Agriculture In Pakistan

Agriculture in Pakistan NIA, Tandojam, Pakistan. Pakistan occupies the North-eastern part of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent between 23° and 37° north latitude and 62° and 75° east longitude. The length and width, it covers is approximately 1400 kilometers and 500 kilometers, respectively. Pakistan is basically an agricultural country and thus agriculture is the 'backbone' of the economy and the mainstay of our national economic life. It contributes about 25% to the GDP, employs about 50 % of the total labour-force, provides livelihood directly to 70 % of the rural population, and earns about 60 % of the total value of exports. Overall, it meets the food needs of the population. But unfortunately, the backbone is aching badly now and may suffer crack under the pressure on soil discordance and natural calamities. The total geographical area of Pakistan according to agricultural statistics of Pakistan 1998-99 is 79.61 million hectares (mha) (about 197 million acres), of which only 25 % or 19.82 million hectares (about 48.96 million acres) are currently under cultivation. Out of the total land area of Pakistan, the total land area of Punjab is 20.6 mha (about 50.90 million acres), out of which 54 % or 11.04 mha (or 27.28 million acres) are cultivated. The total land area of Sindh is 14.1 mha (or 34.84 million acres), out of which nearly 39 % or 5.45 mha (or 13.45 million acres) are cultivated. The total land area of Balochistan is 34.7 mha (or 85.74 million acres), out of which only 4 % or 1.4 mha (or 3.46 million acres) are cultivated, and the total land area of NWFP comprises of 10.2 mha (25.20 million acres), out of which nearly 10% or 1.93 mha (or 4.77 million acres) are cultivated. The vast areas of country generally own good fertile soil, a favourable climate and with the world's largest elaborated canal irrigation network. Pakistan is fortunate in that the soil, topography and climate are generally suitable for the year round agriculture. Major agricultural areas lie within the plains formed by Indus river and its tributaries namely Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, which run in a general northeast/south-west direction. Indus plains are like a tunnel with number of water sources at the top, converging into single stream, which flows into the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi. World largest contiguous irrigation system, which Pakistan now inherits was started by the British around middle of the 19th century. After independence extensive development took place in irrigation system of the country. At present Pakistan has three major reservoirs (Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma), 23 barrages/head works/syphons, 12 interriver link and 45 canal commands extending for about 38,000 miles to serve over 90,000 water courses. Rainfall in this area is seasonal and generally varies from 50-900 mm with an annual average of 250 mm. Therefore, our farming is based mainly on the quantum of heavy irrigation carried out from canals, originating from the Indus river due to short and insufficient rainy season and a long dry summer in the plains. About 75 % of land is cultivated through irrigation water. While, nearly 25 % of land is cultivated through tube-wells, ponds and rain water. Agriculture accounting for 30 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and keeping employed 55 per cent of its labour force, is rated as the most vital sector in the country' s economy. One of the finest Pakistani achievements related to the historical fact of post independence period has been the green revolution of 1960, which turned the country from an ardent importer of food grains into an exporter of a few crops. The newly developed early maturity and high yielding dwarf varieties of wheat and rice during the period helped in increasing the production of food grains significantly. This has led to enormous transformation in the positive direction of economy of the country, which came about through the combined efforts of scientists, researchers, planners and farmers.

The country produces wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, maize and other cereal in sufficient quantities. Wheat is the leading food grain in Pakistan. Now the wheat production has reached to over 21 million tons annually. Rice is the second most important food grain. It requires irrigation and is grown as a Kharif crop. Maize is mostly grown in Kharif season. Cotton is an important cash crop of the country. It is exported in sufficient quantity. Other crops of food products millet, sorghum, soybean, dry beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, pepper, tobacco. The important fruits are date palm, apples, citrus, mangoes, bananas. The production of all major food commodities in Pakistan have shown as upward trend, but the increase was most significant in the case of poultry meat, fruits, eggs, red meat and vegetables. Pulses also showed substantial increase in production. Pakistan's major imports of food commodities include edible oils, sugar, tea, dry milk and pulses. The country however, is a major exporter of rice and cotton and other exports include fruits and some vegetables. Since independence, the population increased many folds, similarly the grain production increased several times. Besides green revolution, significant production advances have been made in milk, fish, fruits and vegetables. To propel agriculture of the country into 21st century, the quality of technical skills and management of agricultural manpower must improve. Science, technology and generation of new technology will of course be helpful in increasing the agricultural productivity of the country. Area and Production of all crops for the year 1998-99: i) Food crops (Area 12598 x 103 hectares and production 24775 x 103 tons). ii) Cash crops (Area 4140 x 103 hectares and production 56923 x 103 tons). iii) Pulses (Area 1531 x 103 hectares and production 9$1 x 103 tons). iv) Edible oilseeds (Area 641 x 103 hectares and production 3602 x 103 tons). Food crops cover about 75 % of cropped area, while cash crops cover nearly 25 % of the cropped areas. 1. Area and production of important food grain crops in Pakistan and Province-wise: (wheat, rice, maize, bajra, jowar, barley, etc.): + Total wheat in Pakistan (Area 8229.9 x 103 hectares and production 1785.6 x 103 tons and yield kilograms per hectare). Province-wise Area, Production and Yield in kilograms per hectare, respectively of important food crops: i)Punjab (Area 5934.6 x 103 hectares, Production 13212 x 103 tons and Yield 2226 kg/ha). ii)Sindh (Area 1123.7 x 103 hectares, Production 2675.1 x 103 tons and Yield 2381 kg/ha). i)NWFP (Area 857.6 x 103 hectares, Production 1221.8 x 103 tons and Yield 1425 kg/ha). ii)Balochistan (Area 314 x 103 hectares, Production 748.7 x 103 tons and Yield 2384 kg/ha). Wheat is the most important staple food of Pakistan. This year there was a surplus production of wheat in the country. The total production of wheat for the year 1999-2000 was over 21.0 million tons. Out of this, government had to export certain quantity of wheat to the foreign country. +Rice in Pakistan (Area 2423.6 x 103 hectares, Production 4673.8 x 103 tons and Yield 1928 kg/ha). i) Punjab (Area 1492.9 x 103 hectares, Production 2176 x 103 tons and Yield 1458 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 704.1x 103 hectares, Production 1930.3 x 103 tons and Yield 2742 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 68.2 x 103 hectares, Production 133.6 x 103 tons and Yield 1959 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 158.4 x 103 hectares, Production 433,9 x 103 tons and Yield 1928 kg/ha).

Pakistan is very much sufficient in the production of rice and cotton. The country had to export the surplus quantity of rice and cotton to the foreign countries and in this way, the country received a remarkable amount and of foreign exchange + Maize in Pakistan (Area 962.2 x 103 hectares, Production 1665 x 103 tons and Yield 1730 kg/ha). i) Punjab (Area 413.9 x 103 hectares, Production 828.2 x 103 tons and Yield-2001 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 10.5 x 103 hectares, Production 5.5 x 103 tons and Yield 524 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 534.4 x 103 hectares, Production 827.6 x 103 tons and Yield 1549 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 3.4 x 103 hectares, Production 3.7 x 103 tons and Yield 1088 kg/ha). + Bajra in Pakistan (Area 462.6 x 103 hectares, Production 212.9 x 103 tons and Yield 460 kg/ha). i) Punjab (Area 280.9 x 103 hectares, Production 136.2 x 103 tons and Yield 485 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 175.0 x 103 hectares, Production 73.1 x 103 tons and Yield 418 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 6.4 x 103 hectares, Production 3.3 x 103 tons and Yield 516 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 0.3 x 103 hectares, Production 0.3 x 103 tons and Yield 1000 kg/ha). + Jowar in Pakistan (Area 382.7 x 103 hectares, Production 227.8 x 103 tons and Yield 595 kg/ha). i) Punjab (Area 240 x 103 hectares, Production 134 x 103 tons and Yield 561 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 110.3 x 103 hectares Production 64.4 x 103 tons and Yield 584 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 8.6 x 103 hectares, Production 5.4 x 103 tons and Yield 628 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 23.5 x 103 hectares, Production 23.1 x 103 tons and Yield 983 kg/ha). 2. Province-wise area (103 hectares), Production (103 tons) and Yield (kilograms per hectare) of cash crops. The cash crops include sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, jute etc. + Sugarcane Area, Production and Yield kg/ha in Pakistan is (Area 1155.1 x 103 hectares, Production 55191.1 x 103 tons and Yield 47.8 kilogram per hectare). i) Punjab (Area 780 x 103 hectares, Production 33382.8 x 103 tons and 42.8 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 270.8 x 103 hectares, Production 7050.7 x 103 tons and 63.0 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 103.3 x 103 hectares, Production 4719.5 x 103 tons and 45.7 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 0.7 x 103 hectares, Production 38.1 x 103 tons and 54.4 kg/ha). + Cotton Area, Production and Yield kg/ha in Pakistan is (Area 2922.8 x 103 hectares, Production 8790.2 x 103 bales (one bale = 373 lbs) and Yield 512 kilogram per hectare). i) Punjab (Area 2282.8 x 103 hectares, Production 6628 x 103 tons and 494 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 630.2 x 103 hectares, Production 2134.1 x 103 tons and 576 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 0.4 x 103 hectares, Production 0.7 x 103 tons and 298 kg/ha). iv) Balochistan (Area 9.4 x 103 hectares, Production 27.4 x 103 tons and 496 kg/ha). + Tobacco Area, Production and Yield kg/ha in Pakistan is Area 57.3 x 103 hectares, Production 108.8 x 103 tons and Yield 1899 kilogram per hectare. i) Punjab (Area 19.6 x 103 hectares, Production 24.6 x 103 tons and 1255 kg/ha). ii) Sindh (Area 03. x 103 hectares, Production 0.4 x 103 tons and 1333 kg/ha). iii) NWFP (Area 34.5 x 103 hectares, Production 78.8 x 103 tons and 2284 kg/ha).

iv) Balochistan (Area 2.9 x 103 hectares, Production 5.0 x 103 tons and 1724 kg/ha). In addition to these, other cash crops are sugar-beet guar-seed etc. Pulses:The pulses include gram, mung, masoor (lentil), mash, mattar and other pulses of Rabi and Kharif season. The area and production of all pulses in Pakistan are (Area 1530.5 x 103 hectares, Production 951.4 x 103 tons). Edible oils: The edible oils crops include soybean, sunflower, sesamum, groundnut, mustard, linseed, canola, rape-seed, castor-seed etc. The total area, production and yield of all oilseed crops are (Area 690 x 103 hectares, Production 3790 x 103 tons). The oilseed crops do not fulfil all the requirements of our increasing population, therefore Government of Pakistan have to spend billions of dollars on the purchase of palm oil and soybean from the foreign countries. Vegetable: The important vegetable crops grown in the country are potato, tomato, egg plant, lady finger, kakri, bitter gourd, loki, pumpkin, chillies, ginger, cucumber, garlic, radish, carrot, turmeric, corriander etc. Livestock: Pakistan is self-sufficient in the production of livestock. The livestock includes, cattle, sheep, buffalo, goats, canals, asses, horses, mules and poultry. All the four provinces are enriched in livestock production. However, the production of livestock in the country are: cattle (17541 x 103), buffaloes (15705 x 103), sheep (23287 x 103), goats (29945 x 103), camels (958 x 103), asses (2998 x 103), horses (388 x 103), mules (69 x 103) and poultry (57503 x 103). Fish Production: Fish are also an important diet for the people of country. The total production of fish both from inland (164x 103 tons) and marine (434 x 103 tons). Thus, through high sea, ponds and rivers of the country are (597.0 x 103 tons). Fruits: The important fruits, which grow in Pakistan are: citrus, mango, banana, apple, guava, grape-fruit, apricot, peach, pears, plum, grapes, pomegranate, dates, almonds. Conclusion: The agrarian situations relating to Pakistan dealt above generally holds good for future planning. The country has countess, small and marginal farmers, in whose farm, the productivity is very low. Science and technology must be suited to this peculiar situation of the country. There are wide gaps both in yields obtained against the potential and technology transfer is very weak. The concerns of environmental protection, sustainability, employment, equity, energy, profitability and exports have become important. At present, the idea of economic reform process, competitiveness, efficiency and quality factors of agricultural production and export have assumed critical significance threatened loss of biodiversity, climatic change, burgeoning population are yet another major issues confronting the country. Further, declining real investment in agriculture especially agricultural research posses a real challenge to increase productivity in agriculture. There should be a comprehensive planning to boost up the crop productivity with honest and devotion, this problem can easily be overcome in the long run.

Contamination -free cotton The agriculture sector once again estimated to produce over 11 million of cotton bales this year, the interesting factor however is that a major portion of the total produce will be contamination free cotton. Major players in the cotton sector i.e. Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), Pakistan Ginners Association and the exporters have appreciated the first ever initiative taken by the government for image building of the cotton sector in Pakistan. Shakoor Dada, Chairman, KCA talking to PAGE said that because of contaminated cotton, Pakistan's cotton and cotton yarn were not fetching the deserving price in the international market. He was of the opinion that once the cotton sector succeeded in establishing its reputation as the producer of contaminated free cotton, the value of our products will also go up in terms of money also. However it will certainly take time to achieve that image. He said that the government has taken various measures for improving the quality and standard of the cotton and cotton products besides increasing the under cultivation area for cotton crop. He expressed the hope that the benefits of these efforts would also be passed on to the growers. He said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the government has offered attractive incentives to the growers in the Province of Balochistan. These incentives include distribution of free cottonseed, exemption of levies, supplies of irrigation water to the growers in Balochistan. All these steps are likely to make the Province of Balochistan a major contributor of cotton crop in the years to come. Shakoor Dada said that the major reason for contaminating the cotton crop is the carelessness on the part of the growers at the picking stage, transportation of cotton in jute or poly bags, which he feels, are the major polluters of the cotton. He expressed the hope that under the guidelines provided by the experts for picking, packaging, transportation and ginning of the cotton, Pakistan will certainly achieve the target of producing contamination free cotton in near future. The quality conscious and choosy International market has forced the International players in the export sector to do home work before entering the export market. In the demanding export market the quality and grade are the winning point, hence the local cotton market, producers and ginners and exporters have started realizing the importance of quality and grade of cotton fetch a better price. Realizing the issue means half of the problem is resolved and that trend is growing among the ginners in Pakistan also to achieve better quality cotton for producing contamination free cotton. Improved ginning is the basic requirement for producing contamination free quality cotton. The government of Pakistan is also attaching great importance to grading system in cotton sector so that adopting the grading system in Pakistan could produce cotton of international standards. Quality cotton would certainly add value to our cotton yarn thus helping to fetch better prices in the export market. In accordance with the new policy, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association would pay an additional amount of Rs200 per maund of contamination free cotton to the ginners. While a premium of Rs75 per maund would be paid on lesser-contaminated (2.5 gram per bale) of cotton. This is an incentive to the ginners for taking care in the ginning process.

The Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute (PCSI) has evolved guidelines to achieve the goal of producing contamination free cotton in Pakistan. The PCSI has recommended that cotton bags or open trolley should be used for transportation of phutti from farm to ginning factory. The grading system should be introduced within every ginning factory. The purchase of phutti is made on the basis of grade of the cotton instead of relying on the variety of the cotton to motivate the growers for clean picking of the cotton. Before start of the ginning process, phutti should be spread over the brick platform under the sun to ensure it does not contain any moisture, or foreign elements such as jute fiber or pieces of plastic or ploy bags etc. Phutti should also be passed through precleaners to filter it from any contamination within it. The pre-cleaning, ginning and post cleaning machinery should be in the best order to get better results. The ginned cotton should be allowed to contain more than 8 per cent of the moisture after going through the ginning process. It is not advisable to spray water through pipe on cotton bags, as the water spray not only discolors the cotton but also adversely affects crispiness of the cotton. Every ginning factory should house a reasonable sample room under the supervision of the trained cotton classifiers so that cotton could be tested in accordance to the standards of the specimen of the graded cotton under the new system.

New fertilizer policy The Minister of Commerce and Industries, Abdul Razak Dawood, on Thursday announced a 10year fertilizer policy linking feedstock gas price for new plants to Middle East benchmark as well as phased withdrawal of gas subsidies for the existing ones. He announced the policy at a press conference which is to be retrospectively implemented since July 1, 2001. It offers new feed gas price to the investors at the rate of 70 cents per mmbtu i.e. 10 per cent less than the Middle East benchmark price. The withdrawal of prevailing subsidies, though not complete, will take place in phases beginning from July, 2002. In the next year, five per cent subsidy would be taken back and it would go to the extent of 15 per cent in the year 2006. The minister said that the country has started to face fertilizer deficit and if new plants do not come up the import would jump to 1.75 billion dollars over the next 10 years. However, he expected three new plants might come into operation under the new policy with an investment of about 1.2 billion dollars. Keeping in view the future requirement, we must arrange a minimum of investment of over a billion US dollars and set up new fertilizer plants within the next few years, the Minister added. Experts in this field however, do not subscribe to the views of the Commerce Minister that the new fertilizer policy will prove helpful attracting fresh investments in this sector. According to them, contrary to the government pledge, the new policy will discourage the local as well foreign investment besides hiking fertilizer prices in the country as it has announced withdrawal of subsidy on gas for the fertilizer industry during next five years. It was the only charm for the investors which would be no more there after next five years. As per government announcement, there will be 50 per cent raise in gas tariff in next five years. In the first year, gas tariff will be increased by five per cent in second year by 7.5 per cent, third year 10 per cent, fourth year 12.5 per cent and in the fifth year by 15 per cent. It means, there

would be 50 per cent increase in gas tariff during next five years which will make the existing industry unviable. Federal Commerce Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood while announcing the fertilizer policy has said demand for fertilizer is increasing with increase in agriculture production and in the next 10 year, Pakistan will need two million tones more of fertilizer. Present production is 4.2 million tons and consumption is 4.4 million tons which is expected to increase by 6.3 million tonns in next 10 years. Pakistan will have to spend $1.7 billion on the import of fertilizer if it failed to attract more investment in this sector. The withdrawal of subsidy on gas will be major disadvantage for local as well as foreign investors. It is said that this step was taken under IMF pressure for attaining the required loans. But it is the duty of government to brief the IMF about after-effects of the withdrawal of gas subsidy on agriculture as well as on fertilizer sector. According to the critics of the new policy, even of prevailing prices, The growers are not in a position apply fertilizer in required quantity and that is major reason behind low per acre yield. Expected increase in fertilizer prices as a result of withdrawal prices as a result of withdrawal of gas subsidy will force the cash hungry growers to further slash fertilizer use which will further reduce per acre yield. However, viewed objectively in its broader perspective, the new fertilizer policy is quite in conformity with the combination of diverse requirements of its prime objectives under the peculiar circumstances as now obtaining on the economic front. Besides meeting the other criteria of a purposeful and vibrant policy, the outstanding feature of its main thrust is its investment friendly approach which alone can prove instrumental in pulling the fertilizer economy out of the dilemma it is precariously faced with. The shortage of fertilizer, as against its fast increasing demand, can best be addressed from an imaginative thrust on production. This has been attempted by linking the feedstock gas price for new fertilizer plants to the Middle East benchmark, along with phased withdrawal of gas subsidy for the units already in operation. It will be noted that the new policy, made retrospectively effective from July 1 this year, has offered feed gas price to the new investors at the rate of 70 cents per mmbtu, that is, 10 per cent lower than the Middle East benchmark price. Although the fertilizer industry has its own challenges and problems, it also has its own attractions of profitability for the resourceful and daring entrepreneurs. The use of fertilizer has come to stay as an unavoidable farm unput for ensuring a reasonable production level of the wide range of crops comprising the country's agricultural economy that has yet to be developed to its full potential. It may, however, be noted that in the absence of a scientific system of farming, the application of fertilizer as an unfailing means of increasing crop output has continued pushing its demand to incredibly high levels over the past 30 years or so. Moreover, quite a large part of the country's fertilizer demand has to be met from imports, despite increase in its domestic production, thanks to the abundance of natural gas that serves both as feedstock and as fuel for the capital intensive fertilizer industry. One sure way of helping boost agricultural production while ensuring availability of fertilizer to the farmers at economical prices. This will call for increasing domestic output of comparatively low priced fertilizer, which would also help to cut down on the cost of imports that the country can ill afford paying for indefinitely from its depleting foreign exchange resources. However, development of the fertilizer industry is no bed of roses either, all the more so in the prevailing situation of grave uncertainties hampering industrial investment in Pakistan. All this put together, will be seen to have left the government with no other option except going for a bold bid for increasing domestic production of fertilizer.

Rs. 54 bn projects sanctioned The Executive committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in its meeting held in Islamabad on Friday last week sanctioned an unusually high development outlay of over Rs. 54 billion. This is highest ever sanctioned in one sitting. The ECNEC approved 12 medium size development projects related to drought and water management, Agriculture, Education and Communication sectors. The Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz, while presiding over the meeting, emphasised the need to create ownership of development projects at the provincial and local levels. There was need to unbundle development projects by the provinces rather than having large umbrella projects so that development activities are more reflective of provincial and local needs, he added. The minister said that the President has launched several development projects across the country to meet the needs of agriculture, water management and poverty reduction. The projects are crucial to help improve agriculture and develop infrastructure including transportation and roads. These medium size development projects have been carefully evaluated by the Planning Commission. The ECNEC approved the following projects: ADB assisted farm to market roads projects Phase II The project is sponsored by the Ministry of Environment Local Government and Rural Development in 20 selected Districts of the four Provinces. The cost of project is Rs. 4,703.925 million. Upgradation and strengthening of the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. The cost of the project will be Rs. 625.783 million; 279 new jobs will be created from Lecturer to Professor (BPS 17 to 20) 63 Teaching/Research Assistants, who will be engaged in Ph.D. and M.Phil. programmes will also be hired. Different departments of the university will be upgraded and their research facilities improved. Establishment of Karakurum University At Gilgit (Northern Areas) Phase I. The cost of project is Rs. 400.827 million; 59 new posts (BPS-17 to 22) teaching/non teaching will be created; 245 new posts will be for grades 5-16, while 142 posts of grade 1-2. Project will lead to enhance access to higher education and research. Initially, 50 students each will be admitted to three new departments, Business Administration, Computer Science and Food Processing Technology. The university will also serve as examining body at Matric, Intermediate, Graduate and Post graduate levels. South FATA Development Project: The cost of the project is Rs. 1,136.668 million. The project aims at to alleviate poverty and improve the household food security of the target groups of South FATA, in a sustainable manner through improving agricultural production and creating income generation opportunities through improvements in (i) Community and Women Development (ii). Agricultural and Livestock Development (iii). Irrigation Development (iv). Improve Feeder Road Access (v). Rural Financial Services.

N.W.F.P. Barani Area Development Project (Phase II) The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 6069.30 million including Rs 4,093.80 million loan provided by Asian Development Bank and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). The project is a multisectoral area development project aims to reduce poverty in remote areas of NWFP, particularly among small land holders and landless people. Development and Upgradation of Services of Pakistan Model Village Humak, Islamabad. The cost of the project is Rs. 349,222 million. The project is sponsored by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) which is also responsible for its implementation. The CDA aims to provide 2969 residential plots in Model Village, Humak (MVI) over an area of 331.65 acres. Infrastructure, including roads/ paths, house to house water supply, sanitary sewer system and sewage treatment plant, storm drainage network, overhead, electrification, street lighting, landscaping and sui gas are being developed on the pattern of regular sectors of Islamabad. Extension of RBOD From Sehwan To Sea. The project is located in Dadu and Thatta district of Sindh province and will cost Rs. 14,000 million. The objective of the project is the disposal of saline effluent of RBOD Stage I, in an environmentally safe manner from Sehwan to sea near Gharo Creek to avoid the risk of damage to an area of 3 million acres of Kotri Barrage and risk of contamination of drinking water to population of 15 million people. Gomal Zam Multipurpose Project. This project will cost Rs. 12,829 million and aims at providing irrigation water supplier to 1,63,086 acres of culturable command area (30,888 acres with perennial supplies and 1,32,198 acres with flood water supplied), generating 17.4 MW of electricity and mitigating flood damages in areas downstream of the proposed dam. Raising Mangla Dam By 40 ft Phase II The PC II "Raising Mangla Dam by 40 ft Phase II Detailed Engineering and tender documents" will be costing Rs. 462,441 million with foreign exchange component of Rs. 90,001 million. The project site is located on River Jhelum about 60 miles south east of Islamabad near Mirpur district of AJ&K. On the instruction of Government of Pakistan WAPDA initiated technical study and examination of raising of the Mangla Dam by 40 ft. The study was planned to be carried out in two (2) phases. In phase I, it was envisaged to establish the feasibility of the dam raising. Feasibility study, carried out in Phase I, by the consultants has shown that raising of Mangla Dam is technically feasible and economically attractive. ADB Assisted Middle School Project for Balochistan, N.W.F.P. and Sindh. The project will cost Rs. 2567.925 million with ADB loan of Rs. 1991.954 million. The project envisages expansion and improvement of elementary/ middle level education facilities with emphasis on promotion of girls education, by upgrading 619 existing primary schools to middle level and stipends to 52,930 female students. Procurement of 65 Diesel Electric Locomotives.

The project will cost Rs. 11.151 billion including a foreign exchange component of Rs. 7.454 billion. The project is a part of the Rehabilitation Plan of Pakistan Railways. The project envisaging procurement of 69 D.E. locomotives(44.Nos. of 3000-3500 H.P. and 25 Nos. of 20002005 H.P. locomotives. The project is included in the Ten years Perspective Development Plan. Rehabilitation of 240 Passenger Coaches. The project has been sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and Railways at a cost of Rs. 558.55 million, all in local component. Pakistan Railways own a fleet of 1358 Passenger Coaches of which 800 are ineffective. Out of this ineffective lot, 500 coaches are capable of being re-used after rehabilitation. The project envisages rehabilitation of 240 passenger coaches out of these. Rehabilitation of the proposed coach would improve the number of coaches in service thereby reducing incidents of disruption in trains operation and problems to the travelling public. The level of service for the passengers in terms of comfort and safety would be improved. The meeting was also attended by Ministers of Education, Food and Agriculture, Adviser to Chief Executive on Agriculture, Deputy Chief Executive, Northern Areas, Deputy Chairman, Planning Ministers, Provincial Chief Secretaries and other senior federal and provincial officers.

Cotton: An important cash crop Cotton is providing livelihood to over 5 million people at the farm and industry By Dr. S.M. ALAM NIA, Tandojam May 01 - 07, 2000 Cotton is the second important crop of our country after wheat, in terms of area and value added. During l991, Pakistan ranked third globally after China and the US, in production and was the first in cotton export. Other important countries in cotton production are India, Russia Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey. The world production of cotton is nearly 50 million bales grown on more than 80 million acres, with average yields in excess of 290 pounds per acre. About 30 % of the world cotton is produced in the US. Cotton is known as the silver fibre of Pakistan. In Pakistan, cotton crop is cultivated in the southern Punjab and Sindh. It brings cash returns to the farmers, supplies raw materials to the textile industry and provides employment in both the rural and the urban areas. Cotton is the major textile fibre used by man. Cotton is also providing livelihood to over 5 million people at the farm and industry and trade, furnishes raw material for 1035 ginneries and 441 textile mills and 650 oil expelling units in the country. Over the last several years, raw cotton and its textile products have contributed on an average about 60 per cent of the total annual national exports besides providing employment to a sizeable manpower of the country. It also yields 3.4 to 3.6 million tonnes of cotton seeds which contributes over 64 per cent of the local edible oil production. Cotton seed is also used extensively in milk production. In addition, over 2 million tonnes cotton oil cake is also obtained which is used as livestock feed. A significant part of cotton seed is also fed to the lactating animals. Thus, in the country cotton plays a vital role in the economic development of the counrty in both the majors sectors i.e. agriculture and industry. Punjab and Sindh are the major cotton growing provinces. The respective shares of the two provinces in cotton production are estimated at 81 and 19 per cent, respectively Cotton is a major summer crop and planted in March/April in Sindh and May and June in the Punjab. The time of sowing is so adjusted that the young seedlings escape the early summer heat as much as possible. The climate of lower Sindh is milder than that of upper Sindh and the Punjab. It sown on nearly 3 million hectares, contributing 29 per cent to the value added by major

crops, Thus, is grown on about 12 per cent of the cropped area which is higher than any other cash crop. Cotton in Pakistan is mostly grown on the alluvial plains of the Indus basin. Soil texture is silty loam, not high in sand or clay content. These soils are deep and have high water holding capacity most of which is available to the plant during the growing period. It competes directly with rice in those areas where both crops can be cultivated. Cotton in combination with winter crops also competes indirectly with sugarcane as the latter occupies land resources round the year. The average yield at the country level has ranged from 488 to 601 kg/hectz during 1992-93 to 1997-98. The yield of cotton in the Punjab which contributes nearly 82 per cent in the total production ranged from 470 to 602 kg/hectare. Cotton lint production is one-fourth of Egypt, Turkey and Mexico and about one half of USA. Although, Pakistan ranked 5th on the basis of acerage and 6th in respect of cotton production in the world, but it was 36th on the basis of yield per acre. Similarly, the acerage yield per acre of cotton is lowest as compared to other cotton growing countries of the world. The cotton growing countries are stepping up their production whereas Pakistan has not yet registered satisfactory progress in per hectare yields. In Pakistan for industry, over 9 million bales of 170 kg each are required for domestic consumption in the textile industry while over one million bales are exported. It has been reported that US produces around 18.7 million bales cotton, China, the third cotton producing country stands at 15.48 million bales Pakistan in the cotton producing country stands at 9.50 million bales. The production of cotton in the recent past has suffered due to leaf curl virus, traggered by some infestations of white fly wide spread attack of helioths and boll worms, floods and untimely rains/hailstorms etc. The depressed cotton would in turn affect the manufacturing and exports of cotton yarn and other made ups. Thus, there is dire need for stabilizing the cotton productuion. Improvement: Seed is one of the most important inputs in cotton production. It plays a key role in enhancing the productivity of the crop. Being open pollinated crop, experts recommended to plant entire area with certified seed every year. The grower also invariably complain about ineffectiveness of pesticides either because of their adulteration/mixing or under dosing recommended by the distributors to encourage the sale of their products. The alteration practices in the pesticide trade are increasing because of inadequate testing facilities and poor implementation of agricultural pesticides ordinance. As a result, the economy of both the farmers and the country has suffered. Effective measure should be taken by the government to control such obnoxious work. The important diseases of cotton are root rot, fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt, boll weevil, pink bollworm, cotton leaf worm cotton fleahopper, cotton aphid, red spider, garden welsworm lygus bug, cotton stainer, cutworms, jassid, cluster caterpiller spiky bollworm.

Major Crop in Pakistan Are: - Wheat - Rice - Sugarcane - Cotton - Maize