ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN PAKISTAN 1. INCREASING GDP OF THE ECONOMY: Agricultural sector of Pakistan has made significant contribution to its GDP. When the GDP of a country grows, economic development takes place. In the beginning agricultural sector had highest share in the GDP but then the service sector became the chief provider with the passage of time. Fisheries and livestock are vital foundation of employment besides they also help in increasing GDP and contain exports of the country. Livestock accounts for 9% of the total GDP and 4% of the agricultural sector. 2. FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER: The agricultural area is the major source of foreign exchange incomes in Pakistan. The export of rice, cotton, cotton based products etc. bring about 65% of our total earnings. The imports help in vital inputs for development i.e. import of equipment, capital machinery, technical know-how etc. 3. SUSTAINING THE POPULATION: According to the Human Development Report (2007-2008) of UNDP, the population of Pakistan is increasing at the rate of almost 2% per year. According to the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United States, Pakistan is 2nd most populated country in the Muslim world while 6th most populated country of the world. Agriculture is playing a crucial role in order to withstand such an enormous population. Wheat is the largely eaten food item of Pakistan and luckily is the largely cultivated crop of Pakistan. If Pakistan was not an agriculture country then the country would have to import all the food items in order to sustain such a large population. Thus agriculture is performing a double role in Pakistan’s development by giving food to such a large population and assisting economic growth by decreasing imports of food items. 4. SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT: Agriculture is the main cause of employment in Pakistan. More than the half of the population of Pakistan lives in rural areas. In the development report of UNDP (2007-2008) 65% lived in rural areas of the total population in 2005. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, 46.61% of the entire employment is delivered by agriculture. Higher per capita income of people and increased GDP of Pakistan is because of employment. Higher per capita income leads to better way of living of people which means more approach to basic needs, quality health facilities, better education etc. and these are all signs of economic development. In this way employment as an outcome of agricultural action is adding motion to the economic development of Pakistan. 5. INCREASING THE TAX REVENUE OF THE GOVERNMENT: Economic development is one of the major duties of any government. The greater the government gathers tax revenue, more the money it will have for spending on development related projects. As, agriculture engages 20% contribution towards the GDP and 43.61% of Pakistan labor force, this increases per capita income. And government collection of tax revenue increases as per capita income increases. In this way agriculture has an important part in raising the tax revenue. To bring in structural changes and to make the institution of the country work more efficient, the government of Pakistan uses this tax revenue. 6. SUPPORT OF INDUSTRIES: The enhanced growth in the agricultural area delivers raw materials to manufacturing productions. The manufacture of fruits, jute, cotton, sugarcane etc. assists other agro-based industries to get material from within the country and enlarge manufacture. 7. RAW MATERIAL FOR INDUSTRIAL SECTOR: In the economic development of any country industries of are great importance. As long as agriculture is providing raw materials to the industries, it is helping many industries in Pakistan. Cotton which is also a significant export of Pakistan and raw material of textile industry is a major crop of Pakistan. As sugarcane is also amongst one of vital crops of Pakistan and likewise sugar industry uses sugarcane as raw materials. Pakistan’s sports goods are well known worldwide and are also major exports of Pakistan. Livestock which is also an agricultural activity helps in making the raw materials of these sports goods. All these assistance of industrialization are greatly resulted from agriculture sector of Pakistan which quickens the economic development of a country. 8. MARKETABLE SURPLUS: When on systematic lines the agriculture sector is extended, it produces attractive marketable surplus. The surplus i.e. sugar, fish, cotton, silk, timber, jute, wheat etc. can help to pay the capital tools, import of raw materials and technology. This helps in bringing about fast economic development. 9. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: The energy of economic development is infrastructure. For ensuring fast transportation of goods and services, well-toned infrastructure is very important. As the time passed and agriculture started to develop in Pakistan and as well as the demand of agriculture products flowed in market, the demand of infrastructure took hold in those areas. As the Punjab province has large scale of agriculture practice, it is one of the most advanced provinces in terms of infrastructure. As the agriculture enlarges, it also conveys the infrastructure development with it, which helps in economic success of the country. CONCLUSION: Agriculture had contributed in Pakistan’s development in these various ways. The government should announce policies which raise the productivity of agriculture in order to increase economic development. Example: government should familiarize modern ways of production through the introduction of technology in the area of agriculture. The government should also study land reforms as the large lands are more productive than the small ones and should also increase the ownership of land to remove feudalism. Effective and operative ways for agricultural sector will definitely enhance the development of the weak economy of Pakistan. (by Abdullah khan)
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:52:44 +0000
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