The curious case of Imran’s 'Katta Bachao' dream project

ISLAMABAD: The ‘Katta Bachao’ (save buffalo calves) project, once hailed as a pro-poor, pro-agriculture game changer, has become another tale of overambitious policy undone by weak implementation.

The flagship livestock development initiative launched from 2019 to 2023 in Punjab to boost beef production through the saving and fattening of buffalo calves has come under fire following damning findings by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP).

The performance audit of the project conducted by the Directorate General Audit Punjab reveals systemic flaws, financial mismanagement, and operational inefficiencies that ultimately led to the project’s failure to meet its objectives. Initiated in 2019 as a full-scale expansion of a 2015 pilot, the project “Enhancing Beef Production Through Save the Buffalo Calves and Feedlot Fattening” was designed to conserve young calves, provide them balanced diets, and ultimately raise meat output and farmer income. Despite initial promises and high-level promotion — including by then prime minister Imran Khan and senior PTI leaders, the project has delivered little on its core objectives, according to the audit findings.

The audit, which focused on five districts - Lahore, Okara, Multan, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala - exposed multiple operational and financial lapses including flawed beneficiary selection; disproportionate allocation of calf registration targets across districts led to an imbalanced distribution of resources; Ineligible beneficiaries were also included, compromising the program’s integrity; Irregular Registrations as calves were registered despite being underage or overage, and in many cases, the same tag or tattoo number was used for multiple animals indicating either negligence or possible fraud; Vaccination and monitoring failures; many calves were not vaccinated, and no systematic monitoring mechanism was in place; Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were ignored, and critical records were poorly maintained; Flawed cost estimations; the cost of calf procurement was underestimated in PC-I, making the Feedlot Fattening component financially unviable from the start; Financial mismanagement; Over Rs677 million were disbursed via open cheques, an outdated and non-transparent method, while Rs27 million remained undisbursed in project accounts; An additional Rs3.4 million worth of medicines were consumed irregularly, and expired or substandard drugs worth Rs76,440 were not replaced; Government share shortfall; The provincial government contributed nearly Rs22 million less than originally committed; Lack of market linkages; Despite repeated claims, no forward linkage was established between calf producers and beef processors, leaving farmers without viable market access.

With livestock contributing over 14pc to Pakistan’s GDP, the failure of this project carries significant implications. The audit concluded that the central goal - to enhance beef production - was not fully realised, primarily due to poor registration rates and systemic weaknesses.

The AGP recommended sweeping reforms for future projects, including transparent beneficiary selection through digital systems, improved planning and budgeting, stricter monitoring, and direct market linkages for farmers.