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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.
The Punjab province has about 29% of the total reported, 57% of the total cultivated and 69% of the total cropped area of Pakistan. It contributes a major share in the agricultural economy of the country by providing about 83% of cotton, 80% of wheat, 97% fine aromatic rice, 63% of sugarcane and 51% of maize to the national food production. Among fruits, mango accounts for 66%, citrus more than 95%, guava 82% and dates 34% of total national production of these fruits.


Land Use Statistics
 
 (Million Hactares)
(Million Acres)
Geographical Area
20.63
50.98
Total Area Reported
17.49
43.22
Forest Area
0.49
1.21
Not available for Cultivation
2.95
7.29
Culturable Waste
1.56
3.85
Cultivated Area
12.49
30.86
Current Fallow
1.39
3.43
Net Area Sown
11.10
27.43
Area Sown more than once
5.86
14.48
Total Cropped area
16.96
41.91
Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2008-09

Farm Size Statistics
Size of Farm (Hectares)
Farm
Farms Area
Avg. size of Farm Area (Hectares)
Number
%
Hectares
%
All Farms
3,864,166
*
11,261,963
*
 
Government Farms
96
*
26,802
*
 
Private Farms
3,864,070
100
11,235,161
100
2.9
Under 0.5
703,638
18
201,112
2
0.3
0.5 to under 1.0
617,265
16
459,408
4
0.7
1.0 to under 2.0
844,219
22
1,166,753
10
1.4
2.0 to under 3.0
597,863
15
1,403,901
12
2.3
3.0 to under 5.0
536,361
14
2,081,497
19
3.9
5.0 to under 10.0
368,362
10
2,422,326
22
6.6
10.0 to under 20.0
149,018
4
1,858,563
17
12.5
20.0 to under 40.0
36,696
1
909,254
8
24.8
40.0 to under 60.0
5,712
*
263,095
2
46.1
60.0 and above
4,932
*
469,257
4
95.1
* = Negligible
Source: - Census of Agriculture-2000 (Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2008-09)
Major Achievements   
  • Record Production of Paddy and Wheat during 2008-09
  • Green Tractor Scheme
      • 10,000 tractors were provided last year on subsidy worth Rs. 2 billion and the same number of tractors are being provided in 2009-10.
  • Approval of Bt Cotton Varieties
      • Eight BT varieties and One hybrid variety have been approved for cultivation in punjab during 2010-11 by Punjab Seed Council.
  • Establishment of Foundation Seed Cell in AARI
  • Reactivation of Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) after 11 years
  • 50% reduction in incidence of pesticide adulteration i.e. from 16% to 8%
  • Establishment of Punjab Agricultural Marketing Company (PAMCO)
  • 30 crop varieties were approved /released during last three years
  • A mango consignment sent to EU by sea to reduce freight charges 
Current Initiatives

  • One cold storage established at Lahore and four approved for Rahim Yar Khan, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Multan airports
  • Kinnow & Mango pack houses & cold storages are proposed at Bhalwal and Multan
  • Research Institutes for Mango and Potato established at Multan and Sahiwal
  • To increase seed stock capacity of Punjab Seed Corporation by 23% over the next 3 years
  • Steps taken for hybrid seed production
  • MOU between PSC and M/S Silverland Company to form joint venture for production of hybrid vegetable seeds and Bt Cotton varieties
  • Timely campaign against white fly has been initiated on spring crops






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