The government is expecting a considerable increase in major crops output which would help exceed the target 3.4 percent agriculture growth rate estimated for the current fiscal year. The government projected 3.4 percent agriculture growth target for fiscal year 2011-12 with contribution of major crops (3 percent), minor crops and livestock (four percent), fishery (two percent) and forestry (one percent).
"The government is expecting to achieve four percent growth rate in major crops against the set target of three percent, while the production of minor crops would decline in the current fiscal year", an official of the Ministry of Food Security and Research said.
He said that four percent growth rate of major corps is likely to be achieved due to favourable weather conditions in large tracts of major crop growing areas in the country. The government has set 25 million tons wheat target, cotton target of 15 million bales, rice 6.9 million tons, and sugarcane 57.580 million tons for the current fiscal year.
Source said that the production of minor crops would be less than target as cold weather has badly affected the crops of Gram, Mash and Moong in the country. Decrease in production of pulses would not only increase prices in the country but also raise import of the commodity next year. Total average production of pulses in Pakistan is 620 thousand tons for the last many years, he said.
Similarly, the per hectare production of pulse production is decreasing with each passing year; per hectare production of gram has remained stagnant at 580kg per hectare for the last few years with a total cultivation area of 1067 hectares which is now declining. Similarly, from 1992-93 the total area of production of Mash was 77,000 hectares while currently it is grown on 30,000 hectares; Masoor was grown on over 63,000 hectares while currently sowing area has declined to 31.6 hectares.