By Hasan Salahuddin

In a significant step for Pakistan-China agricultural cooperation, Beijing Asia and Pakistan’s VitaGene Farms have entered into a partnership to produce 2,000 high-quality sheep and goat embryos in the first phase, a development experts believe could accelerate genetic improvement and modernise Pakistan’s livestock breeding industry.

Under the agreement, Beijing Asia — which maintains more than 10,000 sheep in China — will provide embryo transfer expertise alongside VitaGene Farms’ local infrastructure and operational support.

The project will use in vivo embryo collection techniques and hormonal treatments to induce multiple ovulations in genetically superior donor animals. The embryos will then be transferred into local recipient animals and marketed commercially in Pakistan.

The collaboration comes at an important time for Pakistan’s livestock sector, which remains one of the country’s most resilient agricultural sub-sectors.

According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25, livestock engages more than eight million rural households and contributes between 30 and 40 percent of their incomes.

The sector accounts for 63.6 percent of agriculture’s value addition and nearly 14.97 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, while livestock gross value addition recorded growth of 4.72 percent during FY2025.

Pakistan also possesses one of the region’s largest small-ruminant populations. The 7th Agricultural Census 2024 recorded 95.8 million goats and 44.5 million sheep within the country’s total livestock population of 251.3 million animals.

Despite this large animal base, productivity growth has remained relatively slow.

The Economic Survey 2024-25 estimated Pakistan’s total meat production at 5.967 million tonnes during FY2025, up from 5.809 million tonnes a year earlier, with much of the increase driven by poultry production.

Beef production stood at 2.548 million tonnes while mutton output reached 835,000 tonnes, highlighting the need for productivity-focused breeding improvements in sheep and goats.

The agreement also builds on an expanding record of Pakistan-China cooperation in livestock biotechnology.

In 2024, Royal Cell Biotechnology Pakistan exported 10,000 Nili Ravi buffalo embryos to China — the first commercial export of its kind — resulting in more than 400 calves from over 3,000 embryo transfers.

The same company is now marketing buffalo embryos produced through Chinese IVF technology within Pakistan at around Rs30,000 each, indicating growing domestic demand for advanced animal reproductive technologies.

Experts believe the commercial introduction of sheep and goat embryo transfer technology could help Pakistan address long-standing genetic improvement challenges that conventional breeding methods have struggled to overcome.

Speaking with Wealth Pakistan, Dr Nabeel Ijaz, Assistant Professor of Theriogenology at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, described the agreement as “an important breakthrough for the country’s breeding industry.”

He said embryo transfer technology would enable farmers to access genetically superior animals with better growth rates, higher meat production, improved milk yields and stronger disease resistance.

“This can help improve the overall quality of local sheep and goat breeds much faster than traditional breeding methods,” he said.

Dr Ijaz noted that the cooperation could also introduce modern livestock management and reproductive technologies to Pakistan, helping commercial farms improve efficiency and productivity.

According to him, small- and medium-scale farmers could eventually benefit from healthier animals, higher market value, and improved income opportunities.

He further said the agreement could create new opportunities in commercial breeding farms, veterinary biotechnology, embryo and semen services, and export-oriented meat production while also encouraging research collaboration, technical training and private-sector investment.

Amna Haider, Director IVF Labs at VitaGene Farms, said the partnership could significantly improve Pakistan’s sheep and goat breeding industry through IVF and embryo transfer technologies.

She said embryos produced from elite breeds such as Boer, Saanen and Dorper could help Pakistan obtain genetically superior offspring with higher potential for meat and milk production.

According to her, the technology would accelerate genetic improvement compared with conventional breeding methods while improving growth rates, reproductive efficiency and overall livestock productivity.

Haider pointed out that Pakistan has already been working on IVF and embryo transfer technologies in cattle over the past five years, with encouraging results.

However, she noted that the high cost of such technologies has remained beyond the reach of many small farmers, making the expansion of this collaboration into sheep and goats particularly important.

She added that Pakistan-China cooperation in advanced reproductive biotechnology could open new commercial opportunities for breeding farms, embryo production laboratories and veterinary reproductive services.

“In the long term, this initiative may contribute to food security, livestock exports and increased income for farmers,” she said.

Industry observers believe the partnership represents more than a commercial agreement and could become an important step toward strengthening Pakistan’s livestock sector through advanced biotechnology, improved breeds and higher rural incomes.

With consistent policy support and long-term investment, experts say the initiative could help reshape Pakistan’s livestock industry and improve its competitiveness in regional and global markets.

Credit: INP-WealthPk