Ans: Important problems in agricultural sector:
1. Lack of Agricultural Inputs:
Pakistani farmers are a victim of backwardness. Their financial condition is
poor. The person who provides food for others is not getting sufficient food
for himself. The procuring and usage of the following things is difficult for an
average farmer, good quality seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, tractors,
thresher, harvester and modern methods of irrigation.
2. Inefficient use of Cultivable Area:
In Pakistan, there is no planning to bring lakhs of acres of land under
cultivation. Due to lack of capital and inadequate irrigation facilities very little
of cultivable land is in use. To maintain the fertility of land, a large portion of
land is left emply every year.
3. Natural Disasters:
Natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, storms and drought cause
problems for farmers. These cause severe damage to the crops.
4. Inadequate Irrigation Facilities:
In spite of the canal system in Pakistan, the sources of irrigation are
inadequate. Water is wasted in distributaries and fields. A large quantity of
river water is lost in oceans and there are no adequate measures to store
this water. Excessive load-shedding affects tube wells, and this is another
setback for the crops.
5. Lack of Modernized Cultivation:
In Pakistan, the use of advanced seeds, chemical fertilizers and agricultural
machinery is not very popular. Less attention is paid towards cultivating
more and more crops on apicultural land.
6. Lack of Agricultural Credit:
Due to the scarcity of organizations giving agricultural credit, farmers take
these loans from money lenders. The percentages of interest are huge.
These people exploit the farmers and worry them.
7. Water Logging and Salinity:
A large part of our agricultural land is not cultivable due to water logging and
salinity. Besides this, every year a lot of land falls victim to river erosion. This
decreases the fertile area.
8. Lack of Efficient Means of Transportation:
In our country, it is difficult to transport agricultural goods from villages to
markets due to underdeveloped means of transport. As farmers do not have
access to markets, the middlemen do not give sufficient payments to the
farmers. This makes their financial condition poorer.
9. Plant Diseases:
Plant diseases kill plants or make them weak. According to an estimate, this
lessens the crop productivity by 25% 10. Backwardness of Farmers:
Illiteracy is a major reason for the backwardness of farmers. This makes the
farmers unable to learn new methods or plan for better production.
11. Prices of Agricultural Goods:
The prices of agricultural produce are much less as compared to industrial
This affects the agricultural sector.