RAWALPINDI: Speakers at a conference on Friday said despite having high breed camels in Pakistan, they had not been able to draw people’s attention to its farming and its usage for milk and meat.

The two-day International Camel Conference on ‘Role of Camel in Food Security under Climate Change Context’ was held at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi.

They emphasised on exploring and sharing the potential and future of camels under the climate change circumstances as it can sustain hot, harsh and hostile environments easily without compromising on their productive and reproductive capabilities.

Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Dr Qamaruz Zaman was chief guest along with the Founding President of Camel Association of Pakistan Prof. Dr M Younas.

During his address, Prof Dr Qamaruz Zaman said with increasing human population of the world and adverse climate change impacts the issue of food security had arisen.

In order to combat this issue, there is a need to explore a new world of resources and camels are amazing species along with extraordinary resilience in changing environments as they can serve the most useful addition to the food supply chain in terms of milk, meat and other products, he said.

“Camels are a gift from God because of its virtues and benefits for the human,” he said.

“Camel milk and meat also possesses a superior keeping quality compared to cow milk, due to its high protein content that has inhibitory properties against bacteria,” he said.

He called to conduct the national level surveys to formulate the data driven planning where industry could be attracted to its commercial viability.

He also ensured the support of the university for promoting camel use. Later, the participants organised a walk comprising camel riding aiming to create awareness of camel production.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2021