Pakistan has a rich and vast natural resource base, covering various ecological and climatic zones; hence the country has great potential for producing all types of food commodities. Agriculture has an important direct and indirect role in generating economic growth.
The importance of agriculture to the economy is seen in three ways: first, it provides food to consumers and fibres for domestic industry; second, it is a source of scarce foreign exchange earnings; and third, it provides a market for industrial goods.
The total geographical area of Pakistan is 79.6 million hectares. About 27 percent of the area is currently under cultivation. Of this area, 80 percent is irrigated. In this regard, Pakistan has one of the highest proportions of irrigated cropped area in the world. The cultivable waste lands offering good possibilities of crop production amount to 8.9 million hectares. Growth in cropped area is very impressive: from 11.6 million hectares in 1947 to 22.6 million hectares in 1997.
Most of Pakistan is classified as arid to semi-arid because rainfall is not sufficient to grow agricultural crops, forest and fruit plants and pastures. Agriculture is largely dependent on artificial means of irrigation. Of the total cultivated area, about 82 percent or around 17.58 million hectares is irrigated, while crop production in the remaining 3.96 million hectares depends mainly upon rainfall.
The Irrigation Canal Command Area (CCA) has been grouped into classes on the basis of the nature and severity of its limitations water logging, salinity, sodicity and texture. At present about one-fifth of the cultivated land in CCA is affected by water logging and salinity to varying degrees. An additional area of 2.8 million hectares suffers from sodicity. Not with standing huge investments.
Agriculture is an important sector, providing food to the fast-growing population of the country. According the 1998 census, the total population of Pakistan is 130 million. With a population growth rate of 2.6 percent there is a net addition of 3.4 million people each year.
Agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 47 percent of the national employed labor force.
In foreign trade agriculture again dominates, through exports of raw products such as rice and cotton and semi-processed and processed products such as cotton yarn, cloth, carpets and leather production .Agriculture is essential for sustainable improvements in internal and external balances. Of the total export earnings, the share of primary commodities and processed and semi-processed products constituted almost 60 percent of the total exports.
More specifically; the agricultural sector plays an important part in Pakistan's economy by:
• contributing 24 percent towards GDP;
• providing food to about 130 million people;
• earning about 60 percent of the country's total export earnings;
• providing employment to 47 percent of the total work force;
• providing the main source of livelihood for the rural population of Pakistan;
• Providing raw materials for many industries and a market for many locally produced industrial products.
There was, however, a decrease in the production of pulses, particularly of gram, during 1996/97 to 832 000 tons from 918 000 tons during the previous year (1995/96). Production of potatoes and onions in 1997/98 is estimated at 1 205 000 and 1 160 000 tonnes respectively, as compared with 963 000 and 1131 000 tonnes in 1996/97.
