Interview with Mr. Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar, Central President Dairy & Cattle Farmers Association Pakistan — DCFA Pakistan
PAGE: Tell me something about yourself, please:
Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar: I am the Central President of the Dairy & Cattle Farmers Association Pakistan (DCFA Pakistan). I have been associated with dairy farming since birth. Dairy farming is our ancestral and family profession, and I have grown up observing animals, milk production, fodder, farm management and the challenges of this sector very closely. I am a dairy farmer myself, and for me, animals are not merely commercial assets. My animals are more precious to me than my own children. Their feed, health, comfort and welfare are among my foremost responsibilities. Based on this practical experience, I have been working for the rights of dairy farmers, improvement of Pakistan’s indigenous breeds, development of high-yield animals, better genetics, disease control, improved farm management, farmer education and the establishment of a strong and sustainable dairy and livestock industry in Pakistan. My basic philosophy is that farmers should not remain dependent only on continuous increases in milk prices. We must build a system in which productivity per animal increases, cost of production per litre declines, farmers remain profitable and consumers receive quality milk at an affordable price.
PAGE: What is the right per litre milk price?
Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar: According to our current Cost of Production calculations for Karachi, the Ex-Farm Gate cost of one litre of milk is approximately Rs.311 per litre. After adding freight from farm to city, distribution cost, a reasonable wholesaler margin and a legitimate retailer margin, the retail price comes to approximately Rs.350 per litre. Therefore, under current production conditions, we believe that around Rs.350 per litre at retail level is a realistic price. However, continuously increasing milk prices is not a permanent solution. The sustainable solution is that milk and other essential food commodities should be governed by a transparent demand-and-supply based mechanism with genuine market competition. If a healthy competitive environment is created, farmers will naturally move from low-yield animals towards high-yield animals, better genetics, better feed efficiency and improved herd management. Our real focus should be on reducing the cost of production per litre rather than merely increasing the selling price. The same principle should apply not only to milk but also to meat, poultry and eggs. These four essential food commodities should operate under a transparent and competitive demand-and-supply mechanism. The role of the government should not be to artificially suppress market prices. Rather, it should ensure fair competition, prevent cartelization and exploitation, maintain quality standards and protect the interests of both farmers and consumers. In the past, whenever an administratively fixed milk price failed to cover the farmer’s actual cost of production, dairy farmers came under severe economic pressure. In some cases, when farmers announced prices on the basis of their own production costs, they faced administrative action, cases and penalties. I personally also faced proceedings and a penalty from the Competition Commission of Pakistan. I challenged the matter through the appropriate legal forum, and the amount of the penalty was later substantially reduced. My position has always been that if the official price determination mechanism fails to reflect the actual cost of production and ground realities, then placing the entire burden on the farmer is neither fair nor sustainable.
PAGE: Tell me about the cost incurred on fodder and the health of buffaloes, cows, etc.
Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar: The largest recurring cost in dairy farming is feed and fodder. Green fodder, wheat straw, concentrate feed, oilseed cakes, bran, maize, silage, minerals and other feed ingredients directly determine the cost of milk production. One of our major problems is that many agricultural by-products required by the livestock and feed sector are exported before domestic requirements are fully met. If bran, oilseed meals and other feed by-products are exported in large quantities to the Middle East or other international markets, their availability for local livestock farmers decreases and domestic prices increase. Similarly, wheat straw, rice husk and other agricultural residues are used in large quantities as fuel in industrial boilers and other industrial operations. I am not against industrial use, but food security and livestock feed security must be given priority. If essential livestock feed resources are exported or consumed as industrial fuel before meeting local demand, Pakistani farmers are forced to rely on expensive alternatives or imported feed ingredients. Once imported feed arrives in Pakistan after freight, duties, taxes and currency-related costs, the farmer is compelled to feed expensive inputs to animals and consequently produces expensive milk. Eventually, all these duties, taxes and additional input costs are passed on to the consumer through the price of milk. Therefore, if the government genuinely wants cheaper milk for consumers, it must look beyond retail milk prices and examine the entire feed-to-milk value chain. Animal health is another major cost for dairy farmers. Expenses include vaccination, deworming, veterinary treatment, artificial insemination, reproductive management, mastitis control, Foot-and-Mouth Disease control, mineral supplementation, hoof care, clean drinking water, cooling systems and proper housing. The loss caused by disease is not limited to the cost of medicines. Disease reduces milk yield, affects breeding, increases the calving interval and, in severe cases, may result in the loss of the entire animal. Therefore, we must invest much more in disease prevention, vaccination, biosecurity and farmer awareness rather than relying only on treatment after disease occurs.
PAGE: How modern is the dairy sector of Pakistan?
Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar: Modern dairy farming does exist in Pakistan, but its reach is still very limited. In my assessment, modern corporate dairy farms represent only a very small share of the overall sector, approximately one to one-and-a-half percent, while the overwhelming majority of Pakistan’s dairy farmers are still operating under traditional production systems. Corporate farms are using modern milking systems, herd management software, scientific nutrition, silage, cooling systems, artificial insemination, improved genetics and data-based herd selection. However, the ordinary small and medium dairy farmer is still far behind in terms of technology and modernization. One of the biggest reasons for the underperformance of Pakistan’s dairy sector is that we have not worked seriously enough on developing high-yield animals. Across the country, particularly in buffaloes, average daily milk production remains very low. On the ground, a large number of animals produce only around five to six litres per day, while animals with superior global genetics, under excellent nutrition and management, can achieve peak yields of 50 to 60 litres per day or even more. This difference clearly shows that our biggest challenge is not only milk price; it is the productivity gap. The economics of keeping an animal producing six litres a day are completely different from the economics of an animal capable of producing 40, 50 or 60 litres under proper management. Pakistan therefore needs to work on genetic improvement on an urgent and organized basis. We need Milk Recording, Performance Testing, Selective Breeding, Breed Registration, Artificial Insemination, Genomic Selection, Embryo Technology and access to high-quality semen genetics. In this regard, the efforts of some national and private institutions are encouraging. Institutions such as GCLI and SIFC, along with private-sector organizations including VitaGen Farm, FonGrow and Daisy Farm, have come forward to support modernization and breeding technologies. The introduction and transfer of Sexed Semen Technology in Pakistan is particularly important because it substantially increases the probability of producing female calves compared with conventional semen. If sexed semen is combined with superior genetics, proper milk recording and scientifically designed selection programmes, Pakistan can improve its national dairy herd much more rapidly. However, technology import alone is not enough. Real success will come only when that technology becomes affordable and accessible to the ordinary farmer. For this, the government should introduce subsidized breeding programmes, farmer training, extension services and a comprehensive National Genetic Improvement Programme.
PAGE: Give some idea about investment in the dairy sector.
Muhammad Shakir Umar Gujjar: Pakistan’s dairy sector offers enormous investment potential, but my position is very clear: before attracting new investment, we must first protect existing investment. A number of corporate dairy projects were established in Pakistan with great expectations, but several later faced serious economic difficulties or could not maintain their original scale. One of the basic reasons is an imbalance in the economic structure of the dairy business. Inputs are free to increase, while output is controlled. Feed, fodder, fuel, electricity, labour, medicines, machinery and other input costs increase according to market forces, but when the milk price is administratively controlled, the business model becomes difficult to sustain. In such an environment, even new investors may hesitate to enter the sector. Pakistan particularly needs investment in genetic improvement, feed production, disease control, vaccine manufacturing, fodder development, silage production, milk chilling, processing, farm mechanization and farmer training. Another extremely serious challenge is the unnecessary slaughter of productive female animals and calves. In traditional dairy systems in Karachi, Hyderabad and other major cities, many high-producing lactating buffaloes are sent into the slaughter chain after a limited production period instead of being returned to a proper breeding programme for the next lactation. This represents a major loss to Pakistan’s future dairy genetics. Likewise, the slaughter of day-old or very young calves damages the long-term future of our livestock sector. If we destroy our future breeding animals at birth, and if high-producing females are slaughtered instead of being bred again, where will our next generation of livestock come from? We are, in effect, destroying our own production factories. Food security is not only about producing milk and meat today; it is also about protecting the breeding population that will produce food for the next ten and twenty years.
The key difference between Pakistan and advanced dairy-producing countries lies in knowledge, genetics, technology and management. To bridge this gap, we must connect Pakistani dairy farmers with the world’s best dairy systems. It is not enough to train farmers only through books or seminars. Farmers must visit modern dairy farms, see advanced milking systems, meet genetics companies, interact with feed and nutrition companies, visit research centres and learn directly from successful international farmers. For this reason, DCFA Pakistan organizes international study tours and delegations for Pakistani dairy farmers. At different times of the year, particularly in September, October and November, we arrange delegations of around 30 dairy farmers to attend international dairy events, livestock exhibitions, farm visits and technical programmes. DCFA Pakistan delegations have visited Europe, the United States, Türkiye, Africa and other regions. During these visits, Pakistani dairy farmers get opportunities to participate in modern dairy farm visits, dairy and livestock exhibitions, technical seminars, meetings with genetics companies, feed and nutrition companies, milking technology demonstrations, farm automation programmes, breeding programmes, animal welfare systems and direct interaction with international farmers and industry experts.
I strongly believe that there is no shame in learning from the world; the real loss is when the world keeps moving forward while we remain stuck in outdated methods. We must bring the best global technologies to Pakistan, but we must also adapt them to our climate, genetics, farmers’ purchasing power and local farming conditions. If Pakistan seriously works on High-Yield Genetics, Farmer Education, Feed Security, Protection of Female Animals and Calves, Disease Control, a Free but Fair Market and Technology Transfer, we can not only reduce the cost of milk production but also provide relatively affordable milk to consumers. My vision is simple: Healthy high-yield animals, lower cost of production, prosperous farmers and quality milk at an affordable price for consumers. That is the path toward a successful and sustainable dairy sector in Pakistan.