ACCURATE information relating to agricultural activities is vital for data-driven future planning, policymaking, as well as targeted interventions to increase the sector’s productivity and contribution to the economy. The periodic agricultural census is the most extensive way of collecting reliable information. Thus, the launch of field operations by the PBS for the country’s 7th agricul­tural census to digitally gather information on its activities gives hope of better informed planning and policymaking for the sector that contributes nearly a fifth to the GDP, and is an important driver of growth and the largest employer of the country’s labour force. Even though the census is being conducted after a delay of four years, it is hoped that the information collected through it on total area of land, location, size, use, and ownership; types of crops planted; farming techniques; use of irrigation; characteristics of the households; and many other topics will actually be used by the planners for policymaking and devising interventions to revive productivity, and the data will not be filed and forgotten in state archives.

Pakistan’s agriculture sector, in spite of its importance for agro-based exports, food security, employment generation etc, is the most neglected segment of the economy. It has been facing several challenges for decades. These challenges are not just affecting the crop sector but also the livestock segment, negatively impacting agro-based industrial exports and food security. In recent years, we have seen events like floods, droughts, heatwaves, etc due to rapid climate change depress farmers’ incomes and increase rural poverty and unemployment. There is no doubt that successive governments have strived to revive and boost agriculture output through input and other indirect subsidies, including but not limited to fixation of a minimum procurement or support price for crops like wheat and sugarcane. But these subsidies are mostly pocketed by large landholders or arhtis (middlemen). Smallholder farmers and landless tenants rarely benefit from government intervention and support because the policies are neither data driven nor evidence-based. Information collected through the agriculture census and disintegrated by experts can provide a treasure trove for the agriculture planners and policymakers, provided they are inclined to actually use it.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2025