al., 2002). Controlled grazing and management are required to mitigate this situation. Increasing pressure from over-grazing is shown by certain calculation made by Khan (2003) which show that in 1976 there were 9.08 ha per animal unit but in 1996 there were 2.47 ha per animal unit.

Competition with wildlife - There is increasing evidence that the growth in livestock numbers is having a negative effect upon wildlife in the Northern Areas. Mohammad and Anwar (1993) have reported that increased competition between wildlife and domestic ungulates for available range biomass is one of the causes of wildlife decline in these regions.