Chapter 2
Agriculture
Agricultural sector is indispensable to the country’s economic growth, food security,
employment generation and poverty alleviation particularly, at the rural level. It
contributes 19.2 percent to the GDP and provides employment to around 38.5 percent
of the labour force. More than 65-70 percent of the population depends on agriculture
for its livelihood. Agricultural growth rate has been constrained by shrinking arable
land, climate change, water shortages, and large-scale population and labour shift from
rural to urban areas. Increasing agricultural productivity, therefore, requires adoption
of new approaches. With strong forward and backward linkages with the secondary
(industrial) and tertiary (services) sectors, it can play a pivotal role to spur economic
growth. However, this sector has remained prone to several challenges like climate
change, variance in temperature, water shortage, and changes in pattern of precipitation
along with increase in input prices.
The government is closely monitoring key crops and devising policies/planning
interventions to ensure uninterrupted supply of basic food items at affordable prices in
the country. The primary goal of the government is to enhance financial inclusion in the
agriculture sector to boost productivity and exports, thereby enabling a rural
development-driven economic growth.
Realising the importance of agriculture, the government is also focusing on pro-
agriculture set of policies to tap maximum benefits by introducing the agri-input regime
to increase yields of major rabi and kharif crops. The Prime Minister has approved
“Agriculture Transformation Plan” with the objective to enhance national agricultural
output and livelihood of farmers.
Box Item-I: Agriculture Transformation Plan
Ministry of National Food Security and Research presented an action plan before Prime Minister for
transformation of agriculture sector in the country. Under this plan provinces will work on re-tweaking
of machinery given under National Agriculture Emergency Projects (NAEP) on wheat, rice, sugarcane,
and oilseeds for maximum distribution of implements among farming community on following aspect:
• Design of intervention and pre-qualification mechanism
• Additional implements
• Subsidy mechanism to be aligned with Kissan Card
• Service providers to be registered
• Unique implement ID
• Farmers share
,Pakistan Economic Survey 2020-21
This approved action plan with specific timeline for interventions, yield gaps and particular issues of
the sector to be resolved through first and second generation. These interventions comprise of action
to be taken by Federal and Provincial Governments. The details are as under:
First Generation Interventions
Bridging the yield gap Target sectors
• Seed sector reforms • Cotton revival
• Inputs: digital subsidy mechanism • Olive deepening
• Mechanization • Genetic improvement in livestock
• Water efficiency • Fisheries
• Revamping extension services
• Access to credit
• Post harvest storage
• Restructuring research institutes
Second Generation Interventions
• Horizontal expansion • Crop Zoning
• International Cooperation • Land Consolidation
• Value Chain Development • Organic farming
• Clusters (Fruit & Vegetables) • Adaption and self-discovery
• Perishable produce • Sub-montane agriculture
Source: Ministry of National Food Security & Research
Agriculture Performance during 2020-21
Pakistan has two cropping seasons. “Kharif”, the first sowing season, which starts from
April to June and is harvested from October to December. This season crop cycle mainly
consists of rice, sugarcane, cotton, maize, moong, mash, bajra and jowar.
"Rabi", being the second season, sowing begins from October to December and is
harvested from April to May. It comprises mainly of wheat, gram, lentil (masoor),
tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard.
The agriculture sector’s performance during 2020-21 broadly stands encouraging as it
grows by 2.77 percent against the target of 2.8 percent. The growth of important crops
(wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize and cotton) during the year is 4.65 percent. The
production of major Kharif crops 2020, such as sugarcane, maize and rice indicated
considerable improvement compared to last year and surpassed the production targets.
The production of sugarcane increased by 22.0 percent to 81.009 million tonnes from
66.380 million tonnes, rice by 13.6 percent to 8.419 million tonnes from 7.414 million
tonnes and maize by 7.4 percent to 8.465 million tonnes from 7.883 million tonnes.
However, the cotton crop suffered mainly due to decline in area sown, heavy monsoon
rains and pest attacks. The cotton production reduced by 22.8 percent, to 7.064 million
bales from 9.148 million bales last year.
Wheat, the most important crop of “Rabi”, showed a growth of 8.1 percent and reached
record high production level of 27.293 million tonnes compared to 25.248 million
tonnes last year. The wheat cultivation area increased to 9.178 million hectares
prompted by record domestic prices and official programmes promoting wheat
production. For the Rabi crops 2020-21, the government provided a comprehensive
18
, Agriculture
“Rabi Package” comprising of subsidies on fertilizer, fungicides and weedicides, together
with an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat to Rs 1,800 per 40 Kg.
Other crops, having a share of 11.69 percent in agriculture value addition and 2.24
percent in GDP, showed growth of 1.41 percent because of increase in production of
fodder, vegetables and fruits. Cotton ginning declined by 15.58 percent due to fall in
production of cotton crop. The overall crops sector, having a share of 35.81 percent in
agriculture value addition and 6.87 percent in GDP witnessed a growth of 2.47 percent
due to increase in growth of important crops by 4.65 percent. This was largely due to
sufficient availability of agricultural inputs (water, subsidized fertilizers, certified seeds,
pesticides and agriculture credit).
Livestock having a share of 60.07 percent in agriculture and 11.53 percent in GDP
achieved a growth of 3.06 percent. The fishing sector, with a share of 2.01 percent in
agriculture value addition and 0.39 percent in GDP, grew by 0.73 percent, while forestry
sector having share of 2.10 percent in agriculture and 0.40 percent in GDP grew by 1.42
percent. (Table 2.1)
Table 2.1: Agriculture Growth (Base=2005-06) (%)
Sector FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 P
Agriculture 2.13 0.15 2.18 4.00 0.56 3.31 2.77
1.Crops (i+ii+iii) 0.16 -5.27 1.22 4.69 -4.96 5.54 2.47
i) Important Crops -1.62 -5.86 2.60 3.56 -7.69 5.24 4.65
ii) Other Crops 2.51 0.40 -2.51 6.26 2.60 8.08 1.41
iii) Cotton Ginning 7.24 -22.12 5.58 8.80 -12.74 -4.82 -15.58
2.Livestock 3.99 3.36 2.99 3.70 3.82 2.10 3.06
3.Forestry -12.45 14.31 -2.33 2.58 7.28 3.60 1.42
4.Fishing 5.75 3.25 1.23 1.62 0.80 0.60 0.73
P: Provisional
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
Water availability during Kharif 2020 remained at 65.1 million acre feet (MAF) showing
a slight decrease of 0.2 percent compared to 65.2 MAF of Kharif 2019. Rabi season 2020-
21 received 31.2 MAF, showing an increase of 6.9 percent over Rabi 2019-20. (Table
2.2).
Table 2.2: Actual Surface Water Availability (Million Acre Feet)
% age increase/decrease
Period Kharif Rabi Total over the average system
usage (103.5 MAF)
Average system usage 67.1 36.4 103.5 -
2011-12 60.4 29.4 89.8 -13.2
2012-13 57.7 31.9 89.6 -13.4
2013-14 65.5 32.5 98.0 -5.3
2014-15 69.3 33.1 102.4 -1.1
2015-16 65.5 32.9 98.4 -4.9
2016-17 71.4 29.7 101.1 -2.3
2017-18 70.0 24.2 94.2 -9.0
2018-19 59.6 24.8 84.4 -18.5
2019-20 65.2 29.2 94.4 -8.8
2020-21 65.1 31.2 96.3 -7.0
Source: Indus River System Authority
19
Agriculture
Agricultural sector is indispensable to the country’s economic growth, food security,
employment generation and poverty alleviation particularly, at the rural level. It
contributes 19.2 percent to the GDP and provides employment to around 38.5 percent
of the labour force. More than 65-70 percent of the population depends on agriculture
for its livelihood. Agricultural growth rate has been constrained by shrinking arable
land, climate change, water shortages, and large-scale population and labour shift from
rural to urban areas. Increasing agricultural productivity, therefore, requires adoption
of new approaches. With strong forward and backward linkages with the secondary
(industrial) and tertiary (services) sectors, it can play a pivotal role to spur economic
growth. However, this sector has remained prone to several challenges like climate
change, variance in temperature, water shortage, and changes in pattern of precipitation
along with increase in input prices.
The government is closely monitoring key crops and devising policies/planning
interventions to ensure uninterrupted supply of basic food items at affordable prices in
the country. The primary goal of the government is to enhance financial inclusion in the
agriculture sector to boost productivity and exports, thereby enabling a rural
development-driven economic growth.
Realising the importance of agriculture, the government is also focusing on pro-
agriculture set of policies to tap maximum benefits by introducing the agri-input regime
to increase yields of major rabi and kharif crops. The Prime Minister has approved
“Agriculture Transformation Plan” with the objective to enhance national agricultural
output and livelihood of farmers.
Box Item-I: Agriculture Transformation Plan
Ministry of National Food Security and Research presented an action plan before Prime Minister for
transformation of agriculture sector in the country. Under this plan provinces will work on re-tweaking
of machinery given under National Agriculture Emergency Projects (NAEP) on wheat, rice, sugarcane,
and oilseeds for maximum distribution of implements among farming community on following aspect:
• Design of intervention and pre-qualification mechanism
• Additional implements
• Subsidy mechanism to be aligned with Kissan Card
• Service providers to be registered
• Unique implement ID
• Farmers share
,Pakistan Economic Survey 2020-21
This approved action plan with specific timeline for interventions, yield gaps and particular issues of
the sector to be resolved through first and second generation. These interventions comprise of action
to be taken by Federal and Provincial Governments. The details are as under:
First Generation Interventions
Bridging the yield gap Target sectors
• Seed sector reforms • Cotton revival
• Inputs: digital subsidy mechanism • Olive deepening
• Mechanization • Genetic improvement in livestock
• Water efficiency • Fisheries
• Revamping extension services
• Access to credit
• Post harvest storage
• Restructuring research institutes
Second Generation Interventions
• Horizontal expansion • Crop Zoning
• International Cooperation • Land Consolidation
• Value Chain Development • Organic farming
• Clusters (Fruit & Vegetables) • Adaption and self-discovery
• Perishable produce • Sub-montane agriculture
Source: Ministry of National Food Security & Research
Agriculture Performance during 2020-21
Pakistan has two cropping seasons. “Kharif”, the first sowing season, which starts from
April to June and is harvested from October to December. This season crop cycle mainly
consists of rice, sugarcane, cotton, maize, moong, mash, bajra and jowar.
"Rabi", being the second season, sowing begins from October to December and is
harvested from April to May. It comprises mainly of wheat, gram, lentil (masoor),
tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard.
The agriculture sector’s performance during 2020-21 broadly stands encouraging as it
grows by 2.77 percent against the target of 2.8 percent. The growth of important crops
(wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize and cotton) during the year is 4.65 percent. The
production of major Kharif crops 2020, such as sugarcane, maize and rice indicated
considerable improvement compared to last year and surpassed the production targets.
The production of sugarcane increased by 22.0 percent to 81.009 million tonnes from
66.380 million tonnes, rice by 13.6 percent to 8.419 million tonnes from 7.414 million
tonnes and maize by 7.4 percent to 8.465 million tonnes from 7.883 million tonnes.
However, the cotton crop suffered mainly due to decline in area sown, heavy monsoon
rains and pest attacks. The cotton production reduced by 22.8 percent, to 7.064 million
bales from 9.148 million bales last year.
Wheat, the most important crop of “Rabi”, showed a growth of 8.1 percent and reached
record high production level of 27.293 million tonnes compared to 25.248 million
tonnes last year. The wheat cultivation area increased to 9.178 million hectares
prompted by record domestic prices and official programmes promoting wheat
production. For the Rabi crops 2020-21, the government provided a comprehensive
18
, Agriculture
“Rabi Package” comprising of subsidies on fertilizer, fungicides and weedicides, together
with an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat to Rs 1,800 per 40 Kg.
Other crops, having a share of 11.69 percent in agriculture value addition and 2.24
percent in GDP, showed growth of 1.41 percent because of increase in production of
fodder, vegetables and fruits. Cotton ginning declined by 15.58 percent due to fall in
production of cotton crop. The overall crops sector, having a share of 35.81 percent in
agriculture value addition and 6.87 percent in GDP witnessed a growth of 2.47 percent
due to increase in growth of important crops by 4.65 percent. This was largely due to
sufficient availability of agricultural inputs (water, subsidized fertilizers, certified seeds,
pesticides and agriculture credit).
Livestock having a share of 60.07 percent in agriculture and 11.53 percent in GDP
achieved a growth of 3.06 percent. The fishing sector, with a share of 2.01 percent in
agriculture value addition and 0.39 percent in GDP, grew by 0.73 percent, while forestry
sector having share of 2.10 percent in agriculture and 0.40 percent in GDP grew by 1.42
percent. (Table 2.1)
Table 2.1: Agriculture Growth (Base=2005-06) (%)
Sector FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 P
Agriculture 2.13 0.15 2.18 4.00 0.56 3.31 2.77
1.Crops (i+ii+iii) 0.16 -5.27 1.22 4.69 -4.96 5.54 2.47
i) Important Crops -1.62 -5.86 2.60 3.56 -7.69 5.24 4.65
ii) Other Crops 2.51 0.40 -2.51 6.26 2.60 8.08 1.41
iii) Cotton Ginning 7.24 -22.12 5.58 8.80 -12.74 -4.82 -15.58
2.Livestock 3.99 3.36 2.99 3.70 3.82 2.10 3.06
3.Forestry -12.45 14.31 -2.33 2.58 7.28 3.60 1.42
4.Fishing 5.75 3.25 1.23 1.62 0.80 0.60 0.73
P: Provisional
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
Water availability during Kharif 2020 remained at 65.1 million acre feet (MAF) showing
a slight decrease of 0.2 percent compared to 65.2 MAF of Kharif 2019. Rabi season 2020-
21 received 31.2 MAF, showing an increase of 6.9 percent over Rabi 2019-20. (Table
2.2).
Table 2.2: Actual Surface Water Availability (Million Acre Feet)
% age increase/decrease
Period Kharif Rabi Total over the average system
usage (103.5 MAF)
Average system usage 67.1 36.4 103.5 -
2011-12 60.4 29.4 89.8 -13.2
2012-13 57.7 31.9 89.6 -13.4
2013-14 65.5 32.5 98.0 -5.3
2014-15 69.3 33.1 102.4 -1.1
2015-16 65.5 32.9 98.4 -4.9
2016-17 71.4 29.7 101.1 -2.3
2017-18 70.0 24.2 94.2 -9.0
2018-19 59.6 24.8 84.4 -18.5
2019-20 65.2 29.2 94.4 -8.8
2020-21 65.1 31.2 96.3 -7.0
Source: Indus River System Authority
19
