Agriculture is mainstay of Pakistan's economy. It accounts for 21% of the GDP and together with agro-based products fetches 80% of the country’s total export earnings. More than 48% of the labour force is engaged in this sector.Farming is Pakistan's largest economic activity. In FY 1993, agriculture, and small-scale forestry and fishing, contributed 25 percent of GDP and employed 48 percent of the labor force. Agricultural products, especially cotton yarn, cotton cloth, raw cotton, and rice, are important exports. Although there is agricultural activity in all areas of Pakistan, most crops are grown in the Indus River plain in Punjab and Sindh. Considerable development and expansion of output has occurred since the early 1960s; however, the country is still far from realizing the large potential yield that the well-irrigated and fertile soil from the Indus irrigation system could produce. The floods showed how vulnerable agriculture is to weather; agricultural production dropped dramatically.
Challenges to Face:
Fertile soils, favorable weather conditions & fresh water are few of Pakistan valuable resources, which are being utilized to transform agriculture and feed the nation & support economy. In contrary, years of traditional farming practices have resulted in the diminishing growth in yield & production per acre, instead of investing more on inputs & increased consumption of fertilizers.
To be more specific, limiting factor behind stagnant agriculture growth is lack of awareness with modern farming practices & new technological advancements. Few important factors are as follows:
1. Imbalance Fertilization: National statistics highlight that in Pakistan fertilizer usage on various crops is in best case misbalanced. Imbalance use of fertilizer i.e. over focus on nitrogen and minimal use of potassic fertilizers is an important aspect to address. This nutrient mismanagement resulted in potassic deficient soil & affect yields.
2. Soil Structure...