South Asia: Pakistan and the Himalayan States - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 198

Salts accumulate with rapid evaporation of moisture
in the country' s arid and semi-arid climate. T To counter the
loss of cropland from salinization, thousands of pumps,
tube wells, and conduits had to be installed (mostly pri-
vate). Nevertheless, about 17 million acres (7 million
hectares) remain saline, especially in Sind, Punjab,
NWFP , and Baluchistan. The magnitude of the problem
can be gauged by the fact that salinization continues at
the rate of 988 million acres (40,000 ha) annually . Mea-
sures to ameliorate this condition such as planting green
manure like clover, or adding chemicals such as gypsum
are not affordable for most farmers. Furthermore, many
farmers have little if any knowledge of these methods.

say that domestic issues are being allowed to worsen,
both at the policy and management levels. A procurement
price mechanism is used to keep prices depressed. Allo-
cated funds are not disbursed, or simply disappear. Water
shortages are worsening. Agricultural research is in disar-
ray . No disease-free cotton has been developed, and the
country regularly misses production targets in this and
other crops. Government policies are allowing imports of
less expensive foods such as vegetables from India, which
hurts the domestic industry and puts numerous farmers
out of business. Government functionaries argue that
they are simply expanding the economy .
Agricultural credit programs, while beneficial for
many farmers, are actually increasing regional dispari-
ties. In Sind, for example, farmers must have “pass-
books” to receive credit but apparently they are difficult
to get. Local officials often are loath to verify these docu-
ments and often charge a fee to do so. At the same time,
counterfeit topics are available for a price. Allocations are
now based on the size of farms as well as levels of pro-
duction. From a 21 percent share in national agricultural
credit disbursements, Sind' is funding is down to 11 per-
cent. The position of Baluchistan' s and NWFP' s ability to
attract credit is dismal. Drought has decimated crop pro-
duction and few funds are available. At the same time,
Punjab receives 82 percent of disbursements.
Much agriculture is controlled by large landowners
and sardars (tribal chiefs) who manipulate land-title
records in connivance with the Revenue Department. Big
landlords fail to pay even a tenth of their taxes. Repeated
complaints to the Revenue Minister in Sind in 2010 met
with no response. In central Punjab, farms are owned by
waderas (the elite) and members of the civil service and
businessmen who are well positioned to access credit
from a network of 4,000 banks. Many of these landlords
are absentees and only appear at their farms during elec-
tions. Clearly , corruption and patronage are systemic in
the agricultural sector.

What about Fertilizer?
Another factor responsible for poor production is nutri-
ent deficiency . Even though government support of the
industry has made more chemical fertilizer available,
consumption remains very low in the countryside. Many
farmers cannot afford enough and some do not apply it
properly . Animal manure can be used if farmers raise
livestock. Farm animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats
can graze on wheat, maize, and other stubble after har-
vest, but if yields are poor, the animals have less to eat
and consequently produce less manure.

What Is Happening with BT Seeds?
As discussed in Chapter 5, the use of BT seeds does not
always live up to its promise. In a desperate attempt to
increase cotton yields, 70 percent of farmers are sowing
these genetically engineered seeds. However, most of the
33 varieties being sold in the markets are not approved
by government scientists. Many are fake but they are
bought because they are relatively cheap. The more ex-
pensive approved types are sown on only 20 percent of
cotton acreage. Pakistan is now looking to India, where
cotton output had doubled, for legitimate BT seeds.
Unfortunately , the BT gene normally disappears after
three years, thereby exposing the crop to every conceivable
sort of disease. Cotton-leaf curl disease, which appeared in
NWFP in the 1980s, continues to be a problem and has
spread to Punjab, the major cotton-growing region.

The VillageAgricultural
Center (VAC)

The Government of Pakistan has an idea: village
agricultural centers to be placed in all villages with at
least 1,000 people. It is recommending that as of
2010, all agricultural revenue should be reinvested in
improving agricultural production. V ACs, managed
by graduates in agriculture, should be extended to

What Is the Government Doing?
Pakistan is importing more food than ever before at a cost
of more than US$5 billion in 2007. In 2001, the cost of
food imports was significantly less at US$1 billion. Critics