The overall number of tractors in Pakistan is 401,663. Their number was 157,310 and 252,861 as per Agricultural Machinery Censuses of 1984 and 1994, respectively. The decennial increase in the number of tractors from 1984 to 1994 was 61 percent, while it was 59 percent from 1994 to 2004.
According to Agricultural Machinery Census 2004, released recently, the decennial growth in the number of tractors from 1984 to 1994 compares modestly with that from 1994 to 2004 for NWFP, Punjab and Sindh. However, there is relatively steep growth of 106 percent in the number of tractors for Balochistan during the inter-censual period from 1994 to 2004.
Out of a total of 401,663 tractors in the country, the relative share is 6 percent (24,269) for NWFP, 83 percent (331,905) for Punjab, 9 percent (36,245) for Sindh and 2 percent (9,244) for Balochistan. This percentage ratio is almost the same as assessed previously through Agricultural Machinery Census 1994, while it is also very close to that enumerated during Agricultural Machinery Census (AMC) 1984.
Agricultural Machinery Census 2004 also brings on record the ownership of tractors as well. Accordingly, the privately owned tractors are counted to 400,446 (99.7 percent) at the country level, while the remaining 1,217 (0.3 percent) tractors are owned by the government agencies engaged wholly or partially in agricultural activities. The relative proportion of privately owned tractors is very high in all the provinces, although it varies marginally among provinces.
Agricultural Census Commissioner, Statistics Division Agricultural Census Organisation said that the state of art in farming has undergone a silent but effective change in Pakistan during the last decade and consequently, a meaningful turn has come in the crop production sector. Agricultural Machinery Census 2004 has taken stock of all such changes by arranging a count of the salient farming implements and equipments, he added.
As per Agricultural Machinery Census 2004, he said that the tractor drawn implements, owned by the tractor owners, like Cultivator counts to 369,866, Mould Board Plough to 40,050, Bar/Disk Harrow to 23,764, Disk Plough to 29,218 and Seed Drill/Planter to 70,810.
Similarly, the count for Trolly and Thresher comes to 242,655 and 137,270, respectively.
Agricultural Machinery Census 2004 has also covered all types of tubewells and lift pumps. The number of tube wells and lift pumps meant for irrigation purposes as reported in this census are 931,048 in the country. In 1984, their number was 237,990, which increased to 454,257 in 1994. The decennial count of tube wells and lift pumps increased by 91 percent from 1984 to 1994 and by 105 percent from 1994 to 2004. The increase achieved during 1994-2004 in the number of tube wells and lift pumps may be termed as all time record increase since independence.
Like tractors, the relative share of the private owners in all types of tube wells and lift pumps at country level works out to be 99 percent and 95 percent respectively, while the remaining marginal share is of tube wells and lift pumps owned by the government agencies.
Agricultural Machinery Census 2004 reveals that 90 percent of the government and private tube wells as well as lift pumps are operated by diesel, while only 10 percent of them use electricity as power source. In the case of government tube wells and lift pumps, electricity is the dominant (93 percent) source of power, whereas for privately owned tube wells and lift pumps, the share of diesel operated tube wells and lift pumps is 90 percent.
Agricultural Census Commissioner, Statistics Division Agricultural Census Organisation said that Pakistan is experiencing rapid growth in human population despite tremendous efforts to check population explosion. Over the years the population density had been increasing, land to man ratio deteriorating, and the food and cloth requirements intensifying. On the contrary, the scope for increase in cultivated area over the years has always been marginal. Therefore, the expectations of a wide gap between future food requirements and supplies are high which may possibly be reduced by improving average yields by the intensive use of agricultural machinery. It is obvious that use of agricultural machinery not only speed up cultivation process but also accelerate harvesting and threshing operations, he added.
He further stated that it is also instrumental to maximisation of agricultural production by increasing land use and cropping intensities.
Therefore, planning for judicious use of agricultural machinery is of utmost importance, which, inter alia, depends upon availability of reliable and timely statistics.
He mentioned that the use of agricultural machinery is increasing day by day in Pakistan like other agricultural countries of the world, which has necessitated periodic stocktaking of agricultural machinery as a regular activity.
Realising this fact in Pakistan, the first agricultural machinery census was conducted in 1968, second in 1975, third in 1984 and fourth in 1994.
The current agricultural machinery census is fifth in succession and was conducted in 2004. It has an edge over the previous censuses on account of the fact that it has also attempted to cover bulldozers, combine harvesters, wells with pump, modern irrigation systems (MISs) and a large number of farm implements for the first time. Salient objectives of this census are; to generate estimates of number of tractors, bulldozers, combine harvesters, tractor drawn and other farm implements.
To develop statistics on tractors by make, model, power and working condition.
To provide the number of tube wells/wells with pump/lift pumps.
To ascertain information on the privately owned tube wells/wells with pump/lift pumps /submersible pumps by type of ownership, year of installation, their suction and delivery capacity.
To reckon the households owning tractors and tube wells by type and source of finance.
To provide data about the extent and type of use of agricultural machines on own farms and the practice of renting out tractor time and tube well water.
To gauge the number of privately owned modern irrigation systems (MISs) ie sprinkler and trickle/drip irrigation systems.
Agricultural Machinery is an important input positively contributing to increase the production of agriculture sector. Data pertaining to such a valuable variable is of basic need and importance for future agricultural planning.
Therefore, the Agricultural Census Organisation (ACO) has been assigned to undertake decennial agricultural machinery census on regular basis to meet data requirements of agricultural planners, researchers, administrators and students.
Introduction part of this report provides brief description of the census objectives, scope, geographical coverage, reference period, type of census, sampling plan and operational procedures adopted for field operations. This part also contains explanation of terms used in the census and notes on tables.
After elaborating the technical details and background, the main findings of the census are furnished.