Agriculture Problems in Pakistan and Prospective Solutions

Agriculture problems in Pakistan pose significant hurdles to the country’s agricultural sector, impacting productivity, sustainability, and the well-being of farmers. These challenges require urgent attention and effective solutions to ensure a thriving agricultural industry. From water scarcity and outdated farming practices to market access issues and climate change impacts, Pakistan’s agriculture faces a multitude of obstacles. 

Agriculture is the backbone of the Pakistani economy. About 60 to 70 percent of is rural population in Pakistan depends on agriculture. Moreover, it provides 40 to 45 per cent of the labour force. It is the source of imports and exports and improves the balance of payments. No other sector has as much role as agriculture in Pakistan’s GDP. The agricultural sector contributes towards GDP is 18 per cent

Source of input Agriculture

• It generates growth in other sectors
• Cotton runs the textile industry.
• Leather runs leather mills.
• Sugarcane runs sugar mills.

 Source of consumption

Sectors like agriculture are consumed by fertilizer, pesticide industry and modern machinery and resources like electricity are also consumed and thus people get employment.

Agriculture Problems of Pakistan 

The 12 main agriculture problems in Pakistan are given below

1. Old method of sowing seeds

In Pakistan, it is common to see that people follow the methods of their ancestors. I do not mean to say that the farming methods of their ancestors were not correct, but this is the need of today’s era.  If these old ways are adopted then Pakistan can never go up.

2. Shortage of inputs

Our farmers are short of money due to which they cannot provide fertilizers, sprays etc. to their crops in time as per their requirement due to which the overall production is reduced.

3. Lack of irrigation resources

There are some areas in our Pakistan where there is non-availability of water to provide water to the crops and even though there is water in some areas, its irrigation methods are old which is the main reason for production.

4. Non-cultivation of cultivable land.

In Pakistan, about 80 million hectares of cultivable land are cultivated, while only about 23 million hectares are under cultivation, which can be due to many reasons.

 5. The concentration of land ownership

There are some people in Pakistan who have so much cultivable land that they are not capable of cultivating all the land

6. Waterlogging

In some areas of Pakistan, there is a big problem of waterlogging, due to which water comes to the surface of the land and that land is no longer available.

7. Salinity

In some areas of Pakistan, there is a big problem of salinity, due to which salt comes to the surface of the land and that land is no longer available.

8. Soil erosion

Soil erosion is happening in both ways in Pakistan, water erosion is seen in northeast areas and air erosion occurs in central and south Pakistan, due to which arable land is changing into uncultivable land.

9. Lack of Agriculture Universities

In Pakistan, most of the science subjects are given priority while agriculture which is the backbone of our Pakistan is not given any priority.  And agriculture university is very rare in Pakistan

10. Insufficient infrastructure

 There are very few agriculture markets in Pakistan. Most of the villages have ad huts that take their own commission from the farmers and also give low rates.

 11. No training for farmers

Most of our farmers in Pakistan have an average of 5 acres of land and they often spend more than they want on the land. Most of our farmers are not educated.  which can guide him at each crop stage, when to plant, when to water, which seed to plant and when to harvest.

12. Shortage of labour

In most of the villages, laborers are not available at the time of harvesting and planting time and in some areas, laborers increase their wages by their own will which causes difficulties for the farmers.

Solutions to Agriculture Problems

• The agriculture development bank should provide term facilities to farmers to meet their timely needs for improved seed, tractor and tube wells.
• The government need to focus on the construction of dams, and canal to store the excess water during heavy rainfall.
• The government should provide subsidies to farmers so that farmers can get inputs at low prices and waive off tax or reduce to at least 50 on the imported agricultural machinery.
• The government should fix the price of each crop. Here, the price of each crop is different at the time of harvesting, and after 15 to 20 days, the price is different. A standard price should be fixed for each crop, which is the same for the whole year rate remains same.
• The government should implement a land law that makes uncultivable land cultivable, for example, those who have so much land that they cannot cultivate the entire land because they lack time or inputs.  They do not have money to cultivate all the land, so the government should take the extra land from them and provide it to people who can cultivate it.
• Farmers should be told about crop rotation and that they should not plant the same crop every year, but every year after that, if you are cultivating on the same land, you should not plant that crop, but plant another crop in its place.
• Farmers should be informed about the crops that are suitable for the nature of the land. Now it is not possible to cultivate rice on sandy land, only those crops that require less water should be cultivated there.
• Farmers should be informed about the crops that are suitable for the nature of the land. Now it is not possible to cultivate rice on sandy land, only those crops that require less water should be cultivated there.
• The government of Pakistan should equip the farmers with modern technology
• Farmer-friendly policies should be implemented and meetings with the farmers should be held after a certain period of time to build a strong relationship with them which can play a key role in Pakistan’s agriculture.

Conclusion

If governments prioritize the importance of the agricultural sector and focus on its various problems, these can be easily solved. This doubles the growth of the agricultural sector during the day and quadruples at night. So Pakistan will progress and people will be comfortable. Pakistan is a country rich in natural resources. Also, Almighty God has a lot of talent, skill and human power. The only thing missing is courageous and determined leadership. Honest and loyal to Pakistan.

Ghulam Mustafa

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad