Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed officials to prepare a plan for a national livestock vaccine production facility and restructure the Livestock and Dairy Development Board, as the government seeks to improve animal health and livestock exports.
The directives were issued during a meeting on livestock-sector reforms in Islamabad on Monday, October 19.
Officials have been given one week to present a strategy for establishing the proposed vaccine facility at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC).
Why a livestock vaccine plant is being proposed
Livestock diseases can cause losses through animal deaths, reduced milk production, slower growth and treatment costs. Vaccination helps control preventable diseases when appropriate vaccines are available and properly administered.
According to the government’s account of the meeting, officials raised concerns that livestock vaccines currently available in Pakistan had not received approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).
That assessment was presented to the prime minister by officials at the meeting. The government says it wants to develop domestic production of purified, modern livestock vaccines.
What has been decided?
The prime minister directed officials to develop a strategy for the facility within a week, identifying NARC as the proposed location.
The announcement did not provide a final construction budget, production capacity or completion date.
A vaccine facility would also need technical expertise, quality-control systems, regulatory oversight and arrangements for distributing vaccines to farms.
What will change at the livestock board?
The Livestock and Dairy Development Board was established in 2007 to support livestock breeding, milk and meat production and development of the sector.
The prime minister has ordered its restructuring and called for private-sector experts to be included in its work.
Officials have been asked to present a restructuring plan. The government has not yet published details of proposed changes to the board’s staffing, funding or powers.
How exports fit into the plan
The meeting also considered proposals to expand livestock-related exports.
Officials discussed special bonded warehouses for imported livestock and processing meat and dairy products for export after value addition.
The government said third-party audits of slaughterhouses had begun. Such audits can help assess hygiene, traceability and compliance with requirements in export markets.
Animal health standards, certification and transport arrangements will also affect producers’ ability to sell meat and dairy products abroad.
For farmers, the next practical developments will be the proposed plant’s timetable, the diseases its vaccines are intended to address and the system for distributing them.
Sources: Radio Pakistan, October 19, 2026; Associated Press of Pakistan, October 19, 2026.