Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Food Security and Research, inaugurated a special initiative for Angora rabbit breeding in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Thursday to promote wool production.
According to the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc), one Angora rabbit’s wool can be used to produce up to six high-quality shawls every year.
According to Parc Chairman Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan, who briefed on the newly inaugurated project, angora rabbits are being brought from Nepal. To begin, a group of ten angora rabbits was transferred to G-Juglot B’s station.
“For farmers, a single rabbit’s fur/wool can produce between four and six high-quality, valuable shawls per year. As a result, Angora is a relatively inexpensive startup. Rabit farming may be extremely profitable in the wool industry because it is the most well-known wool/fur breed; moreover, residual feed combined with rabbit excrement may be utilised to generate vermin compost, which is a great biofertilizer for crops,” the report states.
Additionally, the chairman added that Parc was aiming to spread this project to other districts in G-B in order to raise the general public’s standard of living.
The Mountain Agriculture Research Center at PARC was established specifically to support G-agricultural B’s and rural development.
PARC-MARC created an angora rabbit farming venture in Juglot with the purpose of introducing novel agricultural practises to G-B farmers and empowering indigenous women.
During the visit, the PM’s aide briefed reporters and local farmers on government initiatives to improve G-B agriculture through the use of modern techniques and discussed potential areas of agriculture research and development in G-B.
In an effort to alleviate poverty in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the PTI government formally launched Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “Backyard Poultry Program” in October 2019. The prime minister’s initiative was to expand into other regions of the country.