AGRICULTURALBACKWARDNESSINPAKISTAN

Economyofeverystatedependsonthreesectorsi.eagriculture,industry
andcommerce.Thesethreeareinterrelatedwitheachotherasthe
progressorretrogressofonesectoreffectstheothertwo.Pakistanisan
agriculturalstatethusagriculturegainsareofmuchimportancethanany
othersector.Importanceofthissectorismanifoldasitfeedspeople,
providesrawmaterialforindustryandisabaseforforeigntrade.Foreign
exchangeearnedfrommerchandiseexportsis45%oftotalexportsof
Pakistan.Itcontributes26%ofGDPand52%ofthetotalpopulaceis
gettingitslivelihoodfromit.67.5%peoplearelivingintheruralaresof
Pakistanandaredirectlyinvolvedinit.TherearetwocropsinPakistanie
Rabi&Kharif.

MajorcropsofPakistanarewheat,rice,maize,cottonandsugarcane.
Thesemajorcropscontributed7.7%lastyearagainstthesettargetof
4.5%.Minorcropsarecanola,onions,mangoesandpulseswhich
contributed3.6%astherewasnovirusattacklastyear.Fisheryand
Forestrycontributes16.6%and8.8%respectively.

ThoughtheagriculturalsectorisfacingproblemsinPakistanyetthemajor
chunkofmoneycomesfromthissector.Followingarethemajorcausesof
agriculturalproblemsinPakistanwhichdisturbtheagriculturalgrowthor
developmentinPakistan.

SoilErosion:

Nomechanismhasbeenadoptedtoeradicatethesoilerosionandeven
afterharvestingnothingisdonetoimproveorrestorethesoilenergy.
Therefore,thefertilityofsoilisdecreasingdaybyday.Thethicknessof
fertilelayerofsoilinPakistanismorethan6inchesbuttheaverageyieldis
lowerthanothercountrieswherelayeroffertilesoilisonly4inches.
IrrigationSystem:

Waterwastageisveryhighinourcountry.Thearchaicmethodofflood
irrigationisstillinpracticeinwholeofthecountrywhichwastesalmost50
to60percentofwater.Anewirrigationsystemcalleddripirrigationsystem
hasbeenintroducedinmanypartsoftheworld.Thisnotonlysaveswater
butalsogivesproperquantityofwateraccordingtotheneedsofplants.

OldMethodsofCultivationandHarvesting:

Owingoldmethodsofcultivationandharvesting,Pakistanhaslowyieldper
acrethatmeanstheaveragecropinPakistanisjust1/4thofthatof
advancestates.WhereasNepal,IndiaandBangladeshareusingmodern
scientificmethodstoincreasetheiryieldperacre.Forthispurpose,these
statesareusingmodernmachinestoimprovetheiryield.

IncreaseInSmallFarmers:

thesmallfarmersareincreasinginourcountryasthelandsaredividing
generationbygeneration.So,therearelargenumberoffarmerswhoown
only4acresofland.Thesesmallfarmersdonotgetcreditfacilitiesto
purchaseseeds,pesticides,fertilizersetc.Additionally,alargeareaofland
isownedbyfeudalsandthefarmerswhoworkontheirlands,arejust
tenants.Thisuncertainsituationofoccupancyneithercreatesincentiveof
worknordoesattractcapitalinvestment.

WaterLoggingandSalinity:

Waterloggingandsalinityisincreasingdaybyday.Noeffectivemeasures
havebeentakentocurbit.Asthestoragecapacityofthedamsis
decreasingsothewateravailabilityperacreisalsodecreasing.Therefore,
thefarmersareinstallingmoreandmoretubewellstoirrigatetheircrops.
ThisiswhysalinityisbecomingthemajorissueinmostpartsofPunjaband
Sindh.

PoorMeansofCommunication:

TheonlymeanofcommunicationinruralareasisT.Vorradiosoitis
urgentlyneededonthepartofthesemasscommunicationresourcestoair
theprogrammesrelatedtothenewagriculturaltechniquesandallied
sciences.Buttheseprogrammesshouldbetelecastinregionalorlocal
languages.Becauselackofguidanceisthemainreasonoffarmers
backwardness.Thecommunicationgapbetweenwellqualifiedexpertsand
simplefarmershavenotbeenbridged.Availabilityoftheseexpertsisnot
ensuredinruralareasastheyarereluctanttogothere.