Livestock: Key to Pakistan's Agricultural Economy

The livestock sector stands as Pakistan’s most critical agricultural sub-sector, serving as a central pillar of rural livelihoods, national food security, and macroeconomic stability. In contrast to crop agriculture, which remains highly vulnerable to climatic variability, water stress, and price volatility, livestock offers a comparatively stable and continuous stream of income and nutrition for rural households. This structural resilience explains its dominant position within the agricultural economy. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2023–24, livestock contributes an estimated 60.8 percent to agricultural value-added and 14.4 percent to national GDP, far exceeding the combined contribution of both major and minor crops (Government of Pakistan, 2024).

During the same fiscal year, the sector recorded a growth rate of 3.9 percent, emerging as the fastest-growing component of agriculture while key crops such as wheat and cotton experienced negative growth due to input shortages and adverse weather conditions. With a national herd exceeding 251 million head, livestock is deeply interwoven with Pakistan’s rural socio-economic fabric (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2023). It provides direct and indirect income to nearly 8 million rural households and accounts for approximately 30–40 percent of total household income among smallholder farmers, particularly landless and marginal producers (IFAD, 2022). Beyond income generation, livestock plays a crucial role in household nutrition by supplying affordable animal protein and supporting food security during crop failure periods.

Punjab Province forms the backbone of the sector, hosting more than 104 million animals and contributing around 62 percent of national milk production and 43 percent of beef output (Punjab Livestock & Dairy Development Department, 2023). National production figures for 2023–24 further illustrate the sector’s scale, with milk output reaching 72.34 million tonnes and meat production rising to 5.97 million tonnes (Government of Pakistan, 2024). Despite this substantial domestic capacity, livestock exports remain underdeveloped, contributing only about 1.6 percent to total national exports (TDAP, 2023). This disconnect between production potential and export performance highlights untapped opportunities for value addition, cold-chain development, disease control, and improved market access, positioning livestock as a key driver of future rural growth and export diversification.

Policy Initiatives and Digital Transformation in Pakistan’s Livestock Sector

Recognizing the strategic centrality of livestock to rural livelihoods, food security, and macroeconomic stability, both federal and provincial governments have initiated a series of policies and institutional reforms aimed at modernizing the sector. Among the most prominent interventions is the Punjab Livestock Card scheme, which provides targeted, interest-free credit to small and medium-scale farmers for essential inputs such as feed, vaccines, medicines, and basic farm improvements (Government of Punjab, 2024). By addressing liquidity constraints faced by smallholders particularly during periods of rising input prices, this scheme directly supports productivity enhancement while reducing farmers’ dependence on informal credit markets that often trap them in cycles of debt.

Complementing this financial intervention is the Punjab Livestock Development Program (2025), a comprehensive Rs. 5 billion initiatives designed to strengthen the sector’s productive base. The program focuses on expanding veterinary outreach services, scaling up vaccination coverage, and promoting artificial insemination to improve herd genetics and productivity (Government of Punjab, 2024). Improved genetic stock is especially critical in Pakistan, where low milk yields and poor growth rates remain structural constraints. By combining animal health management with genetic improvement, the program seeks to shift livestock production from subsistence-oriented practices toward a more commercial and market-responsive model.

Digital transformation is increasingly central to these policy efforts. The introduction of platforms such as the Farmer Guidance App marks a significant step toward data-driven livestock management. Through mobile-based services, farmers receive timely alerts on vaccination schedules, disease outbreaks, feeding practices, and weather-related risks. This real-time information flow is particularly valuable in remote rural areas where access to extension services is limited. Such digital tools are not merely advisory; they are preventive mechanisms that can substantially reduce productivity losses. According to estimates by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Board, livestock diseases alone impose annual economic losses exceeding PKR 300 billion, largely due to delayed diagnosis and weak preventive care (PARB, 2022). Digital surveillance and early warning systems therefore represent a cost-effective strategy for safeguarding farmer incomes and national food supplies.

In a year characterized by climate-induced crop shortfalls and increasing production uncertainty, livestock has once again emerged as the stabilizing pillar of Pakistan’s agricultural economy. Its importance extends beyond output and income generation, livestock functions as a social safety net, a store of wealth, and a critical source of household nutrition. To fully realize this potential, policy focus must remain consistent and long-term. Priorities include institutionalizing structured breeding programs, strengthening meat and dairy value chains for export competitiveness, improving cold-chain and processing infrastructure, and integrating smallholders into formal markets through cooperatives and digital platforms. Strategic investment in this backbone sector offers Pakistan a viable pathway toward inclusive rural development, enhanced export earnings, and durable food sovereignty in the face of growing demographic and climatic pressures.

Conclusion

Livestock has unequivocally established itself as the most resilient and strategically important pillar of Pakistan’s agricultural economy. As this article demonstrates, the sector not only anchors rural livelihoods and household nutrition but also provides macroeconomic stability at a time when crop agriculture is increasingly exposed to climate variability, water scarcity, and market shocks. Its substantial contribution to agricultural value-added and national GDP, coupled with consistent growth even during periods of crop contraction, underscores livestock’s role as a dependable buffer against economic and food insecurity.

However, the sector’s true potential remains only partially realized. Persistently low productivity, weak disease control, limited value addition, and underdeveloped export channels continue to constrain their contribution to income growth and foreign exchange earnings. Recent policy initiatives particularly targeted credit schemes expanded veterinary services, genetic improvement programs, and digital extension platforms represent important steps toward addressing these structural weaknesses. Their success, however, will depend on continuity, effective implementation, and integration across federal and provincial levels.

Looking ahead, a sustained and coordinated strategy is essential. Investing in animal health, breeding, processing infrastructure, and market integration can transform livestock from a largely subsistence-oriented activity into a dynamic engine of rural growth and export diversification. By placing livestock at the center of agricultural and rural development policy, Pakistan can strengthen food sovereignty, reduce rural poverty, and build a more climate-resilient and inclusive economy for the future.

References: Government of Pakistan; Government of Punjab; IFAD; Pakistan Bureau of Statistics; PARB; Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.

Please note that the views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of any organization.

The writers are affiliated with Department of Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan and can be reachedat zahid.mehmood@mnsuam.edu.pk

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