Pakistan's Livestock Economy: Unlocking Potential

The livestock sector is the backbone of Pakistan's agrarian economy, serving as a critical engine for rural livelihoods, national food security, and foreign exchange earnings. It contributes 60.5 percent to agricultural value-added and 11.6 percent to national GDP, underscoring its systemic importance (Pakistan Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2023–24). Beyond its contribution to macroeconomic indicators, the sector is the primary source of income and employment for nearly 8 million rural families, offering sustenance to some of the country’s most vulnerable communities (PBS, 2023). Livestock provides not just food and raw materials, but also acts as a financial safety net, with animals functioning as a form of living savings and insurance for rural households.

Pakistan maintains a vast livestock population exceeding 217 million heads of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels, complemented by a dynamic poultry industry. This scale positions the country among the largest global producers of milk and meat (FAO, 2023). Yet, the economic and social dividends of this immense resource base remain far below potential. Productivity levels are constrained by poor genetics, inadequate veterinary services, high disease prevalence, feed shortages, and fragmented markets. The absence of efficient value chains and limited cold storage facilities further restricts farmers from accessing higher-value markets.

The sector also faces mounting pressure from climate change, water scarcity, and environmental degradation, which threaten its long-term sustainability. Meanwhile, low investment in research, technology adoption, and farmer training perpetuates inefficiencies.

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the status of the livestock sector, its pressing challenges, and the policy solutions required to unlock growth. By addressing structural bottlenecks, strengthening value chains, and promoting climate-smart livestock practices, Pakistan can transform its livestock industry into a driver of sustainable growth, food security, and rural prosperity.

Current Status and Production Metrics

Pakistan’s livestock sector reflects a paradox of abundance and inefficiency. On the one hand, it produces immense volumes of milk, meat, and poultry products that are central to national food security. On the other, its per-animal productivity lags significantly behind global benchmarks, limiting both farmer incomes and the country’s export competitiveness.

Milk production stands as the most prominent feature of the sector. With an annual output of 65.7 billion liters, Pakistan ranks as the fourth-largest milk producer in the world. Yet this headline achievement masks a structural weakness: average milk yield per animal is roughly 1,500 liters per lactation, far below the global average of more than 2,200 liters (USDA, 2023; PARC, 2022). The yield gap reflects poor genetics, limited access to quality feed, and inadequate veterinary services.

Meat production tells a similar story. Annual output is estimated at 5.3 million tons, largely supplied by cattle and buffaloes. However, it is poultry that has emerged as the fastest-growing contributor, now accounting for more than 38 percent of total meat production (PSLM, 2021–22). Alongside this, egg production has risen to about 20.5 billion units annually, while hides and skins from livestock provide essential raw materials for Pakistan’s leather industry, a key export sector (PEPA, 2023).

Despite these achievements, the industry is heavily fragmented. Most farmers operate at a subsistence level, owning fewer than five animals. This smallholder-dominated structure constrains economies of scale and slows the adoption of modern technologies such as artificial insemination, improved feeding systems, or mechanized milking. Weak value chains and poor market integration further reduce incentives for productivity improvements. The result is a livestock sector that is large in volume but weak in efficiency, with significant untapped potential for modernization and growth.

Key Challenges and Their Impacts

The livestock sector’s vast potential is undermined by a layered set of structural, biological, and institutional constraints that collectively suppress productivity and limit its contribution to food security and economic growth.

Animal health remains one of the most pressing issues. Endemic diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS), and brucellosis drain the sector of billions annually, with estimates suggesting losses of up to PKR 300 billion. These losses arise not only from mortality but also from reduced fertility, lower milk yields, and restrictions on regional and international trade. The weakness of veterinary infrastructure magnifies the problem: in rural areas, a single veterinarian may serve more than ten thousand animals, leaving disease surveillance, vaccination campaigns, and preventive care grossly inadequate.

Equally damaging is the sector’s limited genetic base. Over ninety percent of animals are low-yielding, non-descript breeds, with artificial insemination services reaching less than one-fifth of the national herd. Without structured breeding programs or reliable performance recording systems, productivity improvements remain stagnant. Farmers are locked in a cycle of subsistence, unable to break into high-efficiency production.

Feed and fodder shortages intensify these limitations. The annual deficit of quality feed exceeds 30 percent, worsened by stagnant fodder cultivation, poor nutritional content, and the added pressures of climate change. Overgrazing depletes pastures, while land degradation reduces long-term carrying capacity. These factors translate directly into weaker animals, reduced reproductive performance, and lower yields, undermining the sector’s stability.

On the market side, inefficiencies strip farmers of fair returns. With up to half of the consumer price lost to middlemen and 15–20 percent of milk wasted due to spoilage, producers have little incentive to expand or modernize. The absence of cold chains, processing facilities, and quality-based pricing means farmers remain stuck in informal markets, unable to capture value from surplus production.

Climate change adds a further layer of vulnerability. Heat stress lowers milk yields and animal fertility, while erratic rainfall and drought reduce fodder supplies. Floods wipe out entire herds, spread waterborne diseases, and displace rural communities. For a sector so tightly bound to weather and ecosystems, these risks are existential.

Financial exclusion compounds all these challenges. Smallholders lack access to credit and insurance, leaving them unable to invest in better genetics, nutrition, or technologies. Perceived risk keeps banks away, perpetuating underinvestment. This is worsened by a weak policy framework, with fragmented governance and underfunded R&D, receiving less than 0.2 percent of agricultural GDP, leaving the sector ill-prepared to modernize.

A Framework for Policy Recommendations

Transforming Pakistan’s livestock sector demands more than piecemeal interventions; it requires a coordinated framework that addresses health, genetics, nutrition, markets, climate, finance, and governance in an integrated way. Animal health must be elevated to a national priority. A “One Health” initiative with mass vaccination campaigns against Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia can drastically cut losses, while mobile diagnostic labs and trained para-vets would bring basic services closer to farmers. Affordable vaccines and a central disease database would strengthen disease control and surveillance.

Genetic improvement is another cornerstone. Establishing a National Genetic Evaluation Center to identify and propagate superior breeds, coupled with private-sector semen production and subsidies for artificial insemination, can break the cycle of low-yield herds. At the same time, the persistent feed and fodder deficit calls for promoting high-yield, drought-resistant crops like berseem and alfalfa, expanding community-led feed mills, and stabilizing fodder prices during lean periods.

Equally vital is market modernization. Village-level bulk milk coolers, refrigerated transport, and model slaughterhouses would reduce spoilage, improve quality, and open export markets. Empowering farmers through producer cooperatives can ensure fairer returns and strengthen bargaining power.

Climate resilience must also be woven into livestock development. Integrating livestock into national climate strategies, encouraging heat-tolerant breeds, and offering index-based livestock insurance would cushion farmers against droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. Access to finance is critical as well: tailored microcredit products, government-backed insurance schemes, and rural financial literacy programs can enable smallholders to invest in productivity-enhancing technologies.

Finally, institutional reforms are needed. Raising public investment in livestock research to at least one percent of agricultural GDP, creating a Livestock Transformation Council for federal–provincial coordination, and modernizing extension services with digital tools can provide the governance backbone for sustained sectoral growth.

Conclusion

Pakistan’s livestock sector sits at a crossroads. It has the numbers, the demand, and the strategic importance to drive food security and rural prosperity, yet it continues to underperform due to systemic neglect and fragmented interventions. The evidence is clear: without tackling endemic diseases, genetic stagnation, feed shortages, and weak markets, productivity gains will remain marginal. But the sector’s untapped potential is equally clear. With over 217 million livestock heads, a massive rural labor force, and a growing domestic and export demand, Pakistan has the raw ingredients to build a globally competitive livestock economy.

Real transformation will require deliberate investment and coordinated policy action. This means prioritizing animal health through mass vaccination and surveillance, making genetic improvement a structured national program, addressing the chronic feed deficit, and upgrading markets with cold chains and quality standards. Climate-smart practices and risk mitigation tools must be mainstreamed, while access to finance and institutional reform will determine whether smallholders, who form the backbone of the sector, can adopt modern technologies.

The path forward is demanding but achievable. By aligning policy, investment, and farmer empowerment, Pakistan can move from low-yield, fragmented production to a high-value, resilient livestock industry. Done right, this transformation can secure livelihoods, strengthen exports, and place livestock at the heart of sustainable national growth.

References: FAO; IUCN; Khan et al.; NFC; PBS; Government of Pakistan; PEPA; PVMA; Rehman et al.; SBP; USDA; PSLM

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 writer is affiliated with the Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan and can be reached at muahammadroman0304@gmail.com

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