Agricultural Practices in Pakistan

• Pakistan's main natural resources consist of arable land and water.
• Approximately 25% of Pakistan's land is cultivated, using one of the world's largest irrigation systems.
• Pakistan irrigates three times more land than Russia.
• Agriculture contributes around 23% of Pakistan's GDP and employs approximately 44% of the labor force.
• Pakistan ranks among the top global producers of several items according to the 2014 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:
  • Apricot is ranked 4th
  • Cotton is ranked 4th
  • Sugarcane is ranked 4th
  • Milk is ranked 5th
  • Onion is ranked 5th
  • Date Palm is ranked 6th
  • Mango is ranked 7th
  • Oranges are ranked 8th
  • Rice is ranked 8th
  • Wheat is ranked 9th
• Pakistan is ranked fifth for farm output in the Muslim world and twentieth worldwide.

Crops

• Wheat, sugarcane, cotton, and rice are the most important crops, making up over 75% of the total crop output value.
• Pakistan is generally a net food exporter.
• Rice, cotton, fish, fruits (especially Oranges and Mangoes), and vegetables are exported.
• Vegetable oil, wheat, cotton, pulses, and consumer foods are typically imported.
• Pakistan holds significant positions in Asian markets:
  • Largest camel market
  • Second-largest apricot and ghee market
  • Third-largest cotton, onion, and milk market

Livestock

• The livestock sector contributes nearly 11% of Pakistan's GDP, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan.

What is agriculture?

• Agriculture is a primary industry focused on obtaining raw materials from the ground for direct use or further processing.
• All forms of agriculture can be seen as a system involving inputs, processes, and outputs.
• Inputs influence the type of farming processes, while the output is the result of the farmer's actions.
• Inputs are divided into two categories:
  • Natural (Physical): Encompassing factors like land, soil, climate, and water.
  • Human (economic): Including aspects like capital, machinery, fertilizers, labor, knowledge, land ownership, traditions, irrigation, and pesticides.
• Types of farming include:
  • Small-scale subsistence farming
  • Cash crop farming

Cropping seasons in Pakistan

• Pakistan has two primary cropping seasons.
• Crops sown from October to November and harvested in early summer from April to May are known as Rabi crops.
• Crops sown in summer from April to June and harvested in early winter from October to November are known as Kharif crops, including rice, sugar cane, millets, maize, and cotton.

Main Crops

Wheat

• Wheat is a staple ingredient used to make bread and various baked goods.
• Lower grades of wheat and byproducts from flour are used as livestock feed.
• Most of Pakistan's wheat is produced in the canal-irrigated areas of Punjab and Sindh.
• Waterlogged areas of the Indus plain are not suitable for growing wheat.
• Wheat is grown to a lesser extent in specific regions of KPK and Baluchistan.
• Wheat cultivation involves:
  • Sowing wheat seeds directly into the ground after plowing the field, typically from October to December.
  • Requiring minimal water.
  • Land irrigation occurs twice: one month after sowing and one month before harvesting.
  • Harvesting after three months.
  • Separating chaff from the gain for family consumption or market distribution

Growing wheat production

• There has increase in wheat gradually due to the introduction of new wheat varieties and improved farming methods.
• Improvements in water management help reduce water loss from canals to fields.
• Chemical fertilizers are increasingly used.
• The government provides loans to purchase tractors.
• Pakistan struggles to be self-sufficient in wheat due to population growth and reduced cultivable land from water logging and salinity.
• Maxi pak is a commonly used wheat variety in Pakistan.

Rice

• Commercial rice cultivation is widespread in Punjab and Sindh.
• Small-scale subsistence farming of rice is practiced in northern hilly areas.
• Rice seeds are first planted in beds or nurseries.
• Seedlings are transplanted into prepared fields flooded to 30-37 cm when plants reach about 9 inches.
• The fields are kept full of water until the rice matures.
• Farmers thresh rice using animals or machines.
• Post-threshing, rice is sent to mills for polishing and packing.
• Rice husks are used to for cardboard, or covering roofs when mixed with mud and water.
• The Irri Pak rice variety has enabled double the rice production.
• The export of basmati rice has increased over the years.

Cotton

• Cotton, known as the king of fiber, is the most commonly used textile fiber.
• Cotton is used in making cloths, furnishing fabrics, and bed linen
• Cotton is a Kharif crop, with seeds sown 30-45 cm apart in April-May
• One Month later after the seeds are sown, watering occurs.
• The plants grow 135cm to 150cm and cotton bolls ripen during the dry months of October and November.
• Bolls transported to ginning mill to separate seeds from the lint (fluffy cotton fibers).
• Cotton seeds serve as animal feed, and they are used for oil extraction.
• Cotton Lint is tied up in bales.
• Old cotton varieties include Pak Upland & Desi
• New cotton varieties include Nayyab 78, B-557, 149-F

Sugar Cane

• Sugar, brown sugar, and Gur are made from sugar cane.
• Sugar cane stalks of 30 cm height are planted in April to May
• Distance of 30 cm is kept between each stalk.
• Quality and height of cane dependant on proper irrigation and the use of potash fertilizers.
• Sugarcane crops can be harvested for 2-3 years.
• Cutting sugar cane requires manual labor because the height reaches 6 to 7.3 feet and the crop can be rattooned.
• The cane harvest sends shoots with rations that can be harvested.
• Cane washed to remove smell at a sugar mill.
• Cane crushed by extracting juice with heavy rollers to create sugar.
• Bagasse and molasses are byproducts.

Maize

• Maize is a Kharif crop suitable for edible oil production.
• The crop is a food grain, and utilized in the manufacturing process for corn flour, custard powder, and processed foods.
• Maize is used as fodder.

Pulses

• Pulses are rich in proteins and are popular in the local diet.
• Pulses fix nitrogen in the soil for fertilizing crops.
• Pulses are low value due to the cash returns being low, and minimal inputs.
• Mung, Mash, Grams, and Masoor are important pulses.

Millets

• Jowar and Bajra are two types of millets and are used as fodder.

Oil seeds

• Sunflower, soybean, rapeseed, mustard, sarson, rai, and linseed can be extracted.
• The production of oilseeds is insufficient and 68% edible oil is being important.

Tobacco

• Tobacco is mainly in NWFP (Mardan Peshawar) and makes up 65% of production.
• Rainfall (mm) requirements for crops are:
  • Wheat: 450-600
  • Rice: 1200-2000
  • Sugarcane: 1500-2000
  • Cotton: 750-1300
  • Tobacco: 400-600
  • Citrus : 1000-1200

Livestock farming in Pakistan

• Raising animals are common in Pakistan.
• Shamilat are the grazing fields of the villages.
• Farmers owning bullocks, cattle, buffaloes, or sheep are respectable.
• There is subsistence and commercial farming with three types of subsistence.
  • Nomadic: Nomadic people of Baluchistan and desert areas practice farming with animals for food and load transportation.
  • Transhumance: Livestock farming in mountains is brought to lower pastures depending on weather.
  • Settled: Subsistence livestock farms are in Punjab and Sind with cows, hens for butter, ghee, milk, and eggs.
• Subsistence involves inputs from natural grazing fields and the outputs being milk being meat.
• Commercial Livestock Farming can be a small/large scale by private owners, government /military farms.
• Scientific methods are not necessarily used.
• Dairy farms are lacking drainage causing the fodder to be moved from crop areas.
• Cattle dung is collected and sold as domestic fuel.
• Livestock is boosted through breeding methods with veterinary facilities.

Main Livestock Resources in Pakistan

• Resources include:
  • Cattle: Bullock, Cow, Camels, Mules
  • Buffaloes: Nili bar, Kundi, Ravi
  • Sheep and goats
  • Poultry: Chicken (Egg)

Factors Affecting Farming

• Natural (physical) : topography, soil, water, temperature, pests, and diseases.
• Human (economic): irrigation, marketing, farm size, high yielding varieties, mechanization, fertilizers, and programs for plant protection.

How the use of chemicals affect the environment

• A nitrate fertilizer helps crops , but is expensive.
• Pesticide drains cause pollution and nitrates encourage growth of algae to use up oxygen.
• Chemicals lead to fish dying and unhealthy human use of water.

This quiz covers key agricultural practices in Pakistan, including rice husk usage, cotton processing, sugarcane cultivation, and wheat production methods. Topics span planting seasons, irrigation techniques, and the impact of different crop varieties on yield. Assess your understanding of farming approaches in the region.