By Arooj Zulfiqar

ISLAMABAD, July 22: The government should give incentives to farmers to help them increase the yield and play their role actively in strengthening the national economy, an expert told WealthPK. Pakistan is an agricultural country and agriculture is considered the backbone of the country’s economy. The sector contributes 22.7 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Muhammad Bilal Iqbal, a scientific officer at the National Agriculture Research Centre, said that the agricultural sector in Pakistan faced a number of difficulties including credit restrictions, scarcity of water, high input costs, shortage of seeds and fertiliser, problems with natural resource management and power outages that badly affected the yield of crops.

He said that enough inputs were not available in the market and their prices were on the rise. He said that the price hike and shortage of inputs would hinder the cultivation process. He feared that the issues would force farmers to stop growing different crops in abundance.

“Water shortage is another issue faced by farmers. The water resources in Pakistan are under great stress due to the growing population, unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation. Farmers cannot irrigate their lands without water,” said Bilal Iqbal.

He said that growers used traditional ways due to the lack of awareness and training in modern techniques of farming and irrigation. He said that farmers could increase the yield by adopting modern technology. Presently, the yield of their crops is low, which affects their earnings and living.

“A small farmer with limited resources can’t afford to spend money on inputs. The best example is cotton, which is being replaced by sugarcane. The main reason is that inputs are not available and there is no market where farmers can sell their cotton at a reasonable price. Also, for cotton cultivation, water isn’t available in adequate quantity,” said Bilal Iqbal.

He said that other factors responsible for the poor performance of the agriculture sector included high prices of pesticides, slow pace of technical advancement, the low level of investment in building and maintaining infrastructure and trade and marketing restrictions.

Bilal Iqbal said that farmers, especially small land-holders, must supplement their harvest with agricultural inputs to maximise the yield. He said fertilisers were the main inputs to increase the yield.

“The government should develop climate-resilient varieties because climate change is harming crops. Most of the seeds, used by farmers, are not certified. Farmers should use certified seeds. The government should ensure availability of certified seeds to farmers,” he said.

Bilal Iqbal told WealthPK that government should reduce agricultural taxes and offer interest-free and soft loans to farmers to help them increase their yield. “Equipment for drip and sprinkle irrigation should be purchased to boost yield in water-scarce areas,” he added.

Minister for National Food Security Tariq Bashir Cheema said that short and long-term policies were being framed to uplift the agriculture sector.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, he said that an unprecedented relief was announced for farmers in the annual budget. “We have abolished sales tax on tractors whilst duty on the fertilisers has not been increased,” he added.

The minister said that the yield could be increased by providing incentives to farmers and devising appropriate policies for the purpose.

Credits: INP-WealthPk