Introduction:

Pakistan has a rich and vast natural resource base,

covering various ecological and climatic zones; hence the
country has great potential for producing all types of food
commodities. Agriculture has an important direct and
indirect role in generating economic growth. The
importance of agriculture to the economy is seen in three
ways: first, it provides food to consumers and fibres for
domestic industry; second, it is a source of scarce foreign
exchange earnings; and third, it provides a market for
industrial goods.

Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of our economy.

Majority of the population, directly or indirectly,
dependent on this sector. It contributes about 24 percent
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of
employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign
exchange earnings. It feeds whole rural and urban
population. Realizing its importance, planners and policy
makers are always keen to have reliable area and
production statistics of agricultural crops well in time.
Policy makers primarily need accurate and timely
statistics for the important crops such as wheat, cotton,
rice, sugarcane, maize etc. However, in recent years, due
to persistent hikes in the prices of essential commodities
like pulses, onions, potatoes, chillies and tomatoes these
crops have also gained in economic importance.

Land Use, Farming Systems And Institutions:

The total geographical area of Pakistan is 79.6 million
hectares. About 27 percent of the area is currently under
cultivation. Of this area, 80 percent is irrigated. In this
regard, Pakistan has one of the highest proportions of
irrigated cropped area in the world. The cultivable waste
lands offering good possibilities of crop production
amount to 8.9 million hectares. Growth in cropped area is
very impressive: from 11.6 million hectares in 1947 to
22.6 million hectares in 1997.

Most of Pakistan is classified as arid to semi-arid because

rainfall is not sufficient to grow agricultural crops, forest
and fruit plants and pastures. About 68 percent of the
geographical area has annual rainfall of 250 mm, whereas
about 24 percent has annual rainfall of 251 to 500 mm.
Only 8 percent of the geographical area has annual rainfall
exceeding 500 mm. Thus supplemental water is required
for profitable agricultural production, either from
irrigation or through water harvesting.

Agriculture is largely dependent on artificial means of

irrigation. Of the total cultivated area, about 82 percent or
around 17.58 million hectares is irrigated, while crop
production in the remaining 3.96 million hectares depends
mainly upon rainfall. The Irrigation Canal Command Area
(CCA) has been grouped into classes on the basis of the
nature and severity of its limitations water logging,
salinity, sodicity and texture. At present about one-fifth of
the cultivated land in CCA is affected by water logging and
salinity to varying degrees. An additional area of 2.8
million hectares suffers from sodicity. Notwithstanding
huge investments, the water table was 0 to 1.5 m under
2.2 million hectares of irrigated land, 1.5 to 3 m under 6
million hectares and 0to 3 m under 8 million hectares.
Thus Pakistan needs to overhaul its entire drainage and
reclamation strategy reduce its cost and make it efficient.

Importance of Agricultue In The Economy of

Pakistan:
Agriculture is very important for Pakistan. It helps the
country in the development of economy. Every country
has a vast land, which is used for agriculture. Pakistan is
also an agricultural country. Its total area is 7, 96,096
square kilometers. 70% of our total population is living in
the villages. The major source of their living is agriculture.
Agriculture employed 66% of the total workforce in 1950-
51 but by 1999-2000. This figure dropped to 47.3%. This
shows that people are now not interested in farming. They
are doing jobs in industry and other fields.

In Pakistan, the best area for agriculture is Punjab. Its soil

is very fertile and its irrigation system is very fine. Its
total is equal to quarter of the total area for Pakistan. But
it has 57% of the total cultivated land. In Pakistan, we
have two main crops, which are Kharif crops and Rabi
crops. Kharif crops grow in Summer while Rabi crops grow
in Winter.

The most important food crops in Pakistan are as

following:

1. Wheat:- Wheat is a major need of our country. It is

grown on a large area. This crop is sown in October and
November and harvested in April and May.

2. Rice:- Pakistan produces over 4.3 million tons of rice.

3. Maize:- Maize is a Kharif crop that grows in warm

places.

4. Millet:- These crops can grow even in poor soils.

5. Pulses:- Pulses are good source of protein.

The most important cash crop in Pakistan are as

following:-

1. Cotton:- Cotton is our leading exports. Pakistan

produces 9.8 billions bales of cotton a year.
2. Tobacco:- Tobacco is also an important cash crop. The
best tobacco growing areas are in Mardan and Peshawer.

3. Lives Stock:- Most of the milk comes from the buffaloes.

Cow produce almost a million tons of milk a year.

Agriculture is an important sector, providing food to the

fast-growing population of the country. According the
1998 census, the total population of Pakistan is 130
million. With a population growth rate of 2.6 percent there
is a net addition of 3.4 million people each year. In 1947
the population of Pakistan was 32.5 million; in 50 years it
has increased fourfold. During this period the production
of wheat, the major food crop, has increased only 2.9 fold.
During 1970/71 the amount of wheat imported was 0.3
million tonnes; it has
increased to 4.1 million tonnes in 1997. Tremendous
efforts have been carried out to narrow the gap between
population growth and food production.
Agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs 47 percent of the
national employed labour force. The contribution of the
agricultural sector to the GDP has declined gradually since
Pakistan came into existence, from over 50 percent in
1949-50 to about 24 percent in 1996-97. Agriculture still
remains the major sector of the GDP composition. A major
part of the economy depends on farming through
production, processing and distribution of major
agricultural commodities.

In foreign trade agriculture again dominates, through

exports of raw products such as rice and cotton and semi-
processed and processed products such as cotton yarn,
cloth, carpets and leather production .Agriculture is
essential for sustainable improvements in internal and
external balances. Of the total export earnings, the share
of primary commodities and processed and semi-
processed products constituted
almost 60 percent of the total exports. There have been
some structural changes over time, but the contribution of
agro-based products has more or less sustained its
position.
The average annual growth rates in the agricultural sector
during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were 5.07, 2.37 and
5.4 percent, respectively. With the announcement of a
new agriculture package by the government in April 1997,
the growth rate during 1997/98 has improved to 5.9
percent.

More specifically; the agricultural sector plays an

important part in Pakistan's economy by:

• contributing 24 percent towards GDP;

• providing food to about 130 million people;

• earning about 60 percent of the country's total export

earnings;

• providing employment to 47 percent of the total work

force;

• providing the main source of livelihood for the rural

population of Pakistan;

• providing raw materials for many industries and a

market for many locally produced industrial products.

Export of crops:
In foreign trade agriculture again dominates, through
exports of raw products such as rice and cotton and semi-
processed and processed products such as cotton yarn,
cloth, carpets and leather production.
Of the total export earnings, the share of primary
commodities and processed and semi-processed products
constituted almost 60 per cent of the total exports. There
have been some structural changes over time, but the
contribution of agro-based products has more or less
sustained its position.

Import of crops:
Import of agricultural commodities
contributes substantially to total Pakistan
imports. The major agricultural import
categories are edible oils and grains, pulses
and tea. Together, these two import
categories represents 13.5 per cent of the
total imports.

Overview Of Agricultural Sector Development:

Significant progress has been made in development of the

agricultural sector in Pakistan since the time of
independence in 1947. At that time, the Indus Basin was
irrigated with an extensive system of canal irrigation,
sown with low-yielding traditional seed varieties, fertilized
mainly with animal manure and cultivated by means of
animal draught power and by hand.

In the early 1960s, conditions that favoured more rapid

growth were put in place: the Indus Wate
Agreement was signed under the chairing of the World
Bank; the Indus Basin Development Fund w<
established with multidonor support; government
improved the terms of agricultural trade; and tubewe
were installed as a viable investment. That decade
witnessed a green revolution in Pakistan, and crc
production accelerated during the first part of the decade,
primarily because of the increased use of inputs.

Pakistan's agriculture has made a long and difficult

journey. Its performance is marked by a mixed trend.
There have been some years of dismal growth and some
years of cruising growth. Since 1980, agricultural GDP at
constant factor cost has more than doubled, increasing
from Rs 76 billion in 1980 to more than Rs 141 billion in
1996/97, with a steady growth rate of 3.91 percent
annually. Agriculture's share of total GDP however,
declined from about 31 percent to just 24 percent over the
same period. Crop production contributed the largest
share of agricultural GDP (62 percent in 1996). with
livestock contributing 34 percent and fisheries and
forestry the remaining 4 percent.
During the past 50 years a significant increase in
production of the major crops has been achieved. Wheat
production rose from 3.3 million tonnes in 1950/51 to 18.6
million tonnes in 1997/98. Similarly during this period rice
production rose from 0.86 million tonnes to 4.32 million
tonnes. There was also a records increase in cereal
production. The production of cotton reached 9.4 million
bales during 1996/97.Sugarcane production reached 5.3
million tonnes during 1997/98.

Policy measures in the last four years, i.e. from 1993/94 to

1996/97, were positive for the agricultural sector. Undue
benefits provided to the industrial sector over the years
were reviewed and modified. The agricultural sector as a
result responded with new buoyancy. Export taxes on
agricultural commodities were reduced or eliminated,
which benefited the agricultural sector. In the policy
reforms package, better support prices, better tillage and
soil preparation practices and adequate and timely
availability of fertilizer and certified seed have added to
the positive response from the farming community. In
1996/97, production of wheat reached a level of 16.7
million tonnes, and there was also a 13.7 percent increase
in the production of Basmati rice. The overall production
of rice registered an increase of 8.5 percent - the total
production of rice during the year was 4.3 million tonnes,
compared with 3.97 million tonnes in the previous year.

There was, however, a decrease in the production of

pulses, particularly of gram, during 1996/97 to 832 000
tonnes from 918 000 tonnes during the previous year
(1995/96). Production of potatoes and onions in 1997/98 is
estimated at 1 205 000 and 1 160 000 tonnes respectively,
as compared with 963 000 and 1131 000 tonnes in
1996/97.

Over the past 20 years some important structural changes

have taken place in the sector. In particular, livestock has
emerged as an important subsector, today contributing
more than one-third of agricultural GDP, compared with
about 28 percent 20 years ago. Similarly, fisheries and
forestry, while still minor contributors to agricultural GDP,
have grown rapidly. Structural changes have also taken
place within the crop sector. Cotton is now as important
as wheat in terms of value added with a one-fifth share of
total earnings. Rice and sugar have, however, fallen from
a 20 percent share in the early 1970s to 15 percent today.