Major crops of Pakistan

In pakistan, farm production is dominated by a few crops which account for almost 60 percent of GDP from agriculture. Cropping systems vary widely because of variations in agro-climatic and soil conditions. Wheat is the major winter crop in all regions of the country. In summer, rice, cotton, and maize are grown in areas suitable for their production. Crop production takes place both on irrigated and dry land, with irrigated agriculture contributing' about 80 percent of the total production. The five major crops are Wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, and maize. The economic significance of these major crop is briefly described in the following paragraphs

Wheat
Self-sufficiency in wheat can be achieved and sustained only if wheat yields are increased beyond past levels. This can be done by bringing more area under certified wheat seed. At present, only 10 percent of the wheat-growing area is being sown with certified wheat seed as against the minimally desired 20 percent. Further increase in yield can be realized through improved cultural practices, greater attention to tillage and harvesting, more balanced and timely use of fertilizer, and higher water-use efficiency. Yield levels in the barani areas of Pakistan are exceptionally low, but yield can be increased if special attention is given to technology generation and dissemination in these areas. Particular attention should be given to the development of appropriate tillage and planting equipment. Research in the development of new wheat varieties will also have to place greater emphasis on disease-resistant, late-planted, and short-duration varieties, and on cultivars suited 'to stressed environments. In 199F-92, wheat was grown over some 7.877 million ha, about 6.497 million ha under irrigation and about 1.380 under rainfed conditions. The yields obtained were 2170 kg/ha under irrigation and 1146 kg/ha without irrigation. Since 1975-76, the area under irrigated wheat has steadily increased from about 4.594 million ha, and the area under rainfed wheat has declined from about 1.517 million ha. The per hectare yields over this period have increased 30 percent for irrigated wheat and 67 percent for rainfed wheat

Rice
Rice is the second most important economic crop in Pakistan. Pakistan appears to have a comparative advantage in producing the highly-valued, aromatic basmati rice. Basmati has been' a major export of Pakistan, and generates substantial revenues for the government from export duties. The government has adopted a number of policy measures to promote larger production of basmati. The major rice-growing provinces, Punjab and Sindh, account for 54 and 36 percent, respectively, of the area planted. Basmati is grown in the Punjab. In 1988-89, the area urider rice was 2.042 million hectares, and the average yield was 1,567 kg/ha. In 1991-92, the area under rice was 2.097 million ha, an increase of.23 percent over 1975-76. Its aver- age yield over this period has varied from 1531 to 1741 kg/ha, with a mean of 1609 kg/ha

Cotton
After wheat, cotton occupies the largest area of all the crops in Pakistan. Economically, it earns the largest export revenues. In addition to the lint, cottonseed for oil and meal accounts for 80 percent of the national oilseed production.In 1991-92, cotton was grown over about 2.836 million ha, with gl percent of this area in Punjab. Since 1975-76, the area under cotton has increased by 53 percent. In Punjab, the yield increased from 249 kg/ha in 1975-76 to 849 kg/ha in 1991-92. The yield increase in Sindh was only from 363 kg/ha in 1975-76 to 435 kg/ha in 1991-92 (Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 1991-92, pp. 29-30). Non-availability of good quality seed, a higher incidence of waterlogging, shift of good cotton areas to sugarcane, and absence of proper plant protection measures are the major reasons for this yield stagnation. Pakistan is an efficient producer of cotton, and it can therefore ordinarily produce cotton at prices equal to or lower than international long-trend prices except in abnormal years of glut or high subsidies by other cotton-producing countries. In such years, the government has to protect the farmers through subsidies. Given the difference between yields abroad and those obtained in Pakistan, it is clear that Pakistan has a long way to go to realize its full potential. Towards this end, it is necessary to strengthen research and extension services relating to cotton in the country.

Sugarcane
Sugarcane is an important cash crop of Pakistan, occupying about 896,100 ha in 1991-92: 536,200 ha in Punjab; 255,300 ha in Sindh; and 104,000 ha in NWFP. In Punjab and NWFP, the area under sugarcane has remained static since 1975-76. In Sindh, it has increased by 47 percent. Since 1975-76, sugarcane yields have increased from 36.5 to 43.4 tonnes/ha for Pakistan as a whole. For Punjab, the increase has been from 36.6 to 37.3; for NWFP, from 39.1 to 43.9; and for Sindh, from 34 to 55.8 tonnes/ha (Agricultural statistics of Pakistan 1991-92, pp. 27-28). Sugarcane has experienced limited improvement over the years. A basic constraint is that sugarcane does hot produce viable seed in the Indus plain: Another problem is that research stations have very limited area for breeding, replicated experiments, and seed multiplication.

Maize
Maize occupied 847,500 ha during 1991-92, increasing from 620,000 in 1975-76. The major maize-growing areas are in NWFP (514,100 ha in 1991-92), and Punjab (311,300 ha in 1991-92). From 1975-76 to 1991-92, maize yields remained static at about 1300 kglha in Punjab. In NWFP, they increased from 1312 to 1507 kgtha

The minor crops of pakistan are: oilseed crops

groundnut sesame linseed soybean castor safflower

potato onion chilli

Oilseeds
Rape and mustard are the major oilseeds of Pakistan. Their area has declined from 470,100 ha in 1975-76 to 286,500 ha in 1991-92. But the production decrease was only from 267,300 tonnes in 1975-76 to 219,700 tonnes in 1991-92. This is because yields increased from 569 kglha to 767 kglha during this interval (Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 1991-92, pp. 59-60). The production of oilseeds can he greatly increased through policy measures and technological developments. When technology and inputs are available, non-traditiohal oilseeds like sunflower and saftlower can profitably replace late wheat in cotton and basmati rice zones. Oilseeds can also be grown profitably on fallow lands after wheat, especially in barani areas.

Cottonseed:
Cottonseed is the principal oilseed crop grown in Pakistan, accounting for about 80 percent of domestic oilseed production. Cotton is the countrys most important cash crop and is considered the backbone of the national economy. It is produced primarily for fiber, with oil and meal production of secondary importance. Seed cotton contains both lint and cottonseed. 2012/13 cottonseed production is forecast at 4.8 million tons, 10 percent higher than current years flood reduced crop output. This increase in production is mainly attributed to an increase in cotton planted area substituted from sugarcane and sunflower crops

Rapeseed:
Rapeseed-mustard is an important species of Brassica group grown as oilseed crops in Pakistan. It has remained one of the major sources of edible oil in the subcontinent for centuries. It is sometimes grown as a fodder in mixture with "berseem" (alfalfa/medics). Area under rapeseed-mustard has been fluctuating mainly depending on GOPs policy for wheat crop and partly on the prevailing weather conditions. Availability of moisture in marginal areas helped farmers to increase rapeseed/ canola planted acreage. 2012/13 rapeseed production is forecast at 340,000 tons, up 3 percent from last years estimated crop of 330,000 tons.

Sunflower seed:
In Pakistan commercial cultivation of sunflower began in the 1960s. Sunflower production remained cyclical mainly due to its competition with major crops such as cotton and wheat and marketing issues.

2012/13 sunflower seed production is forecast at 700,000 tons, 7 percent down from the current years estimate due to increased area planted to cotton.

Potato:
Pakistan is a large potato producing country yet it has very limited adequate storage and processing facilities. Due to the lack of adequate storage facilities a substantial proportion of production is wasted. The combination of inadequate storage facilities and an underdeveloped processing industry leads to volatility in prices as not all excess production can be stored or processed for consumption during the off season Potato is grown in Pakistan on about 111,000 ha distributed over eight different agro-ecological zones. 70 - 80% of the production is concentrated in the irrigated plains of the Central Punjab and Southeast North West Frontier Province (NWFP). There are three seasons of potato cultivation, autumn, spring and summer

Onion:
Onion is an important crop in all continents with world production of about 25 million tonnes. There has been a progressive increase in area and production of onion in Pakistan. In 2004-05, the area increased to 127.8 thousand hectares, production 1764.9 thousand tonnes and yield was 13.8 tonnes/ha Onion varieties vary in colour, shape, flavour and keeping quality as well as in limit of physiological maturity. Sariab Red and Chiltan-89 are commercially grown varieties of onion in Balochistan. The red skin cultivars are comparatively more pungent with good keeping quality for storage. These varieties can also be used as green bunching onion if harvested at the proper stage. The other varieties grown in the country are Phulkara, Swat-I, Desi Red, Thana Bola Khan and Ghotki.