Achievement at a glance
Emerging meat entrepreneurs were facilitated through QC certificates, to get appropriate prices for the better quality products, against the flat rates fixed by the district administration. The Senior Minister KP proposed a Task Force to bring innovations at farms, through renewable energy and formulate DSP Board Act, providing technical, financial, marketing and regulatory support to entrepreneurs. A 9-members delegation of DSP held the “Pakistan Biorisk Management Curriculum Workshop” with Sandia National Laboratories USA in Dubai. The concept of the University of Veterinary Innovations and Commercialization was supported by Ex-Chief Minister. DSP was accepted as Center of Excellence by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.
Challenges faced in implementation
The existing laws of local government call for flat rates for milk and meat in the province; which are suitable for the low quality products; however, farmers and processors taking care of quality standards face difficulty to compete. DSP evaluated the quality standards and production/processing costs, certified the products for quality parameters and recommended special enhanced rates. It is resulting in somewhat resistance from various quarters. The bureaucratic channels prolonged our cases too much, however, DSP has found acceptance among these circles. Principles, strategic vision and an Endowment Fund have been proposed under the Task Force, quite novel to the government system. There is a lack of trust on performance and effectiveness of government departments among the business community. The very hard regulations in the government sector impede speedy development and functioning of business support organizations. However, the DSP management is providing sufficient liberty, working space and a conducive environment for productive interaction among the public and private sectors. The provincial government of KP and federal Government of Pakistan belong to political parties in opposition to each other. However, DSP has provided a common platform for interaction and both are feeling comfortable to work with each other.
Next steps
Registration of stakeholders, networking partners, quality certification, demonstration of feasibility models and mass awareness. Formation of Task Force is under process by the provincial government. A grant will be provided for a demonstrating commercialization models and prepare act for DSP Board. The Board will provide development support for the clusters of registered entrepreneurs through human resource development, applied research, quality control certification, disease diagnostic procedures and development of good practices. The Board will focus on developing the province as a Halal Meat Export Base utilizing the manpower, research and development institutions and unutilized/under-utilized public and private assets through PPP, DSP Veterinary Clinics and Marketing Centers, Agri-Marts, franchise developments, commercial companies, etc. University of Veterinary Innovations and Commercialization (UVIC) will be established. to promote industrial research, quality control, entrepreneurship development, Halal certification, and legislative support to the entrepreneurs. Logistic support will be provided to the DSP Society and DSP Board. Research priorities will comprise integration of the teaching and research with the sectoral issues, emerging challenges and needs of the stakeholders. Development of quality control and certification standards for medium-sized entrepreneurs engaged in livestock and poultry production, processing and marketing; farmers’ groups; exporters and corporate sector.
Measurable outcomes
Beneficaries
Model meat shops, meat factory, dairy processing unit, livestock farmers, students, faculty members, consumers
Actions
Meat Shop, Jan Shopping Arcade, Peshawar faced administrative barriers with the allegation of higher prices. The DSP team visited his facility and inspected the quality of animals, slaughtering, processing, packaging and storage facilities. Jan Arcade had maintained quality of meat at their setup through procurement of the best and healthy animals of appropriate age, slaughtered and processed under hygienic and Islamic principles. The meat is graded as per accepted standards and has gained consumers’ confidence. DSP certified the products quality and production cost; which was accepted by the district administration. Farmers’ Sausage Company requested DSP for inspection after they were fined and banned. The DSP experts examined the facilities, provided SOPs and advised the executives on improvement. DSP certification provided administrative relief to the Facility. A silage plant was established at Mardan through USAID support. ILRI has been sponsoring Mr Nadir Khan, DSP-PhD Scholar to work on silage production using various maize varieties under local conditions. Romer Lab Rawalpindi has provided inoculums for the experiment. Mr Kamal and another registered farmer in Peshawar have agreed to provide land for the experiment. Royal Dairies has been established as a demo model. DSP Innovations has been established to bring innovations in the existing farming system in the private sector.