PM unveils 100% funding for foot and mouth disease vaccine to boost livestock potential

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the federal government will provide 100 percent financial support for the indigenous development of a vaccine against Foot and Mouth disease (FMD). Addressing a national seminar titled ‘Harnessing Pakistan’s Livestock Potential’ in Islamabad, the prime minister emphasized that the agriculture and livestock sectors are critical pillars capable of reviving the national economy within a single year if backed by undivided dedication and modern technology. He noted that although Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest milk producer, it underperforms in dairy and meat exports due to weak disease control and limited processing infrastructure.

To systematically modernise the sector, the prime minister inaugurated the Pakistan Animal Identification and Traceability System (PAITS). The new system is designed to enhance productivity with a specific focus on genetic improvement, nationwide digital tracking, disease management, and stronger collaboration between federal and provincial departments. Additionally, following a similar initiative last year, the premier announced that another 1,000 fresh agricultural graduates from all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be sent to China at government expense for advanced technical training.

In a concurrent review meeting focused on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Prime Minister Sharif reiterated that the business community is the backbone of the national economy and directed tax officials to actively promote the ease of doing business. Senior FBR officials have been instructed to visit Karachi during the first week of every month to directly engage with corporate leaders and swiftly address legitimate fiscal grievances. The meeting was briefed that the installation of digital production monitoring systems in the sugar, cement, and beverage industries has already generated significant revenue gains, yielding additional tax collections of Rs42 billion, Rs38 billion, and Rs15 billion respectively over the past year.

On the climate resilience front, the prime minister directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to strengthen coordination with provincial governments and disaster management cells during the ongoing monsoon season. Meeting with United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher at the PM House, the prime minister also stressed the urgent need for enhanced international cooperation to counter increasingly frequent climate-induced disasters, whilst acknowledging the UN’s continuous humanitarian support since the devastating floods of 2022.