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Precision agriculture
Precision agriculture is a way of thinking about how
to improve production and get more from existing
resources. It often involves the use of technology.
Precision agriculture or satellite farming is a farming
management concept based on observing and
responding to intra-field variations.
Precision agriculture around the
world
The concept of precision agriculture first emerged in
the United States in the early 1980s.
Later nations were Canada and Australia.
In Europe, the United Kingdom was the first to go
down this path, followed closely by France.
Techno-Economic Problems
Due to increasing population and division of land under
the law of inheritance, landholdings are subdivided over
and over again. The result is that very large number of
farmers has less than 2 hectares of area. Moreover
holdings are scattered. It is difficult to use modern
machinery on small pieces of land.
Limited Cultivable Area
The total area is about 79.6 million hectares
Only 23.7 million hectares (28%) area is used for
agricultural purposes.
Water Logging and Salinity
Twin problems of agricultural sector.
Both affect about 0.10 million acre of land in every year
Conti…. Slow Growth of Allied Products
Allied products refer to those productions, which are
not agricultural but indirectly, help the farmer to
improve his living standard i.e. fruits, milk, poultry,
fisheries, livestock and forestry.
Low Per Hectare Yield
45.0% of labour force is engaged
It is less than 5% in developed countries
Conti… Inadequate Infrastructure
Rural infrastructure like, roads, storage facilities,
transport, electricity, education, sanitation and health
facilities etc.
Electricity is available to only 3/4 rural populations.
Old Methods of Production
The old implements are still being used for
agricultural production.
Conti…Inadequate Supply of Agricultural Inputs
The supply of modern inputs costly
Inadequate and irregular
Lack of Irrigation Facilities
Shortage of irrigation facilities causes a serious
limitation in the expansion of crop area in Pakistan.
Defective Land Tenure System
Landlords and feudal-lords live in urban areas
Tenants and peasants have no or less incentive for
their hard work. So, the productivity in agricultural
sector remains low.
Conti… Improper Crop Rotation
The constant cultivation of one crop or two; exhausts
the fertility of the soil.
Proper rotation of crops is necessary in order to
restore the fertility.
Lack of success stories
There have been no success stories of precision
farming
Conti…
Culture and perceptions of the users
Farmers are resistant to new technologies and do not
accept them.
They are unaware of agro-environmental problems
such as groundwater pollution caused by ineffective
fertilization methods.
Natural ProblemsVarious Plant Diseases
• Crops often come under attack of pests and insects.
• Pests and plant diseases reduce the annual
productivity of agriculture.
Heterogeneity of cropping systems and market
imperfections
Farm units are highly heterogeneous.
Fertility status is not uniform.
Conti…
Natural Calamities
Labour is in the hand of mankind but its result is in
the hands of ALLAH in agriculture sector.
20% reduction in productivity due to unnecessary
rain and unfavourable climatic situation.
Conti…
Scarcity of HYV Seeds
lower quality seeds due to non-availability of High
Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds.
Agricultural production is badly affected because of
inferior quality of seeds.
Under Utilization of Land
Population is attached with agricultural sector.
Using traditional means of cultivation.
Less intereste to use the advanced and modern means
of farming.
Socio-Economic Problems
Consumption Oriented
Our farmers have no proper records of their incomes
and expenses. Mostly, they spend on several rural
ceremonies and festivals.
Absence of Land Reforms
First time during Ayub’s .
Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto introduced more reforms in
1972.
Absence of land reforms has always caused a lot of
damage to the agricultural sector of Pakistan.
Conti…Data availability, quality and costs
Difficulties in obtaining reliable data in a timely and
cost effective
Lack of local technical expertise
Requires a relatively advanced and computer literate
workforce.
influenced by variations in personal ability and age of
farmers, motivation, quality and number of years of
education, and exposure to extension services.
Conti…Land ownership, infrastructure and institutional
constraints
Policy and bureaucratic constraints slow down the
process of timely information transfer. Further, poor
coordination among the private sector, research and
administration agencies makes the adoption of these
technologies slower.
Conti…Farmers Litigation
They are often seen in courts, police stations,
irrigation offices, revenue boards and other official
problems.
Joint Family System
He has to support his big family.
It creates deficiency in saving and investment. A huge
part of farmer’s productivity is consumed at his own
house.
Illiteracy and Ill-health
Literacy rate is only 57.7 %.
Conti… Political Instability Affected development in all economic and social sectors.
Creates unrest among the farmers to sell the productions to various industries as a raw material.
People hesitate to invest in agricultural sector due to political unrest.
• International compulsions & inconsistent government policies
• Pakistan fell back in to the clutches of IMF after the change of regime back in 2008.
• IMF has told Pakistan to reduce agricultural subsidies and impose agriculture tax.
• Pakistan is a WTO signatory as well.
Conti…Lack of Credit
Agricultural credit facilities are not common.
Non-institutional sources are available but these are not
reliable due to high rate of interest.
About 50.8% poor borrow from landlords in Pakistan.
Instability in Market Prices
Cobweb theorem is very popular in case of market prices;
it means that a price of one commodity is much high in
this year and much low in the next year and vice versa.
The farmers, do not get due reward from the sale of their
productions. So, they remain unsatisfied
MEASURES TO REMOVE THESE PROBLEMS
Following measures are suggested to improve the
agriculture:
Supply of Agriculture Credit
Water Logging and Salinity Control
Construction of Dames
Provision of HYV Seed
Mechanization
Agricultural Research
Conti…Agro-based Industries
Tax Concessions
Training of Farmers
Prices of Agricultural Productivities
Conclusion:
Being an agricultural country, agricultural sector of Pakistan’s economy is still backward. Use of modern techniques, provision of credit facilities, basic infrastructure and agriculture research facilities are needed to remove all the problems of agriculture sector.