THE Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research has demanded a special incentive package for agriculture sector in the next federal budget to halt the decline in the sector’s growth which, according to its members, has been the lowest in the last 10 years.

The senators attributed the fall in the growth rate from five to two per cent to the government’s indifference towards agriculture while formulating policies and allocating funds in the last budget.

This time, the government must make good the past inaction and take effective steps to improve the growth rate, they made it clear in the meeting held on May 22. What the sector suffers from include low per acre yield, inadequate infrastructure, depleted irrigation facilities, high cost of inputs and low quality of seeds.

Besides, climate change has also, in recent years, emerged as a threat to agriculture. This is what happened in recent months when, despite positive outlook, the prospects of wheat and cotton, the country’s two principal crops, were suddenly clouded. Wheat production target which was set at 25.33 million tonnes this year appeared well within reach but the unscheduled rains badly affected the overall yield and quality of the crop.

Agriculture suffers from low per acre yield, inadequate infrastructure, depleted irrigation facilities, high cost of inputs and low quality of seeds

Some officials expect import of about one million tons of the commodity to meet domestic requirements. The rains delayed wheat harvesting, that may lead to problems of rust and fungus.

Officials say provinces would suffer loss of 1pc in the wheat output. But, in case of Punjab, since almost 97pc of harvesting was completed before the new spell of rains, the damage would be less in the province which produces surplus wheat and helps feed other provinces as well. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the wheat crop in Swabi, Mardan, Charssada, Nowshera, Peshawar and Bannu has been damaged by the rains which have also delayed harvesting of the crop.

Prospects of cotton crop are hardly encouraging. According to the Cotton Commissioner, heavy rains have disrupted the process of cotton sowing in key cotton growing areas. The government had set a target of 2.4 million acres of land for cotton sowing but so far only 1.4 million acres has been covered. Delay in cotton sowing would, of course, affect sowing of next wheat crop. Federal minister for food security Sikandar Hayat Bosan says the cotton production target this year is unlikely to be met due to rains and also because of shifting of many farmers to other crops owing to lower cotton prices last year.

The sowing, which was to begin by the end of February or the beginning of March, actually started late in April. Cotton harvesting will be delayed by about one month as farmers, who began sowing late, are still engaged in planting seeds. Harvesting is expected to begin in July but may be delayed beyond one month if there are heavy rains in June and July. One reason for the delayed sowing is prolonged winter season, which is good for wheat but bad for cotton. Therefore, farmers decided to delay wheat harvesting by about 10-15 days.

Another ill-effect of the rainfall, one may notice, has been complete wash-out of whatever little cotton sowing was done in February or March in Punjab, which produces about 80pc of the country’s cotton. The situation in Sindh, which produces almost the rest of the country’s cotton, is no different. Farmers in the province also started late sowing.

According to provisional data of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, the country has produced 13.39m bales (of 155 kilogram) so far this year, which is 3.69pc higher than 12.91m bales produced last year. But the country’s total requirement is about 15m bales.

Similarly, the situation about rice is not so satisfactory. Although Pakistan exported rice worth $1.666bn during July-March 2013-14 which is higher by $280m (20.19pc) than last year’s figure, some exporters find the export slowing down.

According to an official of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), exporters are not receiving new contracts due to high domestic prices. They are dealing under old contracts which were signed before the appreciation of the rupee. Describing India as the biggest competitor, he says: "If we do not cope with this situation, then India may capture the international market.”

As a means to quickly tackle rice-related matters, a former REAP chairman has suggested to the government to set up a separate ‘rice ministry’ on the pattern of textile ministry to help resolve the issues being faced by the second largest export sector of the country. Those who know this trade, he said, and can work out solutions of the problems faced by this sector, should lead it.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, June 2nd, 2014