Dr Alamdar Hussain Malik
In Pakistan, dairy and livestock exhibitions are organised almost every year with great publicity — and in some cases even twice within a single year in the same province. Banners are displayed, ministers inaugurate the events, stalls are decorated, awards are distributed, and photographs circulate widely in newspapers and across social media. Press releases describe the occasions as historic milestones for the livestock sector. Yet farmers quietly ask a simple question: if the sector’s problems remain unchanged after every exhibition, what exactly has been achieved?
The repeated organisation of such events has itself become a matter of concern. When no visible improvement appears in animal productivity, disease control, farmer income, or milk quality, the seriousness of the exercise naturally comes into question. An exhibition should be the culmination of year-round work, not a substitute for it. Holding multiple expos without measurable progress risks reducing the entire concept into a routine ceremonial activity. It begins to appear that the complex problems of the livestock sector are being treated as public relations exercises rather than policy responsibilities. The sector is too important to the national economy for such gatherings to be reduced to symbolic spectacles, and many stakeholders now wonder whether organisers are unintentionally turning an important professional platform into little more than a recurring show.
Pakistan’s livestock sector is not a minor component of the economy. It contributes more to agriculture than all major crops combined and serves as the primary source of livelihood for millions of rural households. Milk is the country’s largest agricultural commodity, yet its production system remains one of the least organised. Small farmers produce the majority of milk, but they remain economically vulnerable. Animals frequently suffer from disease, productivity remains low, milk handling is unhygienic, and the marketing system is dominated by middlemen. These are not hidden issues; they are long-standing structural weaknesses.
The problem is that dairy expos rarely address these weaknesses in a serious manner. There are no clearly defined objectives beyond publicity. There is no structured agenda identifying which problems are being targeted and how they will be resolved. Without clear goals, such gatherings cannot produce meaningful outcomes. They become ceremonial assemblies rather than working forums.
One expects that technical sessions in such events would focus on disease control, breed improvement, feed shortages, milk pricing mechanisms, farmer training, and veterinary service delivery. Instead, discussions often remain general and ceremonial. Panels are frequently composed of officials and corporate representatives, while the primary stakeholders — small dairy farmers, field veterinarians, livestock extension workers, and milk collectors — remain largely absent from decision-making conversations. The very people who understand the day-to-day operational difficulties of livestock farming are not meaningfully heard.
Pakistan’s dairy sector faces a serious productivity crisis. Average milk yield per animal remains far below international standards. Animals often remain underfed because quality fodder is scarce and expensive. Veterinary services are insufficient, especially in remote areas. Preventable diseases continue to reduce productivity and cause mortality. Yet these issues seldom translate into actionable policy discussions at exhibitions. Instead of addressing disease surveillance systems or vaccination coverage, the focus shifts to ceremonial speeches and the display of elite breeds owned by a few large farms.
Another major challenge is the absence of a proper milk marketing system. Farmers rarely receive fair prices. The price paid to producers fluctuates, but consumer prices continue to rise. The margin between farm-gate and retail price is captured largely by intermediaries. Cold chain infrastructure remains weak, resulting in spoilage and adulteration. These are economic and regulatory problems requiring coordinated policy intervention.
However, dairy expos seldom produce concrete plans to regulate milk collection, improve storage, or protect farmers from exploitation.
Similarly, breed improvement is often discussed but rarely operationalised. Artificial insemination coverage remains inconsistent, breeding policies are unclear, and genetic improvement programs lack continuity. A few imported animals displayed in an exhibition cannot substitute for a national breeding strategy. Photographs of high-yield cattle do not improve the productivity of village animals.
The feed crisis is equally critical. Pakistan faces increasing shortages of quality fodder and concentrate feed. Rising feed prices directly reduce farmers’ profitability and force many to reduce herd sizes. Without addressing feed policy, fodder seed development, and rangeland management, the dairy sector cannot expand sustainably. Yet such policy issues rarely become the centre of expo deliberations.
Another overlooked matter is animal health governance. The country lacks an effective disease surveillance and traceability system. Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, mastitis, and other infections repeatedly reduce milk production. Farmers bear the losses, but national strategies remain fragmented. Exhibitions often celebrate livestock while ignoring the institutional weaknesses responsible for these recurring losses.
Because these events lack defined goals, measurable outcomes, and follow-up mechanisms, no institutional accountability emerges. After the closing ceremony, there is no record of commitments, no assigned responsibilities, and no timeline for reforms. The sector returns to its previous state, and the next year another exhibition is announced. The cycle repeats without improvement in productivity, farmer income, or milk quality.
The result is that dairy expos unintentionally serve mainly as networking and publicity platforms. Companies promote products, officials receive visibility, and organisers highlight attendance figures. While business interaction is not inherently negative, it cannot replace sectoral reform. When exhibitions are reduced to photographs, ribbon-cuttings, and media coverage, they fail the farmers whose livelihoods depend on livestock.
Pakistan does not lack conferences; it lacks implementation. The livestock sector requires coordinated planning, regulatory reforms, veterinary strengthening, farmer training, disease control systems, and market organisation. Without confronting these core structural issues, exhibitions cannot transform the sector.
The livestock sector, and the rural population dependent upon it, deserves far more than ceremonial attention. It requires action. What is needed is continuity, accountability, and measurable follow-up. Every expo should conclude with documented commitments, assigned institutional responsibilities, and a publicly known timeline for implementation. Veterinary departments, research institutions, provincial governments, and private milk processors must leave such gatherings with clearly defined tasks rather than goodwill statements. Farmers should see vaccination coverage improve, artificial insemination services expand, milk pricing become transparent, and extension services reach their villages. If an exhibition ends only with group photographs, media headlines, and social media posts, then it has failed the very sector it claims to promote. The purpose of bringing stakeholders together should be to reduce disease losses, improve productivity, protect farmer income, and ensure safe milk for consumers. Until expos become working platforms that initiate practical change on the ground, they will remain annual ceremonies rather than instruments of agricultural development.
