agricultural and industrial sector betterment is a key for the development ofpakistan

8/14/2019 Agricultural and Industrial Sector Betterment is a Key for the Development Ofpakistan

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AGRICULTURAL IS A KEY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OFPAKISTAN

Pakistan from its birth has faced so many problems infect every type of problem those problem

can be inequality, war, economic, terrorism means we can say that Pakistan has never seen a

constant peace in its time. As already discussed that Pakistan has faced every problem but the

main problem that Pakistan is facing from its birth is economic problem and this problem has

occurred because of mismanagement and lack of planning. Also we can say that the problem has

occurred because the main source of Pakistans income that is Agriculture is backward or we can

simply say that it is not fulfilling the demands of the people because of lack of technology while

when we talk about the industry of Pakistan then it has also not made any good contribution for

the development of Pakistan. But this thing is true that if Pakistan wants to get developed then it

must have to develop first Agriculture and its industry. So lets have glance on Pakistans

agriculture and Industrial sectors.

Background

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.

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 oneof 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.


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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.

Significance of the agricultural sector in the economy

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


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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;


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providing raw materials for many industries and a market for many locally produced industrial

products.

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 favored more rapid growth were put in place: the Indus Water

Agreement was signed under the chairing of the World Bank; the Indus Basin Development

Fund established with multi donor support; government improved the terms of agricultural trade;

and tube we 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.


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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.

agricultural and industrial sector betterment is a key for the development ofpakistan

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