OUTLOOK OF

AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

 PAKISTAN AT A GLANCE

• A country of 220 million people with 60% population below the age of 30;
• Expanding middle-class of more than 100 million people;
• Geo-economic and geo-strategic location;
• Tremendous potential for global investors / companies to relocate their businesses and
use immense raw materials and human capital for meeting their economic needs and
exporting to other regions;
• Largest irrigated land area in the world comes only after China, India and United States
of America, which is a flat fertile plain being nurtured by the mighty Indus – one of the
largest rivers in the world; and
• Home to the remains of many ancient civilizations and some of the highest, most
beautiful mountain ranges as well.

Friday, May 2, 2025 2

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 PAKISTAN AT A GLANCE

2nd in
Buffalos
1/5th of
12th in 3rd in Total GDP
Rice Goats of Pakistan
Agro-
Livestock
Rankings
of Pakistan
9th in
4th in
Wheat &
Cotton
Sheep
5th in
Sugarca
ne

Friday, May 2, 2025 3

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 PAKISTAN AT A GLANCE

PILLAR VARIABLE UNIT WORLD PAKISTAN

Availability Avg. dietary energy supply adequacy Percent 119 110
Avg. value of food production $ per capita 313 186
Avg. protein supply g/capita/day 79.9 64.7
Average fat supply g/capita/day 81.1 72.7
Access GDP per capita (PPP) Const. 2017$ 16950.8 4690.5
PoU Percent 8.8 12.3
FIES Percent 15.92
Stability Cereal Import Dependency Ratio Percent -1.8 -17.2
Land equipped for irrigation Percent 24.1 45
Food import/Total export Percent 6.0 23
Political Stability Index -- -2.27
Per capita food production variability Const.2004-06 1.6 3.2
Th.Int$/cap
Per capita food supply variability Kcal/cap./day 4.0 16
Utilization People using at least basic drinking water Percent 89.6 91.5
Children < 5 years affected by wasting Percent 6.9 7.1
Children < 5 years stunted Percent 21.3 37.6
Prevalence of anemia among women (15-49 Percent 32.8 52.1
years)

Friday, May 2, 2025 4

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 KEY ISSUES IN
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

• Stagnating crop yields with wide gaps between progressive and average farmers;
• Poor quality and inadequate supply of inputs and lack of infrastructure;
• Under-performance of rural factor and input markets;
• High pre and post-harvest losses;
• Declining investment in research, development and extension;
• Frequent insect and pest attacks and high incidence of crop and livestock diseases;
• Knowledge gap;
• Insufficient capital and financial resources;
• Poor infrastructure and low value addition;
• Lack of international competitiveness of some agricultural commodities;

Friday, May 2, 2025 5

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 KEY ISSUES IN
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

• Low crop diversification;

• Highly skewed distribution of farm size and low economy of size and scale;
• Inadequate supply of water and inefficient use of available water resources; and
• Poor technology & information communication mechanism.

Friday, May 2, 2025 6

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM CHALLENGES IN
ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN PAKISTAN

• Food security is still a key challenge due to high population growth, rapid urbanization,
low purchasing power, high price fluctuations, erratic food production, and inefficient
food distribution systems.

• Overall 36.9% of the country's households are “food insecure” as per National
Nutritional Survey 2018 conducted by the Ministry of National Health Services,
Regulations & Coordination and UNICEF.

Friday, May 2, 2025 7

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 MAJOR CHALLENGES TO
FOOD SECURITY IN PAKISTAN

Increased
Rising Rapid Diversifying Rising Food
Food
Population Urbanization Diet Patterns Prices
Demand

Declined Low
Falling Increased Climate
Purchasing Irrigation
Water Tables Soil Erosion Change
Power Efficiency

Inefficient
Depleting
Limited Land Food Losses Food
Water
Availability & Waste Distribution
Reserves
Systems

Friday, May 2, 2025 8

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES FOR
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Productivity Enhancement of Wheat, Rice & Sugarcane with cost of

approximately PKR 34 billion (US$ 141.5 million);
Oilseeds Enhancement Program with cost of about PKR 10 billion
(US$ 41.6 million);
Conserving Water Through Lining of Watercourses with a cost of PKR
180 billion (US$ 749.5 million);
Food Availability Enhancing Command Area of Small and Mini Dams in Barani Areas
Programs with a cost of PKR 28 billion (US$ 116.5 million);
PKR 270 billion Water Conservation in Barani areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a
(US$ 1.1 billion) cost of
PKR 13 billion (US$ 54.1 million);
Shrimp Farming for PKR 5 billion (20.8 million) and Cage Fish Culture
for
PKR 7 billion (US$ 29.1 million);
Save & Fattening of Calf Program with more than PKR 5 billion (US$
20.8 million);
Backyard Poultry Program with approximately PKR 3 billion (US$
12.4 million)

Friday, May 2, 2025 9

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES FOR
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Mechanized harvesting of wheat, rice, maize and fruits, silos for grain
storage, cold storage facility for horticultural commodities and value-
added products through provision of harvesting machinery for rice,
cob and fruits;

Fast track access to credit/finance through Registration of farmers

Access to Food
and FVOs and women through biometric mapping and issuance of
Initiatives
Kissan (farmer) cards for subsidy and credit;

Import of more than 03 million tons of wheat and 0.3 million tons of
sugar in recent days in order to stabilize wheat and sugar prices.

Friday, May 2, 2025 10

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES FOR
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Enhancement of accredited Food Quality

Testing/certification/registration/branding facilities through
Establishment/strengthening of specialized food safety testing labs
and registration of brands via Pakistan Standards and Quality Control
Authority.

Promotion and Certification body for organic products through

Food Utilization
Establishment of authorized department for certification at federal
Initiatives
and provincial level.

Development of SOPs for industrial waste disposal and municipal

waste disposal through SOPs enforcement and demonstration and
dissemination of bioremediation technologies in Public-Private-
Partnership mode.

Friday, May 2, 2025 11

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES FOR
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Development of climate resilient variety through germplasm acquisition,

develop climate resilient variety/ hybrids by conventional & molecular breeding
and early generation seed production program.
Ministry of National Food Security & Research (MoNFS&R) has initiated its
project for mapping of new agro-ecological zones across all provinces of
Pakistan for cropping pattern and cropping zones.
Cluster Development on natural resource-based approaches. For this purpose,
82 cluster across the country has already been identified and feasibility report
for 33 commodities has been developed.
Food Stability Special Agricultural Economic Zones across the country have been developed
Initiatives with incentivize package for value addition and processing.
Dashboard for Food supply-chains & prices through central food security
database have been developed in the MoNFS&R which will enable the policy
maker for decision on Production Cycle Information for prices, import and
export.
MoNFS&R has planned not only to revamp and restructure different research
organizations but also chalked out to establish commodity specific centers of
excellence.
Government is engaged to enhance agricultural and Livestock Production not
only through domestic resources but also through collaboration with
international agencies.

Friday, May 2, 2025 12

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION IN
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

• Smallholder farming is an important engine for agricultural development across the

region and a crucial employer of large rural population

• A primary and immediate need is to establish systems that allow farmers of different
regions to access modern technology, technical know-how, and production inputs to
promote productivity growth

• Investment in public goods, such as water, energy, and road infrastructure, can provide
the kind of support that would aid household farmers and farm businesses of all types

• Investing in public infrastructure must also focus on improving governance and the
institutions that manage irrigation resources, road networks, and border points

• Facilitate the cross-border exchange of expertise in developing infrastructure

Friday, May 2, 2025 13

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION IN
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Improvements in agricultural infrastructure should be considered in the broader

context and incorporate the development of support structures for trade, such as


storage and logistics facilities;

Development and sharing facilities to sustain export activities and support regional
countries to become global exporters of certain agricultural products;


Creating not only the physical infrastructure but also the accompanying institutional
and regulatory frameworks will help regional agricultural products gain access to


lucrative markets;
Improving veterinary services, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) inspections, and
certification services would help increase foreign trade in meat and animal products;


National agricultural policies may be directed to consider constraints on growth, with

an eye toward taking advantage of economic and trade opportunities;


Friday, May 2, 2025 14

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION IN
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT & FOOD SECURITY

Evidence-based research, sound data, and information exchange must support these
efforts;


Coordinating these strategies could motivate national policy makers to face shared
challenges and derive ideas from collective expertise;


Integrated cooperation is key to reach national and Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs);


Fast-paced population growth, climate change, limited water resources make the
achievement of food security one of the most important challenges;


Cooperating with strategic partners and intensifying agricultural investments is

essential for the attainment of common development goals; and


Ways and mechanisms to support capacity building programmes, technical and policy
experience sharing, and joined field interventions to further improve agriculture


productivity and production to improve farmers’ livelihoods and sustain food security.

Friday, May 2, 2025 15

OUTLOOK OF
AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN
 Modernization in Agriculture
Sector
• Modernization of agriculture is a process of transforming agriculture from
traditional labour-based agriculture to technology-based agriculture . It is
one of the fundamental issues in agricultural policies, particularly in
countries, where agriculture is less developed.

• Agricultural modernization is the important foundation of

national modernization, the power source of sustained and healthy
development of the country and the long period of stability, which is the
fundamental way to change the backwardness in rural areas and improve
the farmers' poor life.
 Way forward for modernization of
Agriculture sector.
• Development and adoption of new varieties
• Better access to markets for inputs (seeds, fertilisers, farm mechanization, credit, water) and outputs
• Improved infrastructure including storage and cooling facilities
• Reduction in post harvest losses
• Greater investment in research, development and extension
• Improved quality and fulfilment of quarantine requirements for international markets and competitiveness
• Greater diversification, especially minor but high value crops
• Effort for greater selling/buying power and economy of size and scale – cluster farming/structural adjustment
• Enhanced water supply but more efficient water use through better water management
• Governance and institutional reforms in water sector

05/02/2025 17
 Desired policy interventions and management options.

• Good agricultural policies are fundamental to progress in the economic,

social and environmental spheres.

• Scientific and empirical evidence in policy formulation is extremely

important.

• It is generally a low cost process with high and immediate beneficial

impacts – Costs imposed by poor decisions are reduced through decisions
which rely on rigorous and objective evidence.

05/02/2025 18
 Research focus of Agriculture and research
activities in Pakistan .
• Commonly used agricultural policy alternatives
• Impact of the increasing regional/globalisation of trade and associated rules based
approaches
• Impact of domestic markets on supply, demand and price
• Impact of domestic market and trade-regulatory developments
• Impact of agricultural reform, land and water use policy, forest policy and food security
policy, regulation and environmental-management regimes and institutions

05/02/2025 19
Agriculture Sector: Topic 3
 Policy intervention needed to improve agriculture productivity
and food security

• Supply related policies

• Rural infrastructure
• Agricultural research and development, and extension
• Institutions for agricultural resource management
• Farm input and produce pricing
• Demand related policies
• Income, growth and development
• Education and knowledge
• Food price stabilization
• Market related policies
• Effectiveness of markets
• Policies to insulate local markets from global markets
• Access to local markets

05/02/2025 20
 Some Donor funded Agriculture Projects
• Policies and institutional reforms to improve horticultural markets in
Pakistan
• Economic analysis of policies affecting pulses (production) in Pakistan
• Enhancing smallholders performance through interventions and
collaborative research: A case study of horticulture in Pakistan
• Enabling agricultural policies benefitting smallholders in dairy, citrus and
mango industries of Pakistan
• Efficient participatory irrigation institutions to support productive and
sustainable agriculture in south Asia
• Creating wealth in smallholders farms through efficient credit systems in
Pakistan

05/02/2025 21
 Recommendations
• Political environment must realize the importance of agriculture sector and food security issues.
• Receptiveness of the policy work must be focused for the right time
• Donor / government Projects must be realistic with greater depth of analysis and sufficient commitment
• Projects should not be allowed to crowd-out economic policy analysis
• Learning curve and knowledge based project credibility in the partner country
• Sound analysis and credible with clear benefits
• Policy analysis is relevant to the circumstances of the country
• Policy analysis need to be effectively promoted throughout the appropriate channels
• The project must consider stakeholders capability and comparative advantage.

05/02/2025 22