Modernized goat rearing practices vital for improving income in rural areas.

MULTAN -- Latest goat rearing practices can help enhance income from 20 to 50 percent as compared to traditional farming.

South Punjab is a hub of livestock but most of the cattle-farmers are lacking awareness about modern rearing practices, said Deputy Director Livestock Dr Jamshaid Akhtari while talking to reporter, here on Sunday.

Makhi Cheeni, Nugri, Nagri, and Faisalabadi beetal goats are very much popular in south Punjab, informed Dr Jamshaid, adding that cattle farmers should follow modern practices to generate more income from these breeds. Goats can play vital role in addressing issue of poverty in rural areas. Goats are also called as 'Cows of the Poor', because the poor can easily rear it.

Even women can rear goats as it is not powerful animal. Its meat has high demand. However, the poor can fulfill milk needs from the goats, he added. As per recommendation of Pakistan Protein Committee, In our country, every body should obtain 48 grams of protein from animals but our per head consumption is only 17 grams which is very low.

Goats give birth twice in a year and it is usually twins or triplets so it can help meet kitchen requirements in poor families. In Multan division, farmers possess over 2.5 million goats which are handsome source to meet daily life expenses in rural areas of south Punjab. When questioned about modern farming techniques, Dr Jamshaid Observed that cattle farmers did not pay focus on record keeping, the expenditures on rearing of animals and earning from the small animals.

He observed that poultry farmers were well aware of record keeping because they knew difference between expenditures and final earning.

Goat rearers lacked sufficient knowledge about the wise use of fodder, nutrition, housing, ventilation, over crowding at cattle-pens,

Dr Jamshaid informed and added that cattle farmers should...