Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) announced that a high priority will be given to conserve irrigation water and promote its efficient use through lining of watercourses, precision land levelling and introduction of high efficiency irrigation systems during the next fiscal year 2006-07.
According to official sources, the implementation of policies, strategies and programmes envisaged in the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) will be continued to achieve self-reliance in agricultural commodities, ensure food security and improve productivity of crops on sustainable basis.
Under a strategy plan, the integrated pest management techniques will be utilised to avoid indiscriminate use of pesticides and protect environmental degradation in addition to providing plant protection coverage to crops.
The high value crops will be promoted and their production will be increased on commercial scale. The oilseed crops will be promoted in order to reduce the import bill of edible oil. Availability of agricultural inputs particularly improved seed, fertiliser and pesticides will be ensured and their efficiency will be improved.
It was admitted that an efficient irrigation system is a pre-requisite for increasing agricultural production since water is a basic input for agriculture. It provides food security against the vagaries of nature and enables the cropping intensity to be increased. Despite the existence of good irrigation canal network in the world, Pakistan still suffers from wastage of a large amount of water in the irrigation process.
During the monsoon season (July-September, 2005) the normal rainfall has been 137.5 mm while the actual rainfall received stood at 100.3 mm, indicating a fall of 37.0 percent. Likewise, during winter (January to March 2006), the actual rainfall received was 41.9 mm while the normal rainfall during this period has been 70.5 mm indicating a decline of 40.6 percent over the normal rainfall.
The canal head withdrawals in Kharif 2005 (April-September) have increased by 19.8 percent and stood at 70.75 million acre feet (MAF), as compared to 59.12 MAF during the same period last year. During the Rabi season 2005-06 (October-March), the canal head withdrawals also increased by 29.8 percent, as it remained at 30.06 MAF compared to 23.15 MAF during the same period last year.
To implement policies, strategies and programmes envisaged in the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF), an amount of Rs 11,800.1 million has been allocated to the development projects of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in PSDP 2006-07. In addition, Rs 24.8 million have been earmarked for the agricultural development projects of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Interior Division.
Originally an allocation of Rs 9,135.8 million was made in the PSDP 2005-06 for the projects of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. After 3rd quarter review meetings, it was increased to Rs 9,846.4 million. The utilisation against the allocation is expected to be Rs 8,638.3 million, showing an expenditure of 87.7 percent.
Ministry of food, agriculture and livestock sources stated that the performance of agriculture was below expectations due to non-achievement of production targets for wheat, cotton, sugarcane and some minor crops.
However, the production of rice and maize surpassed the targets. The production of wheat is estimated to be 21.7 million tonnes against the target of 22.0 million tonnes.
The cotton production was 13.0 million bales, against the target of 15.0 million bales. The low cotton production was due to decline in area sown on account of floods/rains in early season. However, even this production is nearly 10 percent higher than the average cotton production of last 3 years.
The sugarcane production is estimated to be 44.3 million tonnes against a target of 50.1 million tonnes. The decline in sugarcane production is due to reduction in area sown and incidence of frost during the month of January. Similarly, production of gram was 527.0 thousand tonnes against the target of 833.0 thousand tonnes. The declined production of gram is attributed to reduction in area sown and low rains during crop growth/development stage.
The production of rice and maize crops was 5,547.2 and 3,560.0 thousand tonnes against the target of 5,000.0 and 2,905.0 thousand tonnes, respectively. Production of these crops surpassed the targets of 2005-06 as well as last year's achievements.
According to official sources, traditional development paradigm suggests an orderly absorption of surplus labour from rural agriculture sector to an expanding urban industrial sector and therefore, stabilising employment levels in the rural area. To be able to ensure an orderly transition, the agriculture must develop at a speed fast enough to adequately absorb the growing number of labour in the rural area so that the surplus labour is not stranded unemployed or adds to the number or marginalised urban poor.
While the historical trends of population shift are apparent in Pakistan, agriculture is still the mainstay of our economy. It has been identified as a priority area for addressing problems of unemployment, poverty alleviation and fostering economic development. Our agriculture has reached a stage where it is not only a source of food security but is an equal partner in economic growth. Unlike the other sectors, agriculture especially crop sector is exposed to the vagaries of nature over which human being have no control. A proactive approach and timely interventions can, however, mitigate some of the negative effects. Science and technology, good agricultural practices and diversification of output can to some extent overcome the effects of climate change and adapt our agriculture accordingly, may it be the case of water scarcity or extreme temperatures.
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