Issues Related to Precision

Agriculture in Pakistan

Farooq Ahmed

2007-ag-2118

M.Sc.(Hons.) Agronomy

Precision agriculture

Precision agriculture is a way of thinking about how

to improve production and get more from existing

resources. It often involves the use of technology.

Precision agriculture or satellite farming is a farming

management concept based on observing and

responding to intra-field variations.

Precision agriculture around the

world

The concept of precision agriculture first emerged in

the United States in the early 1980s.

Later nations were Canada and Australia.

In Europe, the United Kingdom was the first to go

down this path, followed closely by France.

Issues related to adaption of

Precision Farming

Techno-Economic Problems

Due to increasing population and division of land under

the law of inheritance, landholdings are subdivided over

and over again. The result is that very large number of

farmers has less than 2 hectares of area. Moreover

holdings are scattered. It is difficult to use modern

machinery on small pieces of land.

Limited Cultivable Area

The total area is about 79.6 million hectares

Only 23.7 million hectares (28%) area is used for

agricultural purposes.

Water Logging and Salinity

Twin problems of agricultural sector.

Both affect about 0.10 million acre of land in every year

Conti…. Slow Growth of Allied Products

Allied products refer to those productions, which are

not agricultural but indirectly, help the farmer to

improve his living standard i.e. fruits, milk, poultry,

fisheries, livestock and forestry.

Low Per Hectare Yield

45.0% of labour force is engaged

It is less than 5% in developed countries

Conti… Inadequate Infrastructure

Rural infrastructure like, roads, storage facilities,

transport, electricity, education, sanitation and health

facilities etc.

Electricity is available to only 3/4 rural populations.

Old Methods of Production

The old implements are still being used for

agricultural production.

Conti…Inadequate Supply of Agricultural Inputs

The supply of modern inputs costly

Inadequate and irregular

Lack of Irrigation Facilities

Shortage of irrigation facilities causes a serious

limitation in the expansion of crop area in Pakistan.

Defective Land Tenure System

Landlords and feudal-lords live in urban areas

Tenants and peasants have no or less incentive for

their hard work. So, the productivity in agricultural

sector remains low.

Conti… Improper Crop Rotation

The constant cultivation of one crop or two; exhausts

the fertility of the soil.

Proper rotation of crops is necessary in order to

restore the fertility.

Lack of success stories

There have been no success stories of precision

farming

Conti…

Culture and perceptions of the users

Farmers are resistant to new technologies and do not

accept them.

They are unaware of agro-environmental problems

such as groundwater pollution caused by ineffective

fertilization methods.

Natural ProblemsVarious Plant Diseases

• Crops often come under attack of pests and insects.

• Pests and plant diseases reduce the annual

productivity of agriculture.

Heterogeneity of cropping systems and market

imperfections

Farm units are highly heterogeneous.

Fertility status is not uniform.

Conti…

Natural Calamities

Labour is in the hand of mankind but its result is in

the hands of ALLAH in agriculture sector.

20% reduction in productivity due to unnecessary

rain and unfavourable climatic situation.

Conti…

Scarcity of HYV Seeds

lower quality seeds due to non-availability of High

Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds.

Agricultural production is badly affected because of

inferior quality of seeds.

Under Utilization of Land

Population is attached with agricultural sector.

Using traditional means of cultivation.

Less intereste to use the advanced and modern means

of farming.

Socio-Economic Problems

Consumption Oriented

Our farmers have no proper records of their incomes

and expenses. Mostly, they spend on several rural

ceremonies and festivals.

Absence of Land Reforms

First time during Ayub’s .

Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto introduced more reforms in

1972.

Absence of land reforms has always caused a lot of

damage to the agricultural sector of Pakistan.

Conti…Data availability, quality and costs

Difficulties in obtaining reliable data in a timely and

cost effective

Lack of local technical expertise

Requires a relatively advanced and computer literate

workforce.

influenced by variations in personal ability and age of

farmers, motivation, quality and number of years of

education, and exposure to extension services.

Conti…Land ownership, infrastructure and institutional

constraints

Policy and bureaucratic constraints slow down the

process of timely information transfer. Further, poor

coordination among the private sector, research and

administration agencies makes the adoption of these

technologies slower.

Conti…Farmers Litigation

They are often seen in courts, police stations,

irrigation offices, revenue boards and other official

problems.

Joint Family System

He has to support his big family.

It creates deficiency in saving and investment. A huge

part of farmer’s productivity is consumed at his own

house.

Illiteracy and Ill-health

Literacy rate is only 57.7 %.

Conti… Political Instability Affected development in all economic and social sectors.

Creates unrest among the farmers to sell the productions to various industries as a raw material.

People hesitate to invest in agricultural sector due to political unrest.

• International compulsions & inconsistent government policies

• Pakistan fell back in to the clutches of IMF after the change of regime back in 2008.

• IMF has told Pakistan to reduce agricultural subsidies and impose agriculture tax.

• Pakistan is a WTO signatory as well.

Conti…Lack of Credit

Agricultural credit facilities are not common.

Non-institutional sources are available but these are not

reliable due to high rate of interest.

About 50.8% poor borrow from landlords in Pakistan.

Instability in Market Prices

Cobweb theorem is very popular in case of market prices;

it means that a price of one commodity is much high in

this year and much low in the next year and vice versa.

The farmers, do not get due reward from the sale of their

productions. So, they remain unsatisfied

MEASURES TO REMOVE THESE PROBLEMS

Following measures are suggested to improve the

agriculture:

Supply of Agriculture Credit

Water Logging and Salinity Control

Construction of Dames

Provision of HYV Seed

Mechanization

Agricultural Research

Conti…Agro-based Industries

Tax Concessions

Training of Farmers

Prices of Agricultural Productivities

Conclusion:

Being an agricultural country, agricultural sector of Pakistan’s economy is still backward. Use of modern techniques, provision of credit facilities, basic infrastructure and agriculture research facilities are needed to remove all the problems of agriculture sector.

Thanks