Economy of Pakistan is predominantly Agriculture oriented contributing 18.5 % of GDP. Livestock is vital Sub-Sector of Agriculture in Pakistan accounts 11.22 % to overall GDP which is 60.54 % of the Agriculture’s share to GDP (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2018.19) and provides milk, meat and other by-products of animal origin for human nutrition. Fodder crops have pivotal position in context of livestock development and it provides 2 to 3 times cheaper feed than concentrate to livestock. In Pakistan, fodder occupied an area of 2.45 million hectares producing 55.47 million tonnes production form 1.81 million hectares area. In Punjab, fodder crops occupying third place after wheat and cotton with average fodder yield of 21.6t/ha. Animal are generally underfed and under-nourished as there is big gap between demand and supply of orders in Pakistan. In order to narrow the gap between the demand and supply, there is a dire need for development of high yielding , highly nutritive, multi cut varieties/ hybrids of different fodder crops and standardization of their production their fodders and seed production technology. In regard, Fodder Research Institute Sargodha has developed 29 varieties of different fodder crops having high fodder yielding potential with better nutritive value.
