Problems faced in agriculture in Pakistan By Mr Allah Dad Khan

2. Problems
Faced In
Agriculture in
Pakistan
By Mr Allah Dad Khan

3. Culturable waste in country
Issue/ Problem
– The Total area of Pakistan is about
79.6 million hectares out of which
Out of which 40.7 million hectares
cultivated land 7.11 million
hectares is Culture able waste
23.7 million hectares (28%) is used
.
Solution
– Steps to be taken to make this area
to cultivation through public
private partnership

4. Lack of Certified Fruit Nurseries
Issue/ Problem
– Lack of certified nurseries and poor
quality planting materials
Solution
– Establishment of certification
system for nursery plants

5. Non utilization of culture able
waste land
Issue/ Problem
Out of 40.7 million hectares cultivated
land 7.11 million hectares is Culture able
waste land which accounts for a greater
percentage of the total agricultural land in
Pakistan. As the increase in population is
very rapid, consequently per capita
availability of land is decreasing mainly.
Solution
– The expansion of cultivated area has already
slowed down. The culturable waste lands of
7.11 million hectares may offer good
opportunity for bringing in more lands into
production however it would require huge
investments and enhanced water
availabilityGovernment of Pakistan took a
step towards the provision of the
cultureable waste land to the students that
are related to agriculture sector but the
land holding groups didn’t permit the
government to precede the project,

6. Low per acre yield
Issue/ Problem
– The most Important problem of
agriculture is its low yield per
hectare for almost every major
crop.
Solution
– Use of Modern Practices

7. Political instability
Issue/ Problem
– Political instability has affected
development in all economic and
social sectors.Unfortunately the
political situation in country are
not stable.It creats unrest among
the
Solution
– In sure the Political stability

8. Defective Land Tenure System
Issue/ Problem
– Landlords and Feudal Lords live in
Posh Urban Areas while tenants
and peasents have no or less
incentives for their hard work .So,
the productivity in agriculture
sector remain low.
Solution
– Tenure Laws need to be
implimented

9. Farmers litigation
Issue/ Problem
– There are frequent and continuous
litigations among the farmers
directly or in directly . They are often
seen in courts , police stations ,
irrigation offices.Due to mentioned
problems our farmer cannot devote
his time, energy , efficiency and
labour to agricultural productions.
Solution
– Early Justice provided to farmers

10. water logging and salinity
Problems
Issue/ Problem
– water logging and salinity is
increasing day by day. No effective
measures have been taken to curb
it. 38 % of Pakistan's irrigated land
is waterlogged , 14 % is saline .30
Lakhs acres of land have become
uncultivable .
Solution
– Control of water logging through
biological control, drainage ,choice
of crop species . In case of salinity
soil reclamation .

11. Weak Linkage Between Agriculture
Research , and Agriculture
University
Issue/ Problem
– The weak linkage between
extension, research and farmers
limits the effectiveness of
agricultural research and extension
to contribute towards the
agricultural development.
Solution
– There should active coordination
between Agriculture Research and
Agriculture Extension so that
acquired knowledge is consistently
disseminated from Agriculture
Research to Agriculture Extension
and finally to farmers.

12. Soil Erosion Biggest Threat in
Agriculture
Issue/ Problem
– No mechanism has been adopted to eradicate the
soil erosion and even after harvesting nothing is
done to improve or restore the soil energy.
Therefore, the fertility of soil is decreasing day by
day. The thickness of fertile layer of soil in Pakistan
is more than 6 inches but the average yield is
lower than other countries where layer of fertile
soil is only 4 inches.
– Soil erosion implies loss or removal of surface soil
material through the action of moving water, wind
or ice
Solution
– It is therefore very necessary for the
sustainable economic future of
Pakistan and a friendly environment
to cope with Soil Erosion problem on
war-footing bases. Productive lands
and healthy environment are the
only gift worth passing to our next
generations.

13. Climate change effect on
Agriculture
Issue/ Problem
– Temperatures are predicted to rise
by 3 degrees by 2040 and up to 5-6
degrees by the end of the century.
Monsoon rains will be drastically
reduced but have a much higher
intensity. Droughts and floods are
predicted for the whole of South
Asia.
Solution
– Investment in research and development
that provides solutions to high-stress
agriculture ● Hi-tech meteorological
services along with early warning systems
to predict floods, drought, cyclones,
tsunamis, wind shear, fog, hailstorms,
etc.
– ● Breeding of livestock species and
multiplication of seed varieties that are
resistant to drought

14. Absence of ecological based
specialized cropping belts.
Issue/ Problem
– Every geographical location has a
perfect environment for the
production of a specific agricultural
commodity. Many parts of Pakistan
are not getting the optimum
production mainly due to the
absence of this strategy (Qureshi,
2012, Manzoor et al., 2013, Asim et
al., 2013).
Solution
– Just like industrial zone, there is an
urgent need to establish special
agricultural zones, where only
farming and agriculture related
activity should be allowed.

15. Conventional farming practices.
Issue/ Problem
– Conventional farming practices have an
owner yield as compared to the modern
practices. It is perhaps a great hurdle to
replace the conventional methods with
modern ones (Feder, 1985). He traditional
practices are more common in the
developing countries like Pakistan and these
practices are mainly due to the smaller farm
size as the small level peasant is unable to
bear the farm expenses and result in low
yield per unit area (Khwaja, 2013).
Solution
– Latest machinery should be provided to the
farmers to increase the per acre yield. This
provision should be on easy installments so that
the farmers can avoid the burden of loans. If
possible subsidy should be given by the
government of modern machinery.- Modern
techniques of irrigation can solve the problems of
irrigation in Pakistan. This includes drip irrigation
and sprinkle irrigation methods. By using this
technique the farmers can save a huge some of
money which he pays for irrigation through tube
wells and tractors.

16. Indirect access of farmer to main
market.
Issue/ Problem
– Middlemen intervention is one of the
biggest hurdles to improve the socio
economic status of the small land
holders.
– For this reason the farmer fails to get the
real price of his hard work and inputs.
Small peasants are unable to access the
market and get the rate that is the
original price of the commodity .
Solution
– Regulated Marketing

17. Water deficiency and drought
conditions
Issue/ Problem
– . Pakistan, a country once a water-surplus country, is now
gaining attention as a water-deficit country . Pakistan is
estimated to be losing 13 million cusecs [approximately 368,119
cubic meters/second] of water every year from its rivers into
the sea, as it does not have enough reservoirs or dams to store
water. The archaic method of flood irrigation is still in practice in
whole of the country which wastes almost 50 to 60 percent of
water. A new irrigation system called drip irrigation system has
been introduced in many parts of the world. This not only saves
water but also gives proper quantity of water according to the
needs of plants. However, this system is yet to implemented in
our country if we are to maximize our water utility.
Solution
– More dams should be constructed on
Indus, Jehlum and Chenab rivers.
This will enhance the storage
capacity of water and reduce the per
acre cost of all the crops. This step
will also reduce the salinity chances
of the lands as less tube well water
will be flooded to the lands which
cause salinity.

18. Long duration load shedding.
Issue/ Problem
– Load shedding is counted among some of serious
threats to agriculture. There is an increasing loads
heeding with the passage of time. More than
1,075,073 tube wells (Government of Pakistan.
2011) are irrigating the land and due to the
serious electricity short fall, these fail to work in
an optimum manner. Diesel is an alternate to run
these tube wells but the higher diesel prices have
posed another problem to the farmers of the
country. Unannounced load shedding can disturb
the sowing of different crops (Daily Nation, 2008).
Solution
– Construction of dams. Construction of a big dam like Kala Bagh
Dam is the only solution towards a long term support to
agricultural sector. Small projects like Gomal Zam Dam (Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa), Greater Thal Canal (Punjab), Rainee Canal
(Sindh), Kachhi Canal (Balochistan), Raising of Mangla Dam
(AJ&K), Satpara Dam (Skardu) and Right Bank Outfall Drain
(RBOD) are some of the current projects that are under
construction and may add some part in solving this issue
(Government of Pakistan, 2012) Nuclear power plants. Pakistan,
being a nuclear state, has a capability to produce the nuclear
powered electricity. The recent development is coming due to
the cooperation of Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-
Economic Sciences, 8(20) 23 China in the making of two nuclear
power plants that are expected to work at the end of 2016. Each
power plant will produce electricity of 340 MW (Pakistan Today,
2013)

19. Lack of Farmers Organizations
Issue/ Problem
– Lack of Farmers Organizations
Solution
– There is a need for farmers' groups or associations at the village
level, to create a sense of unity among farmers in trying to solve
their financial and social problems, and in approaching
extension departments for services. These farmers' associations
will mediate disputes regarding water and land. They will
maintain watercourses and will arrange quality seeds and
fertilizer for the farmers. Moreover, these associations will be
able to arrange some funds for needy persons, contact higher
officials and ensure the availability of training for their
members. These associations will be able to carry out collective
developmental works like transport management, roads
maintenance, and facilitation of water. They will be beneficial in
creating awareness among farmers about their rights. In some
places the associations may face political troubles, but with time
these can be overcome

20. Lack of roads from field to market
and lack of storage facilities
Issue/ Problem
– There is a lack of farm to market roads.
There is also lack of storage facilities in KPK.
The rural areas of the province are major
grower of crops, fruits and vegetables. As
most of the regions are backward and lack
facilities of black top roads. Therefore
farmers suffer physical hardships and
financial loss in timely reaching the produce
of their land from far of rural cultivated land
to market located mostly in urban area at a
large distance from their farms
Solution
– Black top road facilities from market to farm
and improved storage infrastructure can
surely help in getting due prices for output
and in minimizing transportation costs and
minimal loss of perishable produce.
Government should provide a marketing
system which ensures the proper and stable
prices. Government should arrange foreign
markets for domestic agricultural produce
so that farmers can get better prices of their
produce

21. Lack of attention to Livestock
and Forestry
Issue/ Problem
– Livestock and forestry have better output and support
a high percentage of households. There is a need for
development of the livestock sector by providing new
breeds for milk and beef. This sector can raise the
income level of households in the northern
mountainous regions as well as southern rain-fed
plains. Approximately 20 percent of the income of
farm households and land-less families comes from
animal husbandry. A significant population in Hazara,
Malakand, and Dera Ismail Khan Divisions depends on
livestock for its livelihood. The province also has the
largest area under forest in the country (Khan, Plan of
action under Fes).
Solution
– Strenthenging the departments

22. Low prices of agricultural output
Issue/ Problem
– Proper prices paid for output play an important role in
increasing agricultural production. In Pakistan the prices of
crops, particularly food grains, were kept below international
levels by government to boost the urban industrial workers. At
the time of independence Pakistan was strong agriculturally and
was weak industrially. An unbalanced growth model was
followed by Government of Pakistan to boost large Scale
industries It has been remain the policy of Government of
Pakistan since 1950 to keep the prices of agricultural crops
below the world level and the costs of finished goods above the
world level. Also some conceal taxes were imposed on export of
agricultural goods and export of machinery for large scale
machinery was relieved of export duties.
Solution
– Judicious prices for agriculture
output

23. Poor extension services.
Issue/ Problem
– Agricultural extension is one of the driving forces
that are responsible for the growth of agricultural
productivity by transferring latest and improved
technologies to the farmers and ultimately
strengthens the national economy .
– Unfortunately, the developing countries are failing
to transfer the technology to farmer level and it is
getting worse with the passage of time Out dated
traditional extension services are unable to fulfill
the demands posed by modern crop production
and protection
Solution
– Strengthening of Agriculture
Extension Services.

24. Need for national weather risk management
system/disease alert system
Issue/ Problem
– Need for national weather risk
management system/disease alert
system
Solution
– Facilitating national weather risk
management system that
alerts farmers when there is a
danger of extreme weather, would
go a long way in reducing losses in
agriculture.

25. Absence of land reforms
Issue/ Problem
– . Land reforms refer to the government backed changing in the
law and regulations for the transfer of ownership of agricultural
land evenly in the whole state (Kinsey, 1999). Due to the
absence of the land reforms in Pakistan the subsidies and other
farmer based incentives given by the government are enjoyed
by the landlords and the farmer with small land holding suffers
in the end (Haq, 2012). About 2 percent of households has a
complete hold on the 45 percent of the land area. Progressive
and politically influenced farmers have also taken advantage of
government subsidies in agriculture and water sectors, and
benefited from technological improvements which have
boosted yields on their large farms while the small farmer is
unable to enjoy these benefits (World Bank, 2003). Absence of
the land reforms is also bringing about negative changes in the
society and is resulting in an over increasing rate of poverty and
consequently there is an increased rate of the negative behavior
in society (IRINEWS, 2009).
Solution
– Implementation of justice based land
reforms. Land reforms, perhaps, seems to
be the key element in the reduction of
poverty and empowerment of the poor
farmers having small land holdings.
Landless farmers should be given the
opportunity to improve their social
status. A great political and judicial
intervention is needed so as to overcome
to fight against the feudalist system
prevailing across the country .

26. Inadequate and poor quality
seed production
Issue/ Problem
– . Poor quality seed has a major effect on the
germination as well as the overall vigor of the plant
especially in the case of wheat which is considered as
the staple food in Pakistan
– Provincial Seed Corporations are intended to
distribute the quality seed. Due to the limited level
availability of certified seed, misguidance by many
local seed distributors and low quality seed the
agriculture sector is suffering from low production per
unit area. Availability of poor quality seed is one of
the major problems in modern agricultural context in
Pakistan .
Solution
– Federal Seed Certification and Federal Seed
Registration is approved but it should taken
responsible steps in approving seeds as it
has already approved 36 new kinds of
seeds. Specially, those seeds should be
banned which can create pest problem in
near future. These seeds are of cotton
mainly. International seed makers are
providing those seeds which are not
successful in our country as these seeds are
not tested on our soil.

27. High price of fertilizers and
monopoly of companies
Issue/ Problem
– Due to the increase in the prices of
these fertilizers an average farmer
fails to give his best on the farm and
in turn low yield cause the financial
pressure and other problems (FAO,
2004). As high as 2.5$ increase per
bag of urea is expected by the peak
season in 2013 which will be overall
discouraging for the farming
community in Pakistan .
Solution
– Proper prices of agricultural outputs play
an important role in increasing
agricultural production. Government
should provide a market system that
ensures proper and stable prices. The
role of middleman should be abandoned.
Government should arrange foreign
markets for domestic agricultural
products like fruits and vegetables. As
these items are more perishable, better
storage facilities are must for them.

28. Inappropriate use of fertilizers
and pesticides
Issue/ Problem
– Inappropriate use of fertilizers and
pesticides has led to water pollution
and damage to larger ecosystems,
where excess nitrates from
agriculture enter water systems.
Fertilizer nutrient runoff from
agriculture has become a major
problem in intensive systems of Asia,
causing algal bloom and destroying
wetlands and wildlife habitats.
Solution
– Judicious use of Fertilizers and Pesticides.
– It is recommended that testing of farm soils
and tubewell water should be made
mandatory and the testing results be used
for determination of proper nutrient mix
and water treatment.
– The use of biotechnology techniques to
develop disease resistant varieties and
integrated pest management technologies
may reduce production costs and increase
yields of various crops

29. Real estate mafia constraint in
Agriculture
Issue/ Problem
– We can see even fertile land best
suited for agricultural purpose
being sold to real estate people,
who prepare plots and give attractive
advertisements to sell at exorbitant
price. There is need to implement
strict measures to prevent land
grabbing.
–
Solution
In an agro-based economy like
Pakistan’s, we cannot afford to lose
agricultural land. As a government, we
must put a restriction and strict
barriers to entry on development of
housing schemes

30. Most farms are small and
economically unfeasible
Issue/ Problem
– The ground reality is that majority
of the farmers in Pakistan own as
little as two acres of
land. Cultivation on such small
area is not economically feasible.
Such small farmers have become
vulnerable
Solution
– Cooperative farming

31. Lack of Female Extension
officers
Issue/ Problem
– Lack of Female Extension Officers
in Department
Solution
– Keeping in view the conservative
nature of the area, female
extension workers from the local
areas may be appointed who can
communicate with the rural
women

32. Inadequate credit support to
farmers
Issue/ Problem
– There were many problems faced by the
farmers like complicated procedure,
unnecessary delay in disbursement,
unlawful demand of official, but the
major problem is collateral due to which
the tenants and share cropper were
dropped from loaning schemes.
– The majority of the small farmers could
not borrow due to unavailability of
collateral.
Solution
– Procedure for obtaining bank loans
for agriculture purpose may be
made simpler and use

33. Lack of fruit orchards
Issue/ Problem
– In Pakistan, fruit and vegetable growing is highly
dispersed with a large number of (usually small)
farmers involved in production of these crops.
They usually grow poor planting material of
different species/varieties of fruits and many
among them follow diverse and usually un-
standardized cultivation practices. As a result, the
quality of fruits and vegetables is not uniform.
This affects quality of processed products and
their acceptability by the consumers, specifically
in the international markets
Solution
– Lay out of fruit orchards

34. Low exploitation of potential in
organic farming
Issue/ Problem
– In Pakistan, soils are generally deficient in
organic matter and essential plant
nutrients, due to high temperature and
intense microbial activity. The application
of organic fertilizer (farmyard manure
and green manure) is limited and that of
chemical fertilizers is increasing. This
coupled with unbalanced use and faulty
management practices the fertilizer
efficiency is quite low
Solution
– The development and use of bio-
fertilizers in combination with
organic and chemical fertilizer may
improve crop yields, reduce costs,
and conserve land and water
resources

35. Natural Clamities
Issue/ Problem
– Hailstorms, torrential rains, floods
and heavy winds destroy
thousands of acres of standing
crops across Pakistan each year,
leaving thousands of families in
economic peril – and the problem
is growing worse as climate change
brings more extreme weather
Solution
– Government is required to
compensate farmers for crops
damaged by natural disasters,
under legal provisions known as
the Land Administration Manual.
– This manual is need to be
implemented.

36. Use of adulterated or expired
insecticides.
Issue/ Problem
– Although government has claimed that it has
controlled the pesticide adulteration and decreased it
to 1% but there is a continuous trend of using low
quality insecticides (Daily Times, 2012) Poor quality
insecticides affect the environment and also induce
some of the serious health issues due to their
prolonged residual effects (Jabbar and Mallick, 1994).
Moreover, during the peak season there has been a
shortage of the good quality insecticides and the
market is dominated by the business of the
adulterated or expired insecticides which in turn are
detrimental for the overall economic progress and the
sustainable agriculture in Pakistan (Dawn, 2013).
Solution
– Implementation of rules and
regulation

37. Risk and vulnerability of small
farmers
Issue/ Problem
– Smallholders face a number of individual
risks such as disease, injury and death of
animals, as well as common or aggregate
risks such as drought, epidemic and
economy-wide shocks, affecting everyone in
the locality. The consequences of these risks
can be extremely severe, potentially leading
to malnutrition, disease, starvation or even
death. As a result, managing and coping
with risks are an integral part of the daily
lives of poor rural people.
Solution
– Risk to be minimized through
incentives

38. Alternate source of income
for farmers
Issue/ Problem
– There is no Alternate source of
income for farmers
Solution
– Small farmers should be
encouraged to develop alternative
sources of income and the
government should take up the
responsibility for providing training
to the farmers to acquire new
skills.

39. Alternate Source of Energy
Issue/ Problem
– Pakistan has been experiencing an
acute shortage of energy right
across all sectors in particular,
industry and through energy
disruption to domestic users
Solution
– Technology transfer in the area of
renewable energy at farm level and
green technologies to save the
environment from the vagaries of
Climate Change

40. Deliberate smuggling of
agricultural products
Issue/ Problem
– . Among the crops, wheat (Pakkissan,
2005) and rice (Pakkissan 2007),
while among fertilizers, urea
(Tribune, 2011) is smuggled more as
compared to any other agricultural
produce. Due to the war in
Afghanistan, this problem has
drastically increased and disturbing
the agricultural sector
Solution
– Controlling smuggling of agricultural
products. Intervention of border forces and
security checks across the country can help
controlling this issue (Tribune, 2013). Now
the government of Pakistan is also taking
some of the serious actions towards the
cross border Russian Journal of Agricultural
and Socio-Economic Sciences, 8(20) 24
movement of the agricultural commodities
especially wheat so as to increase the
availability at consistent price levels (Dawn,
2013)

41. Non cooperation between
modern research and extension
Issue/ Problem
– . Flow of latest research to the
farmer is not immediate mainly
due to the non cooperation of the
extension and research
departments working separately in
Pakistan (Kyomo, 2006)
Solution
– Strengthening research-extension bond.
After the privatization of the extension
department, the next step should be the
integration of the department with different
research institutes and universities. The
students should be given the cultivable
wasteland and they should be given a
target. Performance based farming based
on the new research should be promoted
and incentives should be given to those
farmers who perform and get higher yields
by the adoption of new technology

42. Need for meaningful crop
insurance policies
Issue/ Problem
– Absence of organzied crop
insurance policy. In case of any loss
due to heavy insect attack, disease
outbreak, floods, fires, etc. there is
no insurance plan for the small
land holders. The farmer suffers
due to these losses and ultimately,
agriculture suffers
Solution
– Crop insurance policy for small land
holders. Crop insurance should be
provided to the small land holders for
decreasing poverty and improving the
socioeconomic status of farmer. The crop
insurance policy is very important as it
will give a security to the farmer but this
policy will fail if the government fails to
subsidize the rates of fertilizers and
pesticides

43. Depletion of forests
Issue/ Problem
– . Area of forest is decreasing due to
due to an annual (2011-12)
contribution of more than 92,000
Cubic meters (Government of
Pakistan, 2012). Due to increase in
the deforestation, there has been a
progressive increase in the process
of Erosion and flood losses are
expected to increase in the coming
months
Solution
– Reforestation. Special community based
incentives should be offered in effort to
induce reforestation movement in the
country. Mass forestation campaigns should
be launched at national level involving the
academia and the farming community.
Biannual farming campaigns and incentives
for the perennial farmers will increase the
forest area in Pakistan. This will be helpful in
longer term and in the province of Sindh to
avoid the threat of expected floods all over
the country in the coming decade.

44. Lack of modern post harvest
technologies.
Issue/ Problem
– The post harvest losses are major
influencing factors that determine
the final production of a country.
Pakistan is facing heavy post harvest
loss due to poor infrastructure, lack
of modern storage facilities,
limitation of processing units and
slow transportation (Shah and
Farooq, 2000)
Solution
– Introduction of modern post harvest
technologies. Modern post harvest
technologies should be provided to
reduce the post harvest losses in
horticultural crops as well as in fisheries
(The NEWS, 2012). Storage technologies
should be reformed to store the grains
and other agricultural commodities for a
greater period of time. For this purpose,
the success stories of the progressing
nations should be followed

45. Disease outbreaks of poultry
birds
Issue/ Problem
– . New Castle poultry disease and
Bird flu disease are counted among
the most lethal disease that infects
whole population in a very short
period of time (The News,
2012).These diseases are
contributing to the lower yield of
per capita availability of protein.
Solution
– Promoting controlled environment sheds.
Controlled environment sheds should be
subsidized by the government to help the
farmers shift from conventional sheds to
modern sheds. Poultry vaccines and other
medicines should be available so as to avoid
some of the serious disease in this poultry
sector. Farmers should be educated for the
importance of control sheds and subsidy
should be given on the raw material and
equipment required to build these
advanced structures.

46. Lack of guidance is the main reason
for the farmers' backwardness
Issue/ Problem
– Lack of Agriculture Advisory
services
Solution
– The only mean of communication in rural areas is T.V or radio so
it is urgently needed on the part of these mass communication
resources to air the programs related to the new agricultural
techniques and allied sciences. But these programs should be
telecast in regional or local languages. Because lack of guidance
is the main reason of farmers backwardness. The
communication gap between well qualified experts and simple
farmers have not been bridged. Availability of these experts is
not ensured in rural areas as they are reluctant to go there.
Pakistan is rich in fertile land yet the land is being wasted in
different ways. 79.6% million hectors of land is Culturable
where as only 20.43% million hectors is cultivated. The reason
can be described in two points.