Short essay on Agriculture in Pakistan

Pakistan's economy largely depends on agriculture. Around 60% of Pakistan's population (mostly residing in the rural areas) is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture. The agriculture sector is the second largest sector of Pakistan and it contributes more than 21 percent to the GDP, more importantly it is the largest employing sector as it absorbs around 45 percent of the country's labor force. This sector is significant in nature not only because of the statistics listed above but also because it is a primary supplier of raw materials to various industries, contributing significantly to exports, and it also proves to be a major market for other products like fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, and other agricultural tools.


With regard to farming in Pakistan there are two main seasons for growing crops and specified crops are grown only in that season. 'Kharif' season is the summer season in which the summer crop are grown and 'Rabi' is the winter season in which winter crops are grown. In Kharif crops, sowing is done in April - June and harvesting happens in October - November. In Rabi crops, sowing is done in October - November and harvesting is done in April - May. Kharif crops include rice, sugarcane, cotton, maize and others, while Rabi crops include wheat, tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard.


Irrespective of the fact that the agricultural sector is crucial for the growth of this country, exports, incomes and food security, this sector is facing a continuous decline. Growth in yields per acre has been falling successively for the last three decades. Productivity has been very low and the yield gap continues to rise, hence intensive efforts are required to revive the sector. There needs to be efforts taken by the government and policy makers to help the farmers make investments in new seeds, farming technology, and infrastructure supporting water irrigation. These investments are essential, and if not taken it is uncertain how strong and ready
Pakistan would be to cope with rising problems such as falling water availability and intense climatic changes.


The major issues that farmers face include firstly the soil. Pakistani soil lacks nitrogenous content, therefore in order to increase cultivated crops and yield it needs proper fertilizers and great investments. Soil erosion is a common phenomenon in the country which adds to destroying the soil energy, and there are not many mechanisms or efforts being taken to reduce soil erosion or restore nutrient to the soil. Another issue faced by farmers which hinders growth in this sector involves water wastage by using flood irrigation methods which waste around 50 to 60 percent of the water, hence new irrigation facilities need to be adopted to better use limited water resources. There are many other issues as well like small land holdings, limited credit facilities available, lack of adaptation of new farming technology, recent rain fed floods which have led to the loss of livestock and crops, water logging and salinity and lastly lack of development and infrastructure in rural areas. The agriculture sector is of great importance to the nation and such problems call for a reform of the agricultural policy, in which these issues are tackled and more importantly the abolishment of feudalism so land is allotted to poor farmers, this would increase the crop yield per acre.


This sector has enormous potential for growth and in terms of contribution to the development of the country, yet it requires large investments and attention for its proper enlargement.