Prof M Subhan Qureshi and Mr Abdul Rahman Ilyas coined the name “Dairy Science Park” during 2010 in Egypt, for the struggle to utilize the livestock resources of the region for prosperity of the people initiated by Prof Qureshi on advice of Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi, Ex-Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during 1998. During 1999 the elected government was terminated as a result of military coup. The report title “Chief Minister’s Livestock Development Plan” was revised and submitted to Mr Akram Khant Durrani the succeeding Chief Minister KP during December 2002. Mr Durrani supported the mission and endorsed it to Secretary Agriculture KP vide letter number SOII/CM/CMS/NWFP/4-1/02/382-83 dated 8-1-2003. Mr Shah Hussain Afridi, Deputy Secretary Agriculture KP wrote a poem in support of the concept, Doodh Ka Darya – Gawale Ka Tarana.
Various provincial dignitaries supported this sacred mission and Mr Inayatullah Khan took the message very seriously and pursued it through release of ADP funds and support of an autonomous DSP Board. He was especially comfortable with the idea of self-accountability through an Endowment Fund, needing no operational fund. Secretary Local Governmetn KP initiated a note for approval of the Chief Secretary recommended approval of an ADP project to provide Academic Support to the Livestock SMEs under DS Park, establishment of DSP Board through KP DSP Act and establishment of a slaughter house to support Halal meat export. The Additional Chief Secretary declared the concept as an innovative idea and extended his full support; however, it could not move forward due to resistance by a bureaucrat, as reported by the Business Recorder.
The Chairman HEC, Prof Mukhtar Ahmad has been very kind in supporting DSP as Center of Excellence and supervised an MoU (HEC-KMU-UAP-DSP MoU on BRM) to develop a curriculum for Pakistani Universities in various biological sciences. Dairy Science Park was registered as a Society under Societies’ Registration Act XXI of 1860 (Reg No.4582/5/8589 dated 2-7-2015) by Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and accepted by KP Chamber of Commerce and Industries as a Corporate Member. The United Nations has accepted DSP as SDG Action 9671. DSP Objectives have been:
- To attract the stakeholders for active participation in the development process.
- To spread awareness among the masses and sensitize them to understand the issues of food security and quality.
- To support utilization of livestock resources for self-employment of the youth.
- To network the farmers, investors, experts and public sector organizations for joining hands in covering the region into an export base for Halal Meat, milk, eggs and biotech products, in an environment friendly, cost effective way, fulfilling demands of local markets.
- To utilize the academic, research and development resources of the government and the Dairy Science Park for improvement in livestock farming through quality control standards and certification for biosafety.
- To provide marketing linkage to the producers, input suppliers and service providers in livestock and allied sectors.
I am thankful to faculty members, students, staff and the administration of the University of Agriculture Peshawar, for their constant support. Especially our family had to bear the tremendous stress and financial burden during the execution process. I consider it as a sacred mission and my father Prof Qureshi has presented it as a gift before the people of the Region, especially those hit with poverty, illiteracy, and food insecurity.
We envision KP, FATA, Northern Areas and other regions of Pakistan, and the adjoining regions of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China as a hub of livestock and poultry entrepreneurs backed up by quality control, R&D, and marketing support organizations, with prosperous people. DSP has been accepted as #SDGAction9671 of the United Nations.
DSP 2017 was held at Selcuk University Konya, and an MoU was signed with Konya Teknokent for establishment of Technoparks in Pakistan. Regional projects would be implemented in various regions of the country in the due course of time.
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