Agriculture Growth: Pakistan Economic Survey 2012-13 The fiscal year 2012-13 started with continuous problems of power

and gas shortages along with other internal and external challenges. The energy crisis deepened presenting paradoxical situation. The economy on average grew since 2008-09 at 2.94%. During FY12 and FY13 the power shortage became so severe that it wiped out 2% from our GDP. A Agriculture is central to economic growth and development in Pakistan. Being the dominant sector it contributes 21.4 percent to GDP, employs 45 percent of the countrys labour force and contributes in the growth of other sectors of the economy. Overall agriculture development strategy revolves to foster private sector-led development with public sector providing enabling environment through policy interventions and play capacity building role to improve agriculture related practices. economic survey 2013 During 2012-13, agriculture sector exhibited a growth of 3.3 percent on the back of nominal growth in agriculture related sub sectors, Crops grew at 3.2 percent, Livestock 3.7 percent, Forestry 0.1 percent and fishing 0.7 percent. The agriculture subsector which included important crops, other crops, grew by 2.3 percent and 6.7 percent, cotton ginning declined by 2.9 percent. Important crops accounted for 25.2 percent of agricultural value added and has experienced a growth of 2.3 percent in fiscal year 2012-13 against growth of 7.4 percent in 2011-12. The lower growth in important crops is attributed to decline in production of rice and cotton by 10.0 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Other crops that contributed 12.3 percent value addition in agriculture witnessed a positive growth of 6.7 percent in 2012-13 against negative growth of 7.7 percent during the same period last year. The cotton ginning under new base 2005-06 has been included in agriculture value addition showed a negative growth of 2.9 percent in 2012-13 against the positive growth of 13.8 percent during the same period last year. The Livestock sector which has a 55.4 percent share in the agriculture grew by 3.7 percent in 2012-13. The Fishing sector grew by 0.7 percent as against last years positive growth of 3.8 percent. Forestry sector posted a nominal growth of 0.1 percent this year as compared to growth of 1.7 percent last year.

Keeping in view the increasing demand of credit has provisionally set an indicative agriculture credit disbursement target of Rs 315.0 billion during 2012-13 as against Rs. 285.0 billion fixed last year. Out of which Rs. 220.2 billion was allocated to Commercial Banks, Rs. 72.0 billion to

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Rs. 13.8 billion to Microfinance Banks (MFBs), and Rs. 9.0 billion to Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited (PPCBL).During (July-March), 201213, banks disbursement to the agriculture sector surged by 17 percent year-on-year basis i.e. Rs 231.0 billion or 73.0 percent of the target, Rs. 315.0 billion as compared to the disbursement of Rs 197.4 billion of last year.

- See more at: http://www.agricorner.com/pakistan-economic-survey/#sthash.IFkXuy98.dpuf ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF PAKISTAN Agriculture is of immense importance for Pakistan. At the time of independence Pakistanwas primarily agriculture based country. But as time progressed Pakistan turned intomore diversified country as industrialization took hold. But development ofindustrieshad not eliminated the existence of agriculture in Pakistan although the share of agric ulture had decreased significantly since its birth. The role of agriculture in theeconomic development of Pakistan cannot be denied and Pakistan is still characterized asan agricultural country. In the subsequent assignment I will be discussing the contributionof agriculture in the economic development of Pakistan. 1. Increasing the GDP of the economy Agriculture has a great contribution towards the GDP of Pakistan. Economicdevelopment takes p lace when the GDP of a country increases. At the time of independence agriculture had the largest contribution towards the GDP of Pakistan. Butwith the passage of time service sector became the largest contributor of GDP and nowagriculture has the third largest share in the GDP of Pakistan . According to World Bank In the year 2007, 20% of the GDP of Pakistan came from the agriculture sector of theeconomy. Livestock and fisheries are an important source of employment as well as theyalso consist of the exports of the country and help in increasing the GDP of the country.Livestock accounts for 40 percent of the agricultural sector and 9 percent of the totalGDP. Pakistan ranks fifth in the Muslim World and twentieth worldwide in farm output.It is the worlds fifth largest milk producer. The country is the 5 th largest producer of milk in the world. This implies that agriculture is the back bone of Pakistans economy and hasintegral role in the economic development of the country. 2. Source of Employment Agriculture industry is the major source of employment in Pakistan. As more than half of the population of Pakistan lives in rural areas. In 2007-08 Development Report of UNDP65% of the total population of Pakistan lived in rural areas in 2005. In rural areasagriculture is the sole means of their subsistence and employment

. According to theEconomic survey of Pakistan agriculture remained to be the dominant source of employment. 43.61% of the total employment is provided by agriculture in the FY 2006-07. As a developing country consistent employment is of huge importance for the countryand directly and indirectly agriculture is the biggest source of employment in the country.Employment leads towards increased GDP of Pakistan and higher per capita income of people. High per capita income results in improved standard of living of the people whichmeans more access to basic needs, better health facilities, quality education etc, which areall the signs of economic development. In this way employment as a result of agriculturalactivity is adding momentum to the economic development of Pakistan. 3. Increasing the Tax Revenue of the Government Economic development is one of the prime responsibilities of any government. Thehigher the government collects tax revenue, the greater the money it will have to spendon developmental projects. Agriculture helps the government by increasing its taxrevenue. As agriculture employs 43.61% of the Pakistans labor force and has 20%contribution to towards the GDP of the country this increases the per capita income of thecountry and as per capita income increases governments collection of tax revenue fromindividuals also increases. Also as agriculture provides raw material to many of theimportant industries of Pakistan, therefore, as agriculture expanded in the country,industrial a ctivity too took hold. Expansion in industrial sector also lead towardsincreased tax revenue for the government from the industrial sector. In this way theagriculture has a significant role in increasing the tax revenue of the government. TheGovernment of Pakistan used this tax revenue to bring in structural changes into thecountry by investing in its institutions in order to make them more efficient, byexpanding the span of education with in the country and many more. 4. Sustaining the Population The population of Pakistan is increasing at the rate of almost 2% per year according toHuman Development Report (2007-08) of UNDP. Pakistan is the sixth most populouscountry of the world while second most populous country in the Muslim world accordingo Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United States . In order to sustain such amassive population agriculture is playing a key role. Agriculture is providing food to thisever increasing population. Wheat is the most consumed food item of Pakistan andfortunately it is the most cultivated crop of Pakistan. Imagine what if Pakistan is not anagricultural country. Then to sustain a population of almost 158.1 million the countrywould have to import all the food items creating a further deficit in its balance of payments and increasing the countrys debts causing the economic growth of thisdeveloping c ountry to slow down. Thus agriculture is playing a dual role in thedevelopment of Pakistan by providing food to its massive population and supportingeconomic growth by reducing imports of food items. 5. Contribution towards Exports

Major exports of Pakistan consist of agriculture items like wheat, rice, cotton. Accordingto FAO Pakistan exports rice, cotton, fish, fruits, and vegetables. In 2005-06 the major share of Pakistan exports went to 9 countries, account for 55.9% of total exports. 62.6%of Pakistans total exports are Agriculture Commodities and Textiles Products, 33% of which are Raw or Low value added products. Agriculture is helping the country to earnforeign exchange through exports. Foreign exchange, in turn, helps Pakistan to importthose items which either it cannot produce in the domestic market or produces themexpensively than other countries. Through foreign exchange Pakistan imports high-techequipments and capital intensive machineries and raw material for its industries likeindustrial machinery, computer and computer parts etc . Foreign exchange through exportof agriculture items helps the central bank to stabilize its currency and reducing debt burden of Pakistan. 6. Raw material for Industrial Sector Industries are of major importance in the economic development of any country.Agriculture is helping many industries in Pakistan by providing raw material to theseindustries. Cotton is a major crop of Pakistan which is also an important export of Pakistan and raw material of textile industry. Textile industry is significant and worldfamous industry of Pakistan. Likewise sugar industry uses sugar cane as raw material and sugar cane is also among one of the important crops of Pakistan. Sports goods of Pakistanare famous world wide. They are major exports of Pakistan. Raw material for these sportsgoods is obtained from the skins of live stock which is also a part of agricultural activity.Livestock is also used in the manufacturing of leather, which is again one of theimportan t exports of Pakistan. These industries have innumerable benefits to theeconomy of Pakistan. They provide employment to the pool of the labor, they add up tothe exports of Pakistan, they bring in new technology with in the country which not onlyincreases the quantity but also the quality of output and many more benefits. All these benefits of industrialization are largely derived from agriculture sector of Pakistan whichaccelerates the economic development of the country. 7. Development of Rural Sector and Improving the Standard of Living A prerequisite for development with in the country is the development of rural sector.Almost 65% of Pakistans population lives in the rural sector. The progress of rural areasis indispensable for the development of Pakistans economy. Agriculture had been amilestone towards the advancement of the rural sector of Pakistan. It is not only themeans of subsistence for the villagers but is also the biggest source of employment for them. As agriculture expanded in rural areas their development took roots-roads started todevelop and rail tracks were laid down in rural areas to make transportation agricultural products efficient to the domestic and foreign market and to the industries. Alsoelect ricity became available,. Also as agriculture provided income to the rural peopletheir expenditure on education and health increased. According to the report, the growthoriginating in agriculture is four times more effective in reducing poverty than the growthcoming from non-agriculture sectors. The World Development Report 2008 recommendsthat the growth originating in

agriculture is four times more effective in reducing povertythan the growth coming from nonagriculture sectors. It further says that in the emergingcountries, the agricultural agenda should focus on reducing the disparity between ruraland urban incomes and raising the incomes of the rural poor. Thus agriculture helps inreducing the income inequality between rural and urban areas of Pakistan. All this lead towards higher standard of living of the villagers, signifying the growth of the rural aswell as that of the whole country. 8. Development of Banking Sector Agriculture has also contributed largely in the development of banking sector. Asthegovernments realized the immense importance of agriculture for the economy of Pakistan, they continually strived to bring in more financial assistance to the farmers for rapid development in the agricultural sector resulting into expanding banking sector.Commercial banks opened up their branches in the rural sector to assist farmers by providing them with loans on feasible terms. Increased significance of agriculture for theeconomy had led towards specialization in the banking sector e.g. the creation of Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) which is now converted to ZaraiTaraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL). ZTBL is being established with the aim to uplift theagriculture and rural sector by raising farm productivity, streamlining the institutionalcredit and increasing income generating capacity of the farming community. Thisspecialization in banking sector assists the development of agriculture sector of Pakistan. Network of commercial banks indicate the development of any country. They strengthenthe financial system of a country and makes flow of funds convenient in an economy bytaking money from those who have money in excess (depositors) and providing money(loans) to those who have a shortage of money (borrowers). When banking systemoperates efficiently on a large scale potential entrepreneurs can avail money easily for starting up their business, thus accelerating the economic development. Banking systemis considered to be the back bone for the economy of Pakistan- the largest share in GDPof 54% in 2007 as per World Bank is made by the service sector which also includes banking, and agriculture has contributed a lot to the development of banking sector byattracting large number of banks in rural areas. 9. Infrastructural Development Infrastructure is a fuel to economic development. Well developed infrastructure assuresquick transportation of goods and services (which may include raw material or finishedgoods) and provides facilities like electricity etc for smooth production process. Asagricu lture developed in Pakistan and as it starts providing raw material to someindustries and as the demand of agricultural products soared in the domestic market, thedevelopment of infrastructure in those areas took hold. In order to make distributionsystem more efficient and to facilitate the high production of agricultural productsinfr astructure started to develop more rapidly. Like the province of Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan and agriculture is its biggest source of employment. It isalso one of the most industrialized province. Faisalabad, a city of Punjab, is the hub of textile industry of Pakistan. Because of large scale practice of agriculture in Punjab, it isone of the most developed provinces in terms of infrastructure. As agriculture expands it brings with it infrastructural

development which helps in the economic prosperity of thecountry. The most developed areas of Pakistan are those that have a sound infrastructure.By initiating infrastructure development agriculture had played a major role in thee conomic development of Pakistan.In these manifold ways agriculture had contributed in the economic development of Pakistan. In order to further increase the development of the economy the governmentshould introduce policies which increase the efficiency of agriculture. E.g. governmentshould introduce modern means of production through the initiation of technology in theagriculture sector. The government should also revise land reforms as small lands are notas productive as the large ones and should also increase the ownership of land to farmersand must take steps to eliminate feudalism. Effective measures for agriculture willdefinit ely add up to the development of the weak economy of Pakistan. Role of Agriculture in Economic Development of Pakistan By Rabia Naseem Jul 18th, 2013 Category: Politics No Responses Agriculture holds great significance for Pakistan. From start, Pakistan had large potential of agriculture and at the time of independence Pakistan was mainly agricultural centered country. Industrialization is the period of social and economic change that transforms a country from an agrarian society to an industrial one. As the time proceeded Pakistan turned into more diversified country as industrialization took place. Though the share of agriculture has reduced considerably since its birth but the development of industries had not removed the agricultural presence in Pakistan.

In the following article I will be mentioning the contribution of agriculture in the economic development of Pakistan. 1. INCREASING GDP OF THE ECONOMY: Agricultural sector of Pakistan has made significant contribution to its GDP. When the GDP of a country grows, economic development takes place. In the beginning agricultural sector had highest share in the GDP but then the service sector became the chief provider with the passage of time. Fisheries and livestock are vital foundation of employment besides they also help in increasing GDP and contain exports of the country. Livestock accounts for 9% of the total GDP and 4% of the agricultural sector. 2. FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER: The agricultural area is the major source of foreign exchange incomes in Pakistan. The export of rice, cotton, cotton based products etc. bring about 65% of our total earnings. The imports help in vital inputs for development i.e. import of equipment, capital machinery, technical know-how etc.

3. SUSTAINING THE POPULATION: According to the Human Development Report (2007-2008) of UNDP, the population of Pakistan is increasing at the rate of almost 2% per year. According to the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United States, Pakistan is 2nd most populated country in the Muslim world while 6th most populated country of the world. Agriculture is playing a crucial role in order to withstand such an enormous population. Wheat is the largely eaten food item of Pakistan and luckily is the largely cultivated crop of Pakistan. If Pakistan was not an agriculture country then the country would have to import all the food items in order to sustain such a large population. Thus agriculture is performing a double role in Pakistans development by giving food to such a large population and assisting economic growth by decreasing imports of food items. 4. SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT: Agriculture is the main cause of employment in Pakistan. More than the half of the population of Pakistan lives in rural areas. In the development report of UNDP (2007-2008) 65% lived in rural areas of the total population in 2005. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, 46.61% of the entire employment is delivered by agriculture. Higher per capita income of people and increased GDP of Pakistan is because of employment. Higher per capita income leads to better way of living of people which means more approach to basic needs, quality health facilities, better education etc. and these are all signs of economic development. In this way employment as an outcome of agricultural action is adding motion to the economic development of Pakistan. 5. INCREASING THE TAX REVENUE OF THE GOVERNMENT: Economic development is one of the major duties of any government. The greater the government gathers tax revenue, more the money it will have for spending on development related projects. As, agriculture engages 20% contribution towards the GDP and 43.61% of Pakistan labor force, this increases per capita income. And government collection of tax revenue increases as per capita income increases. In this way agriculture has an important part in raising the tax revenue. To bring in structural changes and to make the institution of the country work more efficient, the government of Pakistan uses this tax revenue. 6. SUPPORT OF INDUSTRIES: The enhanced growth in the agricultural area delivers raw materials to manufacturing productions. The manufacture of fruits, jute, cotton, sugarcane etc. assists other agro-based industries to get material from within the country and enlarge manufacture. 7. RAW MATERIAL FOR INDUSTRIAL SECTOR: In the economic development of any country industries of are great importance. As long as agriculture is providing raw materials to the industries, it is helping many industries in Pakistan. Cotton which is also a significant export of Pakistan and raw material of textile industry is a

major crop of Pakistan. As sugarcane is also amongst one of vital crops of Pakistan and likewise sugar industry uses sugarcane as raw materials. Pakistans sports goods are well known worldwide and are also major exports of Pakistan. Livestock which is also an agricultural activity helps in making the raw materials of these sports goods. All these assistance of industrialization are greatly resulted from agriculture sector of Pakistan which quickens the economic development of a country. 8. MARKETABLE SURPLUS: When on systematic lines the agriculture sector is extended, it produces attractive marketable surplus. The surplus i.e. sugar, fish, cotton, silk, timber, jute, wheat etc. can help to pay the capital tools, import of raw materials and technology. This helps in bringing about fast economic development. 9. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: The energy of economic development is infrastructure. For ensuring fast transportation of goods and services, well-toned infrastructure is very important. As the time passed and agriculture started to develop in Pakistan and as well as the demand of agriculture products flowed in market, the demand of infrastructure took hold in those areas. As the Punjab province has large scale of agriculture practice, it is one of the most advanced provinces in terms of infrastructure. As the agriculture enlarges, it also conveys the infrastructure development with it, which helps in economic success of the country. CONCLUSION: Agriculture had contributed in Pakistans development in these various ways. The government should announce policies which raise the productivity of agriculture in order to increase economic development. Example: government should familiarize modern ways of production through the introduction of technology in the area of agriculture. The government should also study land reforms as the large lands are more productive than the small ones and should also increase the ownership of land to remove feudalism. Effective and operative ways for agricultural sector will definitely enhance the development of the weak economy of Pakistan. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF PAKISTAN. ........................................ INTRODUCTION: About 50 years earlier agriculture sector was not considered as a commercial sector for economic development in a large number of developing and developed nations. During the last 50 years this sector is realized as a major productive sector of pakistani economy. 61% population is living in more than 50,000 villages in pakistan. Latest information: (accordog to economic survey 2010-2011) Backward agricultural sector contributes 20.9% to GDP.

Its growth rate is as low as 1.2%. It employs th 45.0% netn labour force. Its contribution to exports (done group) is 8.62%. ROLE OR IMPORTANCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Importance of agricultural sector can be shown as below: 1-INCREASE IN PER CAPITA INCOME: Per capita income is the annual average income of the individuals of a nation. We derive it by dividing national income on total population. Agricultural sector providedr nor jobs to unemployed people. It increases the individuals as well as national income.

2-MAJOR SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT: Agriculture sector provides employment to major portion of our labour force.More than 45.0% of our labour force is directly involved in agriculture sector, while 66.7% of our rural population is dependent on agriculture. This is the major sector which provides employment to a large portion of our population. Agriculture sector is helpful to reduce the unemployment and disguised unemployment.

3. REDUCTION IN POVERTY: Agriculture development has significant impact on rural development. If productivity increases in agriculture it reduces poverty and stimulates non-farm employment too. They as able to get basic services of life such as water supply , sanitation , provision of health and educational facilitates. About 21.0% population of Pakistan is much poor.

4. SUPPLY OF FOOD: Food is the first in basic necessities of life.The agriculture sector is the sole provider of all type of food like wheat,rice,corn,sugarcane,vegetables and fruits etc, to the population engaged in various sectors of the economy. Agricultural sector also provides done to those animals that provide milk, cheese, butter, and meat to population to maintain the efficiency.

5. SOURCE OF NATIONAL INCOME: At the time of partition, contribution of agriculture sector to GNP was 60%, which decreased to 29.4% in 1980-81.Now its share to GDP is 20.9% in 2010-11. Accordingly agricultural sector is the major contributor to Pakistans national income.

6. SUPPLY OF SAY MATERIAL:- Agricultural sector provides not only food but also provides cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, rice, oil-seed, meat and milk to various agro-based, small scale and large scale industries as a raw material.

7. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:- Economic development, progress and prosperity can not achieve without agricultural sector. It provides employment opportunities to alot of people. It produces exportable items which increases the foreign exchange resources. So agricultural sector is helpful to make rapid economic development.

8. SELF RELIANCE POLICY:- Agriculture sector is helpful to achieve ve self sufficiency.Our country will not only become self sufficient in food but supply of raw materials for industries will also expand our industrial sector.

9. INCREASE IN GOVT. REVENUE:- There is on direct tax on the agricultural income. But indirectly government receives a huge amount of tax from agricultural sector. It imposed some duties on imported technologies applied in farming.It imposes tax on chemicals etc. So agriculture sector is also a source of income for the govt.

10. CONTROLLING INFLATION:- Inflation peers to the increase in general price level. It maybe due to increase in demand and shortage in supply. Agricultural sector is very helpful to control the inflation. It produces more goods and maintains the equilibrium in demand and supply. Rate of inflation is 14.1% in Pakistan.

11.DEMAND FOR INDUSTRIAL GOODS:- As the agriculture productivity increases, the income of farmers goes up. With the rise in income the demand for both agricultural goods (tractor, fertilizers, pesticides, tubewells etc) and industrial goods (television, mobile, computer, etc) will increase in rural areas.

CONCLUSION: Agriculture sector s playing an important sold in the economic development of Pakistan. Our all economic activities are based on agricultural sector. But unfortunately it is still backward and government should take some effective steps for its improvement. Agriculture[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Agriculture in Pakistan

Agriculture by Province

Mango Orchard in Multan, Pakistan Pakistan is one of the world's largest producers of the following commodities according to FAOSTAT, the statistical arm of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of The United Nations, given here with the 2008 ranking: Apricot (3rd) Buffalo Milk (2nd) Chickpea (3rd) Cotton, lint (4th) Cotton, Seed (3rd) Dates (5th) Mango (6th) Onion, dry (4th) Oranges (11th) Rice,paddy (11th) Sugarcane (5th) Tangerines, mandarin orange, clementine (9th) Wheat (10th) Pakistan's principal natural resources are arable land and water. About 25% of Pakistan's total land area is under cultivation and is watered by one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. Pakistan irrigates three times more acres than Russia. Pakistan agriculture also benefits from year round warmth. Agriculture accounts for about 23% of GDP and employs about 44% of the labour force. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited is the largest financial institution geared towards the development of agriculture sector through provision of financial services and technical expertise.