Agriculture is a way of life, a tradition, which for centuries has shaped the economic life, culture and the thought of the people. The importance of agriculture in the development of a country cannot be ignored. Growth of agriculture is very much essential for achieving self-reliance in major food items.
Pakistan with a total land area of 79.61 million hectares is termed as an agricultural country because agricultural sector is the single largest sector of the country which not only provides food to 140 million people but also provides employment to about 48 % of the workforce. Beside, it also provides raw material to the industry, contributes about 60% to export earnings, and provides the livelihood for 70% rural population. In short the agriculture sector can rightly be called the backbone of our economy, as it contributes around Rs800 billion, almost one-fourth to the total GDP ie contributing 25% of the GDP.
However, the sector, which possesses the potential to be a lead sector in accelerating the economic growth and reducing poverty in Pakistan, has received less attention from successive governments in the past 57 years than other issues. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, this year the agricultural growth target came down to 2.6 percent from 4.1 percent of the last year ie 2002-03. The Survey also attributed the slippage in agriculture to the weak performance of both the major and minor crops. However, the government hesitated to accept its poor attention towards this important sector of the economy. Although, the government announced a comprehensive package for the farmers in June this year, it failed to satisfy the majority of the farming community as they are expressing their dissatisfaction over the incentives announced.
NWFP is the smallest province of our country regarding area. Out of a total 79.61 million hectares, NWFP occupies 10.17 million hectare area. The total cropped area of the province is 1.92, where forests cover about 1.33 million hectares while about 3.92 million hectares are not available for cultivation.
The major crops grown in NWFP include wheat, maize, sugarcane and tobacco. Along with this various kinds of vegetables and fruits are also grown.
How the growers of the aforementioned crops suffer at different levels of the cultivation and what problems they face in the wake of the poor or even non-existent marketing system for these crops both at the provincial and federal level? How the bureaucratic hurdles come in the way of implementation of policies regarding agriculture?
How the government is serious in its claim of giving utmost attention to this important sector? All this and such other questions are being discussed here with a special reference to the woes of the farmers of NWFP.
TOBACCO: Although tobacco is cultivated over a small area of the total irrigated land in the country, it is of great significance as a source of revenue, employment, and foreign exchange earning to the country. The tobacco industry is one of the largest tax payers in Pakistan which gives about Rs 22 billion in taxes --- the equivalent of 4.4% of Pakistan's GDP. The annual production of tobacco ranges from 85-90 million kg each year.
Being a highly labour-intensive crop, tobacco engages about 0.13 million people in its cultivation and in different factories of the Tobacco Industry which are about 26 in number. Another one million find indirect employment in the sales and promotion of cigarette throughout the country. It is also an important source of foreign exchange earnings for the country ($6.248 million during 2002-2003).
Tobacco is an important cash crop of NWFP and the Punjab. The frontier province, NWFP, is the largest producer of tobacco in the country, accounting for 70 percent of the national crop. Punjab is the second biggest tobacco grower with 24 percent of total production.
The reason for being the largest producer of tobacco is that traditionally a large part of the NWFP had been growing poppy for generations. Then the government clamped down on poppy cultivation and persuaded the farmers to switch to alternative crops. Virginia Tobacco was also introduced as an alternative crop, particularly in the districts of Swabi and Dir. The province, especially its District Mansehra, produces one of the best quality of the crops at the world level.
The federal government established Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) in February 1968 for the promotion of the cultivation, manufacture and exports of tobacco and tobacco products and matters ancillary thereto. It is through the efforts of PTB that tobacco has the largest yield of any crop in the country.
For proper regulation of tobacco marketing, PTB ascertains the requirements of various tobacco companies for different types of tobacco from the ensuing crop, and publicises the same at the time when nurseries are being laid out. The underlying idea is to create an awareness of the manufacturers' requirements among the growers so as to aim at a crop-size bearing a relationship with the demand. The ultimate sale of tobacco is regulated through the provincial law in NWFP under which the tobacco companies are bound to execute agreements with tobacco growers for their total demand of virginia tobacco.
Unfortunately, this balance between the requirements of tobacco companies and the production of tobacco crop couldn't be maintained for the last few years and each year the tobacco growers produce "surplus crop" beyond the announced requirements and without executing an agreement with any of the tobacco companies. Out of the total production of 85-90 million kilograms; only 50 million kilograms are consumed in the local market whereas the rest of the production becomes "surplus". Such a situation not only creates uncertainty amongst the farmers but also creates marketing problems (like limited storage facilities) due to which the farmers have to run from pillar to post during each purchasing season and thus in the end are compelled to sell their produce at a much reduced prices.
Regarding tobacco cultivation, the district Swabi of NWFP merits a mention as only this district fulfils about 55 per cent requirements of tobacco companies and cigarette manufacturers. And each year the surplus tobacco crop creates marketing problems especially in Swabi district. The claim of the farmers to produce surplus tobacco also seems to carry weight as there is no alternative cash crop available with them and secondly all their daily life expenditures throughout the year have been linked with the production and selling of tobacco. Thirdly the land holdings too here are not enough to be cultivated with other cash crops like sugarcane while wheat can not be produced here as the plantation of tobacco starts in the second week of February. Thus most of the farmers have to leave their land uncultivated for tobacco plantation as it brings much better return in comparison to wheat.
On the other side, a downslide trend is seen in the demand of tobacco, forwarded by the companies before the cultivation of the crop every year. This reduction in quota looks as if meant to force the growers to sell their produce at throwaway prices. Because under tobacco marketing law, MLO-487, the companies are bound to buy the quoted demand for tobacco at the price which should not be less than that paid to a farmer the previous year. MLO-487 seems to be an only driving force which gives the poverty-stricken growers an assurance of higher prices for their produce. But at same time this law seems to be a bone of contention for the tobacco companies, which are trying their best at various governmental levels, to do away with it. Still, the companies sometimes save a lot of their money by not abiding the MLO-487 law.
According to the growers, the companies, in order to have profit, also apply the tactic of downgrading by rejecting some of the tobacco crop. In doing so the companies only purchase the outstanding quality of tobacco and reject the low-grade tobacco. This rejected tobacco is then purchased by the companies' agents outside the depot and then the same tobacco finds its ways into the companies through back doors, thus causing a loss of millions of rupees to the poor growers.
Furthermore, it looks strange that these companies get ready to buy the "surplus tobacco" at lower prices when pressurised by PTB to lift the surplus crop at the off season. In the end, the poor farmers have to accept these lower as they have no storage facility for their crops and also have to feed themselves and their families.
Unlike the previously, this year the tobacco crop fell short of the demand of the companies because of certain reasons, including tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and natural calamities such as hailstorm which devastated many tobacco-growing areas of certain districts. The damage done to the tobacco crop by these factors have however, made the major tobacco buyers to have a sigh of relief as their fear of a "surplus crop" being produced ended this year but the farmers are again at the losing end as they have been offered such low prices that it would be impossible for them to avoid huge financial losses.
Finding out a permanent solution to the problems of tobacco growers is the need of the hour as the issue is getting complicated with each passing year. The poor farmers who have spent huge amount of their earnings on inputs like fertiliser and pesticides even resort to hunger strikes and road blockades, thus not only creating law and order problem but also suffering huge financial losses.
The woes of tobacco farmers also get multiplied because of the politicising of the tobacco crop. It has been so much politicised that in the last elections almost every political party used the tobacco card to grab votes, particularly in Swabi district but on getting in the power corridors, the very representatives of these constituencies has now forgotten these poor farmers.
WHEAT: Although wheat is the second largest feed for human life after rice in the world, it is the main staple diet of the people. The contribution of wheat in the value added in agriculture stands at 12.1 percent and its share in the GDP is 3.1 percent.
This year wheat production was estimated at 19.769 million tons, which is 1.2 percent less than the target of 20 million. This compelled the government to make arrangements for the import of one million tons of wheat to meet the needs for the current fiscal year.
Out of the four provinces, Punjab province is self-sufficient in wheat production as it contributes about 78% and is surplus by 47-50 lakh tons while other provinces have a deficit with Sindh by 20 lakh, NWFP by 25 lakh, and Balochistan by 5 lakh tons.
In NWFP, wheat is harvested on about 20 lakh acres area of the total area which produces about 11 lakh tons. This amount of wheat is insufficient to meet the requirements of the province which stands at about 35 lakh tons per annum. These 11 lakh tons meet the requirement of the province for about five months while for the rest of the year, the deficit amount of wheat is provided by Punjab. In this way NWFP is almost totally dependent on Punjab for its wheat requirements.
In Pakistan, wheat is cultivated largely (80 per cent), in irrigated areas whereas the rest in rain-fed. The yield and production in latter part of the country is predominantly controlled by rain during growing season, which usually is erratic. Hence yields are much lower during season of low precipitation. The same situation prevailed this year when wheat production was adversely affected by lack of rain in March at the critical moment of the formation of wheat grain. The actual rainfall during winter (January - March 2004) was 40% lower than the normal and this had a severe impact on wheat production.
Secondly, the other major reason behind the low wheat production in the country was the inability of sugarcane farmers to sow wheat on time. Majority of them was unable to sow wheat last year due to late procurement of sugarcane by the mills.
Normally sugar mills throughout the country start the crushing process in October every year. Last year, the sugar mills association refused to start crushing of sugarcane until last year's stock of crushed sugar was utilised. This decision created a situation for sugarcane farmers. The delay in harvesting of sugarcane crop had also delayed sowing of wheat crop, causing huge loss to farmers. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter, the government although intervened and assured the sugar mills owners of lifting the surplus sugar stocks through Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), but that was too late to sow wheat crop on the land under sugarcane crop. Those farmers that dared to cultivate wheat late in December obtained very low yield.
Sugarcane: Sugarcane is another important cash crop of Pakistan. Sugarcane's shares in agriculture and GDP are 6.7% and 1.7% respectively.
Although most of the sugarcane produced is used for making unrefined sugar in the mills still the crop is also used in manufacturing "gur". A small quantity is also produced for chewing. Furthermore, some of the quantity is retained as seed while cane tops are used as fodder.
Over the years, sugarcane production has increased manifold, making sugar industry the second biggest industry of Pakistan, after textile. The area under sugar-cane increased from 0.19 million hectors (mha) in 1947 to 1.09 million ha in 2002-03 due to indiscriminate increase of sugar mills from three to 77. Out of these sugar mills, 38 are in Punjab, 32 in Sindh, 6 in NWFP and 1 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, the total production of sugarcane went up from 0.57 million tons in 1947 to 51 million tons in 2003.
Our sugar industry is passing through two distinct phases. One, acute shortage; two, huge surpluses. Shortage of sugarcane is considered as a crisis while the surplus is welcomed as blessing. In fact, both are in crisis. Excess sugarcane production is a crisis for farmers as many of them are unable to sell, and during low production of sugarcane, mills face a shortage of sugarcane.
This year the sugarcane crop is expected to be low against the targeted level. Several factors are responsible for this sharp decline this year. Firstly, the delay in payments by the sugar mills discouraged farmers to grow sugarcane. Secondly, sugarcane is an intensive user of water relative to other crops and the paucity of water is set to hit the production of sugarcane this year. Finally, there has been less rainfall during the growth period of the crop ie July/August this year. Thus the standing crop is experiencing shortage of water that could result in low yield and sucrose or juice this year.
In NWFP, although an increased use of sugar-cane for gur-making had taken place during the last ten years the growers woes get multiplied manifold from the last three years. The "gur making," which is used as a substitute of sugar in major parts of the rural areas of NWFP and the adjoining tribal areas, remained a profitable business for the farmers of Mardan, Charsaddah and Peshawar. During the Taleban regime, the gur produced in these areas used to be exported to Afghanistan and it was in those days that "gur" was also included in the export items list for Afghanistan by the federal government. But with the ouster of Taleban, the export of gur came to an end as now the US-imported sugar is available to Afghanistan, cheaper as compared to gur. Thus the ouster of Taleban in Afghanistan add to the miseries of sugarcane growers in NWFP as now gur is not bought by any one and the farmers are left with no option but to sell their sugarcane crop to sugar mills who pay much lower prices against the officially announced support price.
Looking to the shift of sugarcane growers from supplying crop to sugar mills to "gur making" the provincial government also levied a tax on gur making units (called Gani locally). This tax is received aside the sugarcane cess which was meant for the development of those areas from which it is collected, but uptill now there is no know-how of this tax, being received from the sugarcane growers.
Like the growers of other crops the sugarcane growers also face different problems regarding inputs as the diesel prices are rising day by day. The pesticides are too costly and also very spurious, thus are not fulfilling the purpose for which they are used. Being a water intensive crop, the farmers also facing water shortages and above all, no surety of good income in the end because of the non-existent gur market and under payment by the sugar mills.
Under the free market economies, it has become extremely difficult for the government to have control over the price and production of the produce. It has to fix a such a support price which on the one side protects the farmers but should also be feasible for the millers at which they should procure the cane crop for crushing. In such a situation, a balanced policy which takes care of all the stakeholders, is almost difficult for the government.
WATER SCARCITY: The agriculture sector consumes about 90 per cent of Pakistan's water and the rest by humans. The total available water in a normal year is 140 million acre feet (MAF) annually. Out of which 36 MAF reach the Indus Delta (unused) and flows to Arabian Sea. The 104 MAF of water consumed over an area of 40 million acres of Pakistan, constitutes one of the largest integrated irrigation system in the world. The problem of water shortages has been long running as the nation grapples with the after-effects of the three-year drought (1997-2000).
NWFP, where agriculture is the main source of income of the people, has been badly hit by water scarcity for the last few years. The farmers did not get enough water to irrigate their land. It merits a mention here that almost 20 percent water out of the NWFP's share goes unused in the Indus river system because of the absence of proper canal channels in the plain areas.
As an alternative of the canal water for irrigation, the tubewells, being dug to get the underground water in the plain areas, are fast going saline. This depleting underground water table has multiplied the woes. On the other hand, the operation of these tubewells has also gone faraway from the reach of farmers because of the ever-rising power tariffs and diesel prices.
AGRICULTURAL INPUTS: Agricultural Inputs which includes fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, power tariffs and diesel are fast going out of the reach of the poor farmers. Seed, fertiliser, and pesticides play an important role in the enhancement of crop production.
The farming community is facing an unprecedented increase in the prices of chemical fertilisers. The imposition of 15% GST on fertiliser proved a big blow to the agricultural sector. It has affected the production of crops as now farmer is unable to buy fertilisers at high prices. Adding to this aggravation, there is an upward trend in gas tariff. Higher prices of gas, which is used as a raw material in the fertiliser industry, force the manufacturers to sell their product at the higher rate. Again the ultimate sufferer is farmer, who needs fertilisers for almost every crop. It had also resulted in increased cost of production. Furthermore, these fertilisers are less effective than natural inputs as majority of the farmer community have no access to professional advice on the optimal use of such fertilisers.
Seed quality is also a common complaint, with the claim that better seed strains have not been developed and if developed any, then they are not distributed among the farmers.
Similar is the situation with all too important pesticides. Their prices have seen a phenomenal rise over the last few years, thanks to various forms of taxes and duties. In terms of the use of pesticides, substandard quality does not provide adequate protection against pests, while the pesticides available are often unable to combat new virus strains. Furthermore, lacking an early warning system, the authorities are unable to contain the damage from seasonal pests. Aside from high prices of these inputs, the adulteration in it, not only cause damage to the crop but also put the human lives in danger by causing malnutrition.
The recent damage to tobacco crop in NWFP is rightly claimed due to the use of substandard seeds and spurious pesticides which have played havoc with the crop this year. The dreams of farmers turned sour when TMV (virus) hit the crop particularly in Swat and Malakand regions of the province. In short, these overpriced and spurious seeds and pesticides lands the farming community in a no-win situation.
An unprecedented increase in the prices of oil in the recent years has proved a blow to the agricultural sector, as it is the primary source of energy in the farm sector and is used to fuel tractors, diesel engines for water tubewells, thrashers and other agricultural implements. The 100 per cent increase in the price of diesel in the last four years is enough to break the already strained back of the farmer as it directly adds to higher operating expenses.
In the last but not the least, the power tariff has also seen frequent upward revisions in recent years. From the very beginning, getting power connection for agriculture purpose (tubewell) is too costly as the connection charges has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000. Ever since the introduction of the so-called market-based mechanism, power tariff has been linked to world prices of furnace oil. A few paisa raise per unit translates into increased burden of thousands of rupees on the poor farmers using tubewells.
The government should provide subsidy on inputs like fertiliser and pesticides. This will help the farmers in overcoming their financial problems.
Inconsistency in government policies:
Looking into the agricultural policies that are formulated in this country, it seems obvious that they have been so erratic that no clear and consistent pattern emerges. There is no consistency in the government policies. The government changes its policies for different crops. One year, it gives priority to some crop but next year, when the farmers convert to that crop, the government suddenly puts other crop on their priority list, and the farmers are left in a state of uncertainty.
The fact of inconsistency in governmental priorities can be judged by looking in to the production of wheat crop which has never seen consistency. In year 1999-2000, the wheat imports were subsidised to the tune of Rs 1.046 billion and then in the coming years wheat export were subsidised to the extent of Rs 543 million in 2001-02 and Rs 3.315 billion in 2002-03 on account of good production of the crop. There was a plan to export wheat further but consistency couldn't be maintained due to abnormal production. In 2003-04, the total wheat production of 19.769 million tons, became acute to the tune of 1.2 percent less than the target of 20 million. Thus one million tons of the wheat are being imported in the current fiscal year to meet the requirements.
It also looks as those sitting at the policy tables are unaware of the fact that there are crops which compete with each other for land, water, and labour over a year. This claim gets proven right when last year the sugarcane growers remained in a fix by not sowing wheat crop because of the one-month delay in crushing by the sugar mills who had a row with the government over the surplus sugar stocks. Had the policy-makers aware of the fact they would have solved the row in time and thus a vast land would have got sown with wheat after the harvest of sugarcane crop?
Along with the inconsistency, the support prices are pursued only for the major crops and that too in erratic manner. Mostly the policies are never announced at the right time ie sufficiently before the sowing season. This discourages the growers from cultivating that crop. Good support prices of crops serve as real incentive for farmers and can also serve as a monetary booster to them. Therefore, the announcement of support price should be well before the sowing so that it can encourage the farmer to grow the crop.
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: Although every year many policies are framed for the development of agricultural sector, these policies get no where because of the absence of proper mechanism of implementation, monitoring and supervisory tools. The implementation machinery, both at the Federal and provincial levels, is very defective and inefficient. Above all, the rest of the deficiency is filled by the ineffectiveness of the delivery systems. The failure of these policies is also attributed to the piecemeal approach of the concerned government departments towards the agriculture sector.
The inability of the present government to implement the reduction of Rs 100 per bag in the prices of DAP (fertiliser) uptill now is enough to testify the above mentioned claim. Despite government announcement to lower the DAP fertiliser prices with immediate effect, no benefit has been passed onto the farmers uptill now because of the stance of the manufacturers regarding tax payment on existing stocks which they consider are sufficient to meet the requirements upto the end of this year. The notification in this regard has been issued after a couple of days of the announcement by the President and it was to be effective in the market from July onwards. But uptill now this benefit in real terms has not been passed onto the growers as the DAP fertiliser still costs Rs 1000 in the market.
Again in this regard, the ZTBL was not able to implement the incentives of the Farmer Package from July 1st. Had the non-execution of the package not been pointed out by the Members of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly, it will have remained unnoticed up till now? Thus a package announced on June 10, got implemented on August 2nd. Such a situation speaks a lot about the apathy towards agriculture at the higher governmental levels.
DICTATIONS OF DONOR AGENCIES: Like other under-developed countries, Pakistan has also got trapped in the chains of international donor agencies such as the IMF and World Bank. Once trapped in the claws of these agencies, the country has to abide by their dictations (in the form of policies), which are given by these agencies, despite knowing the hazards of these policies. The various types of subsidies, which the government had previously provided to different sectors of the economy specially agriculture, seems to be a bone of contention among these agencies. That is why the member countries are pressurised immensely to bring down these agricultural subsidies.
Pakistan is no exception as it also got entangled in the snare of these world donor agencies. The protection to the agriculture sector in form of export subsidies and domestic support has gradually been abolished in order to please the foreign donors. The decision of imposition of 15% GST on different agriculture inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, has also been taken under IMF dictation.
Under the free market mechanism, the international donor agencies pressurise the government to stay away from the market. They strongly disapprove the "support price mechanism" by the government as they want the price to be determined by the market forces where already the multinational companies (MNCs) have got their deep roots.
The subsidy on bulldozers at reduced rates for land development with NWFP farmers has also been withdrawn. Even the Public Health Engineering department responsible for the purpose has also been abolished. Previously the farmers have got the opportunity to make use of these bulldozers for development of barren lands at subsidised rates (Rs 329/hour) but after the withdrawal of this facility, now the farmers have been left on the mercy of the private sector which charges about Rs1000 per hour. Presently the situation has got worsened as there are only four bulldozers with the agriculture department for the whole province and that also have been taken over by the provincial minister for agriculture for development of his own lands in Swat for the last one year.
Aside from these agencies, with the implementation of WTO in 2005, the member countries are not left with much time when they would have to abolish all kind of subsidies and support prices of crops under WTO agreement on agriculture.
FARMERS PACKAGE: The salient features of the Farmers' Package presented by President Musharraf before the representatives of the farming community of the country at a "Kissan convention" in the month of June area as follows:
Customs duty and sales tax removed on import of all agricultural machinery not manufactured locally. Import duty on tractors below 35-horse power or above 100-horsepower reduced to 10%.
Price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser to be reduced by Rs 100 per bag.
Power of ZTBL to recover dues as arrears, by arresting farmers, withdrawn.
Mark-up (interest) on agri-credit through Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) reduced from 14% to 9%.
Reduction in duty on import of certain types of fertiliser from 6% to 1%.
All agricultural machinery manufactured locally exempted from sales tax.
Starting a national programme worth Rs66 billion to line 87,000 watercourses over the next four years.
The package seems to be an encouraging effort on behalf of the present government for extending a helpful hand to the downtrodden community of farmers. Certain steps taken in the package are laudable like the withdrawal of the ZTBL special powers to arrest the defaulters is a decision that will restore the farming community's self-respect. Similarly, the national programme for the improvements of water courses all over the country seems to be the need of an hour as presently on the one side, out of 140 MAF annual water flow, about 36 MAF water flows to the Arabian Sea unutilised due to lack of reservoirs. While on the other side, it has also been estimated that 25% to 30% (27 to 32 MAF) of total of 106 MAF of surface supplies diverted for irrigation is lost in the canal system (from headwork to farm gate). This great water loss called for planning and implementation of appropriate conservation system. In such a scenario the Rs 66 billion project of lining water courses seems to be a right step at the right time and in the right direction.
The farming community expressed certain reservations over the package. They consider that there are certain areas where the package shows lacunae, with still certain aspects being totally ignored.
For instance, the farming community had been demanding abolition of GST on the farm inputs like fertilisers and pesticides as the 15 % levy had increased the growers' cost of production but the package is silent on this count. Similarly, the package also failed to rationalise the diesel price and power tariff for the agricultural sector like the subsidies given in power tariffs to the farming community in India.
Lowering down mark-up on the agricultural loans from 14 to 9 per cent is laudable but there were still lower "interest brackets" at which the loans are available to other sectors of the economy such as the industrial sector at present is enjoying loans against a mark-up ranging between 4 and 6 per cent per annum. Thus a strong need is felt for lowering the interest rates to the level applicable to the industrial sector, if government seems to be sincere in its effort.
In comparison to the industrial sector, which contributes 16% to GDP and can avail credit facility amounting more than Rs 250 billion, agriculture sector contributes 24% to GDP but gets an annual credit of about Rs 60 billion. Thus it is felt that the government should also have increased the credit facility to the agri-sector.
Regarding loan relief, although the package has lowered the interest rates but that relief is only for ZTBL loans where as 50% of all loans offered in the agriculture sector are extended by other commercial banks. Thus it seems to be of no benefit to those farmers who have got agricultural credit from other banks.
In Pakistan, growers mainly use tractors having 50 to 85 horse power but the package did not carry any price cut for this category of tractors. Those prepared the package have also turned a blind eye on putting in place a flawless marketing mechanism for the agricultural products.
The sub-sectors of agriculture which also include livestock, poultry, fisheries, and forestry besides crop, are totally ignored by the package. Despite the fact that out of these, crop sector account for 57% of agriculture's GDP, livestock and poultry accounts for 39%, fisheries make up 4%, and forestry adds up 1% to the total. Even a single relief measure has not been announced for the improvement of these sub sectors.
The package is also silent on many important issues like research, environment, WTO, technology transfer and land development, all of which have direct effects on the production in the agriculture sector.
By and large, looking into the fact that any incentive and concession given to this sector is regarded as a profitable investment, the package seems to be a half-hearted attempt to address the problems of the farmer community.
REMEDIES: Going through the above mentioned situation of different crops and the other agriculture related matters, the following remedies appear viable for the revival and development of agriculture sector.
Although the agriculture sector is improving day by day not only in terms of per acre yield but also in qualitative production, there is still a room for improvement and this objective can only be achieved with participation of farmers at different stages of policy formulation and implementation.
The small farmers, who provide the actual thrust of economic activity in the rural area with most of the cultivable land under their possession, need to be facilitated with the agricultural incentives which are up till now mainly meant for big landowners.
Making of concrete initiatives to chalk out effective ways and means for the exploration of new tobacco markets abroad, it would not only ensure proper consumption of surplus crops but will also retrieve maximum benefit for the growers.
Establishment of an Export Cell within the purview of Pakistan Tobacco Board to act as liaison office between the local growers and the foreign markets, will definitely prove helpful in maximising the tobacco export and exploring international market for tobacco. This seems to be a viable solution of the tobacco problem.
The policy framework for sugarcane crop should be based firstly, on meeting the domestic requirements and then to reserve a sufficient amount to meet the shortage during poor production period which has become a regular feature. After this, if there is surplus that should be exported.
The timely start of the sugarcane crushing season this year would not only send a positive signal to the farmers, who as weak stakeholders had always remained at the receiving end. But will also enable the farmers to have land for wheat cultivation in time.
Adequate and timely supply of quality inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, plant protection chemicals, pesticides, agriculture machinery, and credit at reasonable rates to farmers should be ensured.
There is a need to accelerate agricultural growth specially by having new markets, more water, and technology. Markets need to be complemented by strategic public investments in infrastructure, most critically in the irrigation and drainage sector.
As Mother Nature continues to play havoc with agriculture in the form of water shortages, prolonged dry spell and drought-like situation in different parts of the country, therefore in order to provide protection to the farmers against these natural calamities, crop insurance should be introduced in the country. This scheme already exists in many developed and developing countries including three SAARC countries viz. Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka and also recently introduced in the Punjab province.
The policies aimed at appeasing the international creditors have caused big harm to the agriculture. The time demands a paradigm shift right now. Encouraging measure are needed to make agriculture lucrative for farmers. It has become need of the hour to stabilise teetering national economy.
Firstly, 15% GST on agriculture inputs like pesticides and fertilisers, High power tariffs, skyrocketing diesel prices and spurious pesticides leave little in the pockets of growers and secondly these bedevil the agricultural gains by increasing the cost of production, therefore, government need not to succumb to the "pressure" of IMF and WB and should provide subsidy on inputs like fertiliser and pesticides. This will help the farmers, in overcoming their financial problems.
Although the world donor agencies are pressurising the government to stay away from the market, but as in our environment, the market forces are not well regulated and can play havoc with the growers, therefore, the government should stay in the market in order to safeguard the interest of farmers' especially small farmers.
There is a need for research on seeds to get maximum per acre yield.
The neglected sub sectors of agriculture such as horticulture, forestry, fisheries and forests if given proper attention and importance, will boost our agriculture export.
Even though agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy, this sector still suffers from inadequate infrastructure and an unsympathetic policy stance that undermines small farmers. The following issues are the main reasons of the slippage of agriculture sector.
Prices of inputs--- Agricultural inputs including power, seeds, fertiliser, pesticides and credits are too high to ensure productivity.
Agricultural policies --- the misguided agricultural policies aimed at appeasing the international donors are causing big blows to the agriculture.
Marketing system of agriculture products--- The absence of a proper marketing mechanism, flawed marketing strategies and poor performance of the concerned institutions responsible does not enable the country reap the benefits of the agriculture sector .Credit available to farmers--- The availability of credit is too minuscule to create a sustainable investment cycle in the agriculture sector.
There is a strong need to streamline our agriculture system so that it could benefit the 70% people, living in rural area and help eradicate poverty.
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