By Arooj Zulfiqar

ISLAMABAD Aug 5 (INP-WealthPK): Tomato farmers in Pakistan can increase their income through enhanced production by utilizing advanced agriculture technology.

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, which contributes around 22.7% to the country's GDP (gross domestic product), employs 37.4% of the workforce, and provides raw material for several value-added industries.

Talking to WealthPK, Dr Mazhar Hussain from the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) said that since the population is growing exponentially, there is an increase in demand for tomatoes.

“In Pakistan, small farms produce the majority of the tomato crop. Given that this is a labor-intensive crop, it creates better employment prospects for rural laborers, and offers producers substantially better returns. However, compared to the level of the international market, the crop's output is on the lower side,” he said.

“We have no influence over the huge price fluctuations in tomatoes that have occurred in recent years in Pakistan. If the price swings too much, farmers will experience significant losses due to low price, which would negatively impact their interest and ultimately result in a decrease in production,” he pointed out.

Due to less production, Pakistan has to import a lot of tomatoes, which are considered necessary for the country’s daily consumption. The production of tomatoes in Pakistan is significantly impacted by unavailability of advanced agriculture technology.

“However, using hydroponics or soilless gardening would increase their costs significantly. As compared to other crops, tomatoes require more fertilizers to grow better, which means that farmers have to spend more to grow them,” Dr Mazhar said.

“This will be a fantastic opportunity for farmers if a reasonably priced hydroponics or soilless culture technology can be introduced into Pakistan to ensure increase in production,” said the official.

Dr Mazhar further highlighted that another problem that the farmers face in tomato production is pests and diseases.

“Late blight and tomato virus disease can significantly reduce productivity, which is among the main factors restricting tomato production in Pakistan,” he said.

The official said water availability is also a major problem that the farmers face because it takes a lot of water to produce tomatoes. He mentioned that the Punjab provincial government has taken an initiative to provide farmers with drip irrigation systems to address the water shortage.

“We must implement better policies and adopt advanced technologies if we want to decrease our reliance on imports,” he said.

To help farmers, the government has started an initiative in which 50 districts of Pakistan have been chosen, where the year-round requirements for tomato growth are adequate for various seasons and temperatures.

“We helped farmers in such areas with their experimental trials, and also set up training sessions for farmers at NARC. That project titled ‘Self-sufficiency in tomato crop’ received favorable feedback. The government should adopt hydroponic technology or provide farmers with interest-free loans to boost productivity,” he said.

Credits: Independent News Pakistan—Wealthpk