thesis by farhan birmani

7/28/2019 tHESIS BY FARHAN BIRMANI

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTIONAgriculture plays an important role in the economy of Pakistan. It contributes 22

percent in GDP and provides employment to 44.8 percent of the population. Agriculture is

the main source of foreign exchange where wheat, cotton and rice are main contributors.

Apart from direct contribution to foreign exchange, the agriculture sector also provides raw

materials to many industries which seem to multiply the impact (Govt. of Pakistan, 2006).

The climate of Pakistan is very good and its natural resources are likely for our

agriculture system, which provides ideal conditions for wide variety of agricultural crops. In

Pakistan, the average size of cultivated land is very small and it has decreased overtime.

According to agricultural census, there are 5.1 million farms, among them, 93 percent are

small and marginal (Govt. of Pakistan, 2003).

Although small farms are profitable but some problems related to these farms may

also need to be addressed. Small farmers usually face too much difficulty to overcome these

problems. Sometimes, it happens that purchases are not made according to the dire need,

which may result as a financial burden (Terry, 2004).

Poverty is the most dynamic issue that can create many problems for the small

farmers. Small land holders, most of the time are short in capital and therefore, cant fulfill

their crop input needs which directly affect the crop yield. Small farmers have limited access

to formal credit source which restricts the ability of farmers to adopt new technology for

improving the quantity and quality of produce (Hussain et al., 2006).

Although increase in agricultural productions by farmers can bring prosperity but

insufficient financial resources yet restrict the farmers to adopt agricultural innovations. To

overcome the problem, rural credit in the form of loans, cash or commodity can play vital

role for the farmers development. In a developing country like Pakistan many institutions are

working for this purpose like Zari Taraqiati Bank Limited, Central Cooperative Bank,

Commercial Banks, Agricultural Cooperative Societies and Governmental Organizations

(Jaffaret al., 2006).

In farming community, small farmers have an important position and can play a key

role. The contribution of the small farmers is 30-35 percent in total agriculture productivity.

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Therefore, small farmers hold a key position in the development of country whose production

base is dependent on agriculture (Peacock and Jowett, 2004).

With the increasing number of mouths to feed and lesser available resources we need

to increase per acre yield. The successful crop production can be achieved by themanagement of soil, plant nutrients and other natural resources. The healthy resource based

agriculture is a key factor in this regard. In the developing countries like Pakistan the ever

increasing population has envisaged the development of new methods of crop production and

protection which is a continuing challenge for us. Limited availability of additional land for

crop production, along with declining yield growth for major food crops has provoked

agrarians, the urgency to seek out problems and their relative solutions. Under the prevailing

circumstances we will have to produce more food largely from the existing farmlands. This

could only be done by increasing crop yields and stepping up cropping intensity (Doos,

1994). In this regard, adoption of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management practices

may help farmers to enhance crop production and to conserve natural resources (FAO, 2003).

Most of the problems in agricultural farm productivity are associated with factors

like land preparation, seed, irrigation, plant protection measures, etc. along with some social

factors which include education, age, farming experience etc. The limited access to updated

information regarding seed, fertilizer, weedicides and pesticides is another important concern

for small farmers (Bakhsh et al., 2005).

Farmers in many parts of world are provided with subsidized inputs and better

marketing facilities for agricultural products. Now under the umbrella of World Trade

Organization (WTO), an agriculture production system which is well driven to market

realities is said to be successful. Small farmers in most of the developing countries have to

face many difficulties due to lack of resources, insufficient market access and weak

infrastructure. Due to this, it is more difficult for small farmers to compete in the globalmarket (Asian Productivity Organization, 2004).

The technological improvement changed the traditional system and pattern of

agriculture but farmers are still facing a lot of constraints and problems in every step of

agricultural production, which affect the pace of socio-economic development of farmers and

their sustainability as well as livelihood. Different constraints faced by small farmers include

unavailability of electricity, higher input costs, limited source of information and

unavailability of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers which increased the cost of cultivationand reduce their earnings. The socio-personal attributes like age, land holding and economic

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motivation had positive and significant correlation, while education, scientific orientation and

risk preference had negative and significant correlation (Khan et al., 2007).

Looking over certain key indicators in 2010-11, it revealed that heavy floods damaged

3.7 percent growth of agriculture and livestock. The sector has no immunity against weatherrelated problems and thus many prospects for consistent growth were lost. Fishery sector

grew by 1.9 percent as against last years growth of 1.4 percent. Forestry has experienced

negative growth of 0.4 percent this year as compared to last years growth of 2.2 percent

(Govt. of Pakistan, 2010).

Pakistan along with many developing countries of the world have adopted policies

like provision of subsidies in agricultural inputs and marketing through procurement at

minimum support prices for the welfare of the small farmers. However, in most such cases,the government intervention takes the form of interest rate ceiling on subsidized products.

When credit rationed, some borrowers noted that government has provided subsidies and

easy loans. In such cases, liquidity can become a constraint and the access to credit become

limited (Malik, 1999).

Addressing the root causes of the reinforcing cycle of decline of crop and livestock

productivity, natural resource degradation, high population growth and vulnerability are the

major problems for poor farmers (Tadesse, 2001). Economic, social and environmental

sustainability need intensified package approach (Alemneh, 2003).

The illiterate farmers are usually not familiar with complexity of the technology,

conflicting information, institutional factors, risks (both capital and intellectual) and

incompatibility (Vanclay and Lawrence, 1994; Bengesi et al., 2004).

In rural areas of our country, small farmers usually have little choice of selling and

charging. The crop is sold to middleman at a low price because the farmers have limited

access to main market. Many factors, like to pay back debts and household requirements

compel the farmers to accept a low price for their output. Farmers could improve their

methods of marketing to earn more from their crops. Developed communication technologies

enable farmers to get information about latest prices and link them directly to buyers (CTA,

2008).

Agricultural mechanization has played a vital role in enhancing agricultural yields of

different crops. However, the adoption of sophisticated agricultural machines has been

restricted to most of the large farmers only. Small farmers access to these technologies has

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been retained mainly due to poor financial conditions and lack of awareness. It has been

observed that mostly small farmers dont have enough knowledge about the modern

techniques/machines to get maximum yield with limited resources for increasing their

income. As a result, pace of development all over the country remains slow and inconsistent

(Rehman et al., 2012).

Although manufacturing and services sector have their major contribution towards

Gross Domestic Product yet the sustainability in GDP growth can never be realized without

acknowledging the agriculture sector. The need to develop agriculture sector is also obvious

due to its overwhelming part in national employment and foreign exchange reserves. Land

distribution in Pakistan has squeezed over time and currently more than 80% of agricultural

farms are considered as small farms along with major part of agricultural produce also comes

from small farms who have been suffering from many problems over this brief history of

Pakistan. It necessitates inquiring about the nature, direction and intensity of problems faced

by small farmers in Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan remained a remote and underdeveloped

district in Punjab, which remained at the mercy of local feudal lords. The issues of small

farmers in such remote and unattended areas provoked the challenges of sustainable

agricultural production system. Therefore, it was decided to conduct this research in Tehsil

D.G.Khan. It is expected that the study will contribute towards highlighting the issues of

small farmers in particular and of agriculture sector in Pakistan in general.

Thus the research was conducted in Tehsil D.G. Khan with the followings objectives.

To find out the socio-economic status and demographic characteristics of respondents

To know the socio-economic problems faced by small farmers.

To give some suggestions to policy makers of agriculture sector for the improvement of

socio-economic conditions of the small farmers.

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CHAPTER2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Khan and Keatinge (2000) determined that the level of awareness, understanding and

adoption of improved agricultural technologies are important determinants of agricultural

productivity. They reported that in a survey for adopting the recommended farming practices

near about 50% of farmers have adopted improved technologies. Moreover, they said that one

quarter of all farmers feel lack of confidence in the recommendations for new agricultural

technologies.

The dynamics of soil fertility management in communal areas of Zimbabwe was

studied by Chuma, et al. (2000) who concluded that lack of inputs, labor and capital are

major problems faced by the small farmers. This may be because of some initiatives by the

extension department which are not actually realized by the farmers. The extension workers

should increase the knowledge of farmers about better crop production technologies. Apart

from this, easy access to credit usually ensures the availability of chemical fertilizers and

supply of electricity/gas at reasonable costs. They further concluded that training programs

imparted to the farmers are appropriate methods of soil fertility and nutrient management.

The research on factors affecting farmers adoption of technologies in farming system

was carried out by Chi and Yamada (2002). They stated that factors which affect the adoption

of new technologies usually encompass progressive, young and educated farmers. However,

not all the farmers usually adopt modern technologies mainly because these are new for them

and they are unaware about their use. They feel hesitant in the adoption of new technology

because they do not believe that the new technology could ensure the high yield. They

reported that most of the small farmers usually believe in their own experience instead of

relying on modern technology.

Bank lending to small-scale peasant farms in Nigeria was focused by Olubiyo and

Hill (2003) where he found that the small farmers usually face problems in agriculture

development like lack of availability of credit facility. Small farmers adopt new technology to

increase agricultural production and farm incomes. However, this potential cannot be realized

without adequate access to funds.

Adoption of improved fallows technology for soil fertility management in Zambia

studied by Ajayi et al. (2003) reported that small farmers face a number of challenges that

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hinder them from adoption of recommended technologies. This is followed by lack of interest

to adopt innovations, as it requires taking a certain level of risk. They further revealed that the

major constraints in the adoption of optimum technology were lack of awareness, and un-

willingness to wait for long term crops.

Meena (2003) concluded that the majority of the small farmers (88.83%) mentioned

that non-availability of agricultural inputs at farms is the main situational limitation. In case

of technical constraints 93.33 percent farmers were facing problem regarding training of

scientific cotton production technology. While among the economic constraints, she further

reported that high cost of seed, fertilizer and insecticides are perceived to be the most relevant

problems faced by most of the small farmers (90.83%). The majority mentioned that

extension department has not provided technical guidance besides other extension related

constraints. Similarly in institutional constraints 54 percent farmers mentioned that co-

operative societies do not provide seed, fertilizers, insecticides and implements in time

besides other institutional constraints.

Ahmad et al. (2003) demonstrated some constraints confronting small farmers with

special reference to wheat-cotton cropping zone of Punjab. They concluded that the small

farms are most integral part of farm business in Pakistan. In view of their major contribution

towards the overall stability of the economy, there is a strong need to make them resilient

against certain risks. The development planners and strategists need to give attention in

devising policies which contribute to enhance their access to easy credit. They further

recommended that the issues related to law of inheritance which still operates the matters

related to transfer of land assets, needs to be seriously addressed.

Asian Productivity Organization (2004) reported that small farmers in Pakistan are

unable to face global competitive markets because they have not enough resources to have

market access. Moreover, it was stated that farmers usually use outdated productiontechniques and often face huge losses especially during post-harvest. It was strongly

recommended in the report that in order to enhance small farmers competitive position in

both local and international market, government could play a key role to provide suitable

opportunity to the farmers and empower them to reap the benefits of global market.

A study Linking small farmers to markets was carried out by Estelle et al. (2004)

who reported that transaction costs, lack of information on markets and irregularity of

information are the main reasons of un-stability of small farmers. They also observed lack of

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bargaining power, asymmetric of negotiation, lack of economy of scale, lack of human

capital and lack of social capital as the potential problems of small farmers.

Mahmood and Hussain (2004) studied the socio-economic problems faced by small

farmers of district Faisalabad. They concluded that financial status of small farmers hasbecome worse over the time, which is due to uncertainty in their production and earnings.

They strongly recommended that government should provide credit facility to the small

farmers and must lower down the rate of interest.

Exclusion of small-scale farmers from coordinated supply chains, market failure and

economies of such farmers were studied by Meer (2004). He reported that the weaknesses of

small-scale farmers are due to the lack of knowledge about modern technology and proper

use of recommended inputs. Inaccessibility to capital is one of the main factors that explainsthe farmers inability to reach competitive markets. This seems to be a serious problem for

serving high-end modern supply chains. The organization of small-scale farmers is not easy

in many cases as the culture of existing organizations and cooperatives may be barrier rather

than an asset. He also mentioned that risks of working with small-scale farmers can be high

because of their ignorance and higher incidence of inappropriate application.

Kerr (2005) reported that the small-scale farmers are facing many challenges that tend

to undermine its productivity. While working on a Malawian case study he identified that

food insecurity is the result of declining soil fertility, inadequate landholdings, inadequate

labor availability to small-scale farmers as well as the low wages to such community are the

major factors associated with small-scale farmers.

Socio-economic factors affecting the income of small-scale agro-forestry farms in

hilly areas of Yemen were studied by Safa (2005).He concluded that small-scale farmers

usually practice agro-forestry land-use system traditionally which is associated with low

productivity and income. He further identified the socio-economic attributes of small farmers

that influence the economic viability of agro-forestry and non-agro-forestry farms in the

Boras mountain region. Incomes of small farmers were found to be influenced by education,

size of land, family size and livestock holding. He further suggested that the small farmers

are in need of financial and technical support from government to increase their income.

Public intervention and infrastructural development in developing farmers technical

knowledge could enhance production, ensure the optimum use of land and will contribute

towards soil and water conservation.

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Impact of increasing landlessness on access to food was investigated by Chowdhury

(2005) considering the experience of small and marginal farmers in rural Bangladesh. He

narrated that the landlessness is caused by the complex interaction of various socio-economic

and political forces. He further reported that increase in the number of landlessness leads to

increase in the number of people who are unable to meet their livelihood requirements. He

concluded that landlessness has serious impact on the different aspects of human security and

the most serious problem that arises is the incapability of the poor people to have access to

sufficient food.

Constraints faced by the small farmers in rice production and export were studied by

Thanh and Singh (2006).They revealed that socio-economic constraints, like credit problems,

high cost of inputs, poor quality inputs and lack of trainings were the most important

constraints as perceived by large percentage of small farmers.

Sustainability of microfinance institutions from small farmers perspective in rural

Nepal was studied by Acharya and Acharya (2006) and they concluded that a difference

between the interests of professionals and small farmers is the key factor that leads to

increase the number of default borrowers. The difference in expectations of both lenders and

borrowers caused the problems in re-payment of the loan resulting in high credit defaults.

The majority of small farmers viewed that some economic projects need to be initiated for

sustainable micro-finance in the isolated areas.

Determinants of poverty among small farmers in the Central Punjab (Pakistan) were

studied by Sabir et al. (2006). They concluded that increasing number of old age small

farmers, lower prices of output, low productivity of crops, bigger household size, lack of

infrastructure and high dependency ratio were the major determinants of poverty. They

strongly recommended that development policies should be in line with participatory

agricultural growth.

Socio economic conditions of small farmers in Sargodha District were investigated by

Tanwir et al. (2006). They showed that in some rural areas of Pakistan, major factors

contributing towards poverty are poor facilities, low productivity of crops and weak

infrastructure. They suggested that resources and infrastructure must be improved along with

increasing the capacity and concentrating literacy rate.

According to Ortmann et al. (2006) the small-scale farmers in communal areas of

South Africa have limited access to factors of production, credit and information, and

markets are often constrained by inadequate property rights and high transaction costs.

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Despite these problems, some small-scale farmers have managed to produce food for own

consumption and for the market.

Constraints faced by farmers of Narsing Kheda village of Sihore district were stated

by Khan et al. (2007). They reported that the technological improvement changed thetraditional system and pattern of agriculture. However, farmers still face a lot of constraints

and problems in agriculture production that affects the pace of socioeconomic development

of small farmers and their livelihood. Some constraints usually faced by small farmers are

higher input costs, electricity shortfall, limited source of information, unavailability of

insecticides and pesticides. The fertilizers increase the cost of cultivation and check their

income. The socio-personal attributes like age, land holding and economic motivation had

positive correlation with agricultural productivity, while low education and risk preference

had negative and significant correlation.

Empowering small farmers in markets through national and international policy

initiatives was suggested by Bijman et al. (2007) when he reported through his study that

small farmers are usually living in areas where markets are not well developed. The market

support institutions are either absent or small farmers have to face very high transaction costs

for borrowing this service. Therefore, it is often difficult to obtain appropriate information on

market demands. They further reported that small producers often lack information about

price trends, consumer demands, and information on prices, quality requirements, different

market opportunities and potential buyers.

Farm household decision making and design of agro-forestry extension strategies

were studied by French (2007). He reported that most of the farm resources are owned by

small farmers who often remained less efficient in agricultural production. While reporting

about the level of decision making he argued that the most essential factor, which is affecting

the investment and production, is the decision making at farm. He also reported that a securetenancy could ensure the long-term engagement of small farmers in production activities.

Resource-poor farmers constraints regarding integrated soil fertility and nutrient

management for sustainable crop production in Bangladesh was studied by Farouque and

Takeya (2007). They emphasized that poor quality resources are directly affecting the soil

fertility and nutrient management. They further argued that in rural areas land holding is

usually considered a symbol of social status, so small farmers in this regard have a very low

social status.

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Enabling rural innovation in Africa: Approaches for empowering small farmers to

access market opportunities for improved livelihoods were studied by Kaaria et al. (2007).

The study invariably revealed that access to market outlets for small-scale farmers is the most

important problem that needs to be addressed in rural areas. They pointed out that small-scale

farmers should be assisted to reach reliable market outlets. They further argued that the

importance of enabling rural innovation and extending it to the marginal communities is vital

as it could strengthen the capacity of smallholders and resource-poor farmers to access

market opportunities.

Access to nutritious food is a basic human entitlement. However, the majority of

people in rural areas do not enjoy this entitlement because of their poverty. The rural poor

depend on a number of livelihood strategies for their survival, but the majority depends on

small-scale farming as their main means of earning. Diao et al. (2007) reported that 70

percent people live in rural areas depending on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other

related activities for survival in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Adoption and adaptation of natural resource management innovations in small holder

agriculture was inquired by Shiferaw et al. (2007). They suggested that many small holder

farmers in vulnerable areas continue to face certain challenges in adoption and adaptation of

resource management and conservation strategies. They said although much was learned

from diverse experiences in sustainable resource management yet there is insufficient

understanding of the market policy. The policy and institutional failures exacerbate market

failures, locking smallholder resource users into a low-level equilibrium that perpetuates

poverty. They concluded that improved market access that raises the returns to land and labor

is often the driving force for adoption of new practices in agriculture.

Sources of technical efficiency among small holder maize farmers in Southern

Malawi was investigated by Chirwa (2007) who reported that despite the long history ofgovernment investment in the agriculture sector through extension services and promotion of

technology, small holder maize farming remains uneconomic and technically inefficient. He

further revealed two main policy issues emerged from the results of this study. First, there is

need to promote adoption of hybrid seeds among small holder maize farmers. Second, there is

need to enhance social capital in small holder farming through the revival of farmers clubs or

through the creation of agricultural cooperatives.

Farm size and productivity in Pakistan were studied by Kiani (2008). He argued thatin order to improve average yield per acre in agriculture sector, land should be re-distributed

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in small farms. He said that it is usually observed that small farmers as compared to large

ones gave higher output. This result was found to be contradicting with already available

literature where evidences have been found that small farmers leads to lesser output as

compared to large farmers.

Sources and uses of agricultural credit by small-scale farmers in Surlier local

government area of Oyo State were conducted by Adebayo and Adeola (2008). They revealed

that 57.6% of the small farmers fell within the age group of 20-49 years which is an

indication of majority being in the middle age group. Only 10.8% of the small farmers were

above 57 years of age or even above this age. More than seventy-six percent (76.7%) of the

small farmers were married. The study also indicated that 62.4% of the small farmers were

male as against 5.8% female farmers. Small farmers had large family size with majority

falling within the range of 6-10 persons per family. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the small

farmers had formal education or the other as against 41% that had no formal education.

CTA (2008) observed that most of the small farmers living in rural areas dont sell

their produce in the main market and hence they do not realize maximum profit. They have

little choice about the selling of their produce. It was also observed that the small farmers sell

their crop at a low price to intermediaries. Unlike the farmers, the middle-men have access to

transport to the main market and also good position in bargain. Desperate for money to pay

back debts or maintain their households, the small farmers take the little advantage but they

never earn enough money for investments in their farming business or pull themselves out of

the poverty.

Obeng (2008) while mentioning the problems of small farmers reported that the small

farmers in rural community faced many problems in taking credit and dealing with bank

interest. He also observed that the majority of the farmers are not well educated in order to

plan or settle their business. In addition, it has become very critical problem for the smallfarmers to secure loans because of the security demanded by the banks. Many banks even

look at the size of the farm before granting loans. The most alarming problem that the

farmers faced is the high interest rates or bank charges, as a result it seem to be difficult for

the farmers to borrow money from the rural banks.

Congressi and Kennedy (2009) reported that in developing countries, small farmers

faced many challenges which are diverse in composition and severe in magnitude and are

supposed to have a detrimental effect on small scale farm productivity. They further predictedthat due to the increase in population, more grains will be needed to meet the food

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requirements of people. Farmers will have to respond to changing market demands and

remain competitive. They further reported that climate change is another important issue,

which must be addressed. While mentioning the characteristics of farming in South Africa

Sebopetji and Belete (2009) reported that South Africa has a dual agricultural economy, with

both well-developed commercial farming and subsistence farming in the remote rural areas.

Majority of this subsistence farmers are not part of the mainstream agriculture and

practice subsistence agriculture in the overcrowded semi-arid areas. Subsistence farming

is characterized by low production, poor access to land, poor access to inputs, infrastructure,

information and most importantly poor access to credit for production requisites.

Factors influencing economic viability of marginal and small farmers in Punjab were

inquired by Singh et al. (2009) where they reported that in low productivity region, off-farm

income and rationality in domestic expenditure are the two main determinants of viability of

marginal farmers. However, for small farmers differences in the farm investment and off-

farm income are the main contributors to their problems. Therefore, the farm investment, in

particular on irrigation has emerged as a constraint for the marginal and subsistence farmers

in Punjab.

Constraints experienced by small farmers in adopting management strategies in rain-

fed agricultural areas were discussed by Kumar and Bhagat (2009). They argued that the poor

resource base of small farmers was main factor behind failure of farmers to cope with the

risks and uncertainties. They reported that the farmers expressed that the coverage of

insurance schemes was not satisfactory along with non-coverage of the crops grown by small

farmers is another issue that needs to be addressed. The failure of the government in

protecting the small farmers from the risk management strategies is the main reason behind

low status of small farmers. Though majority of the small farmers grow crops like Jowar,

Bajra etc. which require less input, still the increase in the cost of cultivation in general was

perceived as major threat to small farmers. Frequent crop yield and price variations restrict

the risk aversion strategies.

Agriculture Problems in Pakistan and their solutions was discussed by Ali (2010), he

reported that the small farmers are increasing in our country as the lands are dividing

generation by generation. Therefore, there are large numbers of farmers who own less than 4

acres of land. These small farmers usually face plenty of problems like difficulty in purchase

of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc. Additionally, a large area of land owned by feudal is

cultivated by the small farmers, who work on their lands as tenants. This uncertain situation

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of occupancy neither creates incentive for work nor does attract capital investment in

cultivation.

Adaptation of small-scale farmers to climatic risks in India was studied by Pande and

Akermann (2010), they concluded that five states face a general problem of waterunavailability and reduced farm productivity due to erratic and untimely rainfall. They further

added that soil fertility loss, soil erosion and intensified agricultural practices lead to an

overall decrease in income of small-scale farmers. Moreover, mono cropping practiced in

many places adds to their problems through offering lower productivity. They also observed

that these farmers at most of the times do not wait for external interventions and develop their

own adaptation strategies. Finally they recommended that government policies and programs

providing additional options for secured income as well as provision of advanced

technologies for Agriculture might be useful.

Farmers perception regarding problems in the cultivation of selected leaf vegetables

in south Western Nigeria were inquired by Okunlola and Ofuya (2010). They reported that

the farmers encountered insect pest attacks on their vegetable farms resulting in reduced

quantity, quality and derivable income. The most prevalent insect-pests of selected vegetables

during the wet and dry seasons were Podagricas jostedti (Flea Beetles), P. uniforma (Flea

Beetles), Sylepta derogate (Leaf Rollers), Dysdercus superstitious (Cotton Stainers), and

Zonocerous variegatus (Grass hoppers) which defoliate the leaves of these vegetables. They

concluded that seventy six percent of the farmers were aware of indigenous methods for the

control of these pests. Moreover, there were significant associations between age, sex,

farming experience and use of plant extract for the control of insect pest in the leafy

vegetables. They added that the level of education does not affect use of plant extracts

because the method is indigenous, simple and locally available.

An analysis of the problems faced by farmers in the mountains of northwest Pakistanwas conducted by Shahbaz et al. (2010). They revealed that majority of the farmers in the

study area had small land holdings (less than 10 acres). Wheat was the major Rabi crop

whereas maize and rice were the major Kharif crops. Due to the absence of effective

agricultural extension system, the local farmers were using time old traditional technology of

crop and fruit production, and were obtaining very low yield. Due to small land holding and

illiteracy, most of the farmers could not access to agricultural loans offered by the banks.

They concluded that most of the farmers were not satisfied with the services of provincial

department of agriculture.

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Effect of small-scale irrigation on the income of rural farm households was studied by

Asayehegn et al. (2011), who revealed that income, gender, access to market information and

health condition of households were found to be important determinants for participating in

small scale irrigation schemes. They concluded that by improving rural farm households

access to market information and health services, could likely to improve participation in

irrigation schemes thereby improving of smallholder farmers income.

The socio-economic problems of small farmers in adopting new agricultural

technology were studied by Din (2011). He emphasized that low literacy rate of the small

farmers was the major hurdle in the adoption of new agricultural technology. Furthermore,

majority of the people were small landholders, which seem to be one of the major obstacles

towards the adoption of new technology. It was also found that majority of the small farmers

were having low incomes, due to which they were unable to adopt new farm technology.

Role of agricultural credit on production efficiency of farming sector in Pakistan was

studied by Ayaz et al. (2011). He found that agriculture sector of Pakistan still suffers from

low productivity, expensive financial support to the farmers, inefficient market structure and

improper research. Thus to develop farming sector and to increase the farming efficiency it

was recommended to enhance the accessibility of small and marginal farmer to formal

agricultural credit. The loan for the livestock sector should be enhanced which would

definitely enhance farmers' income and ultimately would reduce poverty.

A study regarding perception about problems of farming community at Hyderabad

Pakistan was conducted by Mari et al. (2011). They showed that the majority (83 %) of small

farmers faced problems of shortage of irrigation water, 76 % faced problem due to non-

availability of extension worker, 72 % faced problems due to lack of inputs and 63 % due to

lack of roads. The irregular supply of water and expensive rates of inputs were found to be

main causes for low yield in the study area. They found that small farmers do not care aboutthe use of recommended land preparation practices and conservation techniques. Therefore,

they recommended that extension workers should stimulate small farmers to adopt new

production techniques. An extension worker must visit small farmers field for their proper

guidance.

Pervaiz et al. (2011) concluded that most of the small farmers are out of access to get

loans because of the lack of guarantee and recovery threat. The loan availability usually

increases with the increase in farm size. The main restrictions in provision of loans to smallfarmers are high rate of interests, costly guarantee, complicated procedure and Islamic

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attitude. However, through the, one window operation small farmers are taught and

encouraged that how they could utilize the loans for improving farming activities. They

strongly recommended that the rate of interest should be reduced as well as subsidies must be

provided to the small farmers.

Socio-economic problems of small farmers in Pakistan were identified by Rehman et

al. (2012) who concluded that farmers face a lot of problems regarding irrigation water,

shortage of pesticide, education problem, social security and unavailability of credit for small

farmers etc. Institutions of credit provision usually sanction loans to land lords or business

class and not to the poor farmers.

Before designing this study a lot of literature in the form of research paper, books and

articles was reviewed. Previously conducted empirical research has declared that loweducation, low income, lack of awareness, poverty and social stress are major problems of

small farmers in different areas of the world. Tehsil D. G. Khan is the remote and backward

area where the number of small farmers is more than large farmers and also they are unaware

about the problems and their solutions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to know

the socio-economic problems faced by small farmers in Tehsil D.G. khan.

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CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The main methodology involves the explanation of tools and techniques employed for

data collection, analysis and interpretation of data relating to the present study. The method

and techniques of research along with statistical tests and operational definitions of the

concepts being used are briefly described here. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1992)

the scientific methodology is a system of explicit rules and procedures upon which whole

research is based and against which the claims for knowledge are evaluated.

Similarly, Goldhaber and Nieto (2010) explains the scientific methodology as, The

scientific methodology refers to body oftechniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring

new knowledge or correcting and integrating previous knowledge .The methods, concepts

and techniques applied in the present study are briefly stated as under:

3.1- The Population or universe:

The population under observation out of which a sample is chosen or data is collected

in a particular time frame is known as universe. For undertaking a scientific study selection

and specification of universe is the first and important step. The current study was therefore

aimed at exploratory study of socio-economic problems faced by small farmers in rural areas

of Tehsil Dera Ghazi Khan which is comprised of (according to district administration), thirty

four rural union councils.

3.2- Limitations of the study:

Small farmers who were above the age of 15 years were selected as respondents of

the study.

3.3- Data Collection:

The data was collected through interview schedule.

3.4- Interview Schedule:

The interview schedule was prepared to get information about the socio-economic

problems faced by small farmers in Tehsil D.G.Khan.

A structured interview schedule was prepared to collect the data. The interview

schedule was consisted of both multiple choice and close-ended questions. In the first part,

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there were general demographic questions. The questionnaire was prepared in English but the

questions were asked in Urdu and Saraiki. The researcher made his best effort not to alter the

sense of the question. Before asking the questions, the researcher made it clear to the

respondents that the purpose of his inquiry was just educational so that they might not have

any suspicion in the mind. The researcher also assured the respondents that the information

they will give would be confidential.

The interviews were conducted by researcher himself and other master level students.

Each respondent was conducted individually and the time consumed per interview was varied

25-30 minutes, but in some cases it took little more time.

3.5- Pre-testing:

The pre-testing is a tryout of the interviewing schedule to see how it works and

whatever changes are necessary before actual data collection. To judge the authenticity of the

questionnaire, the interview schedule was pre-tested on ten respondents. After making

necessary modification in the light of pre-testing the interview schedule was finalized for

carrying out field work.

3.6- Field Experience:

Data collection is not an easy task. Some difficulties were encountered at the time of

data collection. The major problem was to explain the purpose of doing the research because

in our society which is criticized for low level of education, respondents found it difficult to

comprehend the significance of research. Sometimes a visitor came and tried to join the

respondent and answer some of the questions. This created a confusion and over exposure.

On proper advice, the situation was made normal. The following careful observations were

done before and during the interviewing schedule;

1. The researcher had to introduce himself with each and every respondent prior to data

collection.

2. Some of respondents regarded interviewer as a reporter of government and thought

that government could find them for their comments. This misunderstanding was

removed by explaining the purpose of research and by assuring them that the

information collected from them will be kept confidential and will only be used for

research purpose.

3. The researcher had collected the information in the field at the doorstep of thefarmers.

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Anyhow, the collection of data was also interesting to some extent, which was

completed within a month.

3.7- Sampling:

Time and cost are normally limited factors in social research. It is therefore more

emotional and efficient to base the studies on sample rather than to study the entire universe

(Good and Hatt, 1952).

According to District administration there are 41 union councils in Tehsil Dera Ghazi

Khan. Seven union councils belong to urban area and 34 union councils belong to rural areas.

Out of these thirty four rural union councils, four union councils (Haji Ghazi, Gadai, Khakhi

and Paighan) were selected and from these union councils a sample of 120 respondents was

selected.

3.8- Coding:

After editing the interviewing schedule, a coding sheet was prepared to convert

qualitative data into quantitative form and then data was tabulated.

3.9- Conceptualization:

Conceptualization is used to define certain concepts used in research work in order to

clearly define their meanings to the readers. Conceptualization defines certain scientific

terminologies within research framework or design in order to clearly communicate the

meaning to the reader. Conceptualization is much more difficult in social sciences as

compared to any other discipline, because concepts are sometimes used with difficult

meaning by different researchers. Some of the concepts used in the present study were

operationalized as under.

Concepts are the abstracts used by the scientists as building block for the

development of propositions and theories, which explain and predict phenomenon. In social

sciences, conceptualization is much more difficult as compared to any other disciplines

because the same concepts are sometimes used with different meanings by different

researchers. The following were the concepts used in the study:

3.9.1- Socio-Economic Characteristics:

Socio-economic status is a complex concept. It refers to the social standing of the

individual in the society to which he belongs. The socio-economic status has been defined as

A comparison of index of socio-economic status, as it is a complex of attitudes that are

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interrelated, but do not form a single dimension, and thus should not be measured directly as

a totality.

Therefore, socio-economic status comprises of various factors and each factor further

has several indices; every society according to the social norms and values determines socio-economic status of a person. For example, the socio-economic status of the parents influences

the attitude, aspirations and other attributes of personality of their children.

The indicators of socio-economic status are:

1. Respondents education level

2. Respondents income

3. Marital possession

3.9.2- Age:

Age is an important characteristic of human being and attitudes vary considerably

with the age. In the present study, age was defined as total number of years completed by the

respondents since their birth to the time of interviews. The information collected about the

age of respondents was categorized as under:

1. 16-21years

2. 22-27 years

3. 28-33 years

4. 34 year and above

3.9.3- Family type:

Family is a group of intimate people emotionally involved and related whether by

blood, marriage or adoption, responsible for the production, rearing and living together.

The following three major types of a family were discussed in this study.

1. Nuclear

2. Joint

3. Extended

3.9.4- Education:

Education is one of the most important factors for variation in a knowledge, attitude

and prestige of an individual. Education is meant for the formal and informal year of

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schooling by the respondents in educational institutes like school, college or any other

religious institute. Education was categorized as under,

1. Illiterate

2. Primary

3. Middle

4. Matric

5. Above matric

3.10- Rural Area

What makes the difference between so called the urban and the rural area? Some

researchers have identified minimum social characteristics of rural areas and concluded that

all societies that exhibit social characteristics that differ from such are urban areas. They

therefore described the rural area as a society that is small, isolated, less-literate and

homogeneous with a strong sense of group solidarity. The rural area of Tehsil D.G.Khan was

therefore, selected for current research purpose. According to Fasoranti (2008), the ways of

living are conventionalized into coherent system, which is called culture while the behavior is

traditional, spontaneous, uncritical and personal.

3.11- Marital status:

A demographic parameter indicating a person's status with respect to marriage, divorce,

widowhood, singleness, etc. was also studied.

1. Single

2. Married

3.12- Analysis of Data:

The collected data was analyzed by applying statistical techniques. The following

statistical techniques were used in the present study.

Part-A deals with uni-variate analysis, i.e the analysis of the respondents socio-economic

characteristics like opinion about the problems faced by small farmers.

Part-B deals with bivariate analysis showing relationship among various socio-economic

characteristics and their opinion about the problems faced by small farmers.

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3.12.1- Uni-Variate analysis

Uni-variate is a method for analyzing data on a single variable at a time. This part

begins with uni-variate analysis of different factors that play most important role in

determining the socio-economic status of small farmers. In this part frequency distribution

and percentage distribution was analyzed.

3.12.2- Bi-Variate Analysis

Bi-Variate analysis is a technique of data analysis in which two variables are

examined simultaneously for association with each other. Relationship and association

between dependent variable and independent variable was analyzed by using chi-square and

Gamma statistics.

3.12.3- Percentage:

For the simple analysis of data, percentage test was applied as a statistical technique.

The formula for calculating the percentage is as under:

P=F/N*100

Where

F = Frequency of desired class

N= Total no of frequencies

P= Percentage

3.12.4- Chi-Square Test:

To test the significance of association between independent and dependent variables,

chi-square test was used. The formula for chi-square is as under;

(O - E)2

X2 = --------------E

Where

O = Observed frequency

E = Expected frequency

= the Sum total of observations

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3.12.5- Gamma statistics:

Gamma statistics was applied to ascertain the relation between certain independents

and dependent variables. The Gamma was used with the following formula.

NS-ND

Gamma = -------------

NS+ND

Where

NS = same order pairs

ND = different orders

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It is imperative to carry out detailed survey for finding facts related to any social

problem. Analysis of data leads to inferences without which no study is useful.

Generalizations and conclusions are drawn on the basis of characteristics and attitude of the

respondents. The general objective of this research was to know the socio-economic

problems faced by small farmers in Tehsil D.G. Khan. In this regard, this effort has been

made to discuss, analyze and interpret the relevant data in order to draw pertinent conclusions

and formulate appropriate suggestion in the light of study results. The suggestions given in

this chapter may prove to be helpful in resolving issues of small farmers and would possibly

develop positive attitude towards new technologies among small farmers.

Table 1. Distribution of the respondents according to their age

Age of the respondents (Years) Frequency Percentage

16-21 08 6.66

22-27 21 17.50

28-33 13 10.83

34 and above 78 65.0

Total 120 100

Age is considered as the number of complete years lived by the respondents. It was

observed that the majority of the respondents (65.0 %) belong to the age group 34 and above

followed by 17.50 % falling in age group of 22-27 years while about17.5 percent of the

respondents lie in 22-27 years of age group and a very few of them (12.5 %) belongs to age

group 16-21 (Table 1).

However, these results are more or less in line with the findings of Adebayo and

Adeola (2008), Okunlola and Ofuya (2010), Din (2011) and Mari et al. (2011) who indicated

that in a rural community majority the respondents fall within the age group of 20-49 years.

Although they used different age group categories but we can easily conclude from their

findings that more than 88 % respondents belonged to the age of 36 and above years. It is

quite evident from the data presented by them that majority of the farmers involved in the

farming were above 35 years of age, while below that age group i.e. a younger lot was less

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interested in agricultural activities. It is mainly because young people were either joining

services or studying at colleges and universities. However, they were more responsive to

change.

Table 2 Distribution of the respondents according to their education level

Education of the respondents Frequency Percentage

Illiterate 56 46.66

Primary 21 17.50

Middle 12 10.00

Matric 17 14.16

Above matric 14 11.66

Total 120 100

Education is a method of influencing the human behavior. The above shown Table 2

represents that the majority of the total surveyed respondents (46.66 %) were illiterate

followed by primary education (17.50 %). While 10.0 % of the respondents were middle

pass, 14.16 percent were matric and only 11.66 percent were above matric level category.

These results are also almost in line with the findings of Adebayo and Adeola (2008).

They indicated that, in Surulere local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria, 41% of the

respondents were illiterate while 59 % of the respondents were educated.

Ali (1987) carried out a study regarding investigation into the social and economic

constraints to the adoption of improved agricultural technology by small farmers in District

Kasur. He observed that education, income, size of land holding and sources of information

were found to be positively correlated with the adoption of improved agricultural practices.

The adoption rate in highly educated farmers is high as compared to less educated farmers in

all areas of the country.

Keeping in view this study where nearly 50 % respondents are illiterate and only a

very few (10 %) are above Matric level of education it can be concluded that the adoption of

innovation among small farmers is very low and diffusion process is also quite slow. It is also

concluded that highly educated farmers can manage their problems in a better way as

compared to the illiterates.

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Table 3. Distribution of the respondents according to their marital status

Marital status of the respondents Frequency Percentage

Single 16 13.33

Married 104 86.67

Total 120 100

Marital status refers to present status of a respondent whether married or unmarried.

The above Table 3 shows that a large number of the respondents (86.67 %) were married and

13.33 percent of the respondents were unmarried. These results are comparable and also

almost in line with the findings of Adebayo and Adeola (2008) who argued that 76 % of the

respondents in Surulere local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria, were married.

Table 4. Distribution of the respondents according to their number of children

Number of children Frequency Percentage

No child 02 1.66

1-3 28 23.33

4-6 42 35.00

More than 6 32 26.66

Total 106 86.66

Fertility rate is expected to be higher among rural communities which sometimes

create problems by raising the dependency ratio in the family. In this regard information

regarding the number of children is gathered in Table 4 which clearly indicates that the

majority of the respondents (35.0 %) had 4-6 numbers of children followed by more than 6

numbers of children (26.66 %), 1-3 numbers of children (23.33 %) and no child (1.66 %).

These studies show that more than 61 percent respondents had 4 or more than 4 children and

it means having big family size.

These studies are almost in line with those of Adebayo and Adeola (2008) who

revealed that respondents in Nigeria had large family size with majority falling within the

range of 6-10 persons per family. Odoemenem and Adebisi (2011) conducted a study in

Niger state of Nigeria on small scale farmers regarding sustainable agriculture and revealed

that majority of the respondents (51 %) have above 10 members of household. They

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concluded that the higher the number of people in the household the more the availability of

labor for the farming.

Now we can conclude from our study that as the family size increases the more will

be the availability of labor to that family but at the same time due to the dependency ofchildren to the parents it becomes difficult with some families to maintain and carry on their

resources. As there is high inflation and less means of earnings/ resources so it becomes

difficult of some big families to make both ends meet. It is a general slogan in Pakistan

created by family planning department, Kam bachay khush haal gharaana. But in rural

areas mostly the people have big families.

Table 5. Distribution of the respondents according to their family type

Family type of the respondents Frequency Percentage

Nuclear 17 14.17

Joint 96 80.00

Extended 07 05.83

Total 120 100

Family consists of present couple and their children blood relative, married persons

and their children. The results presented here (Table 5) show, that a large number of the

respondents, (80.0 %) were living in joint family type while a few of the respondents viz.,

5.83 % and 14.17 % had extended and nuclear family type respectively. Usually it is

observed that in joint and extended families the participation of family labor is expected to be

higher than nuclear families.

These results are almost in line with those of Sarwar (2011) who concluded that about

70 % respondents were living in joint family system.

Generally people living in joint family system share their resources and can sustain

with limited resources. Mostly the small farmers in our country live in joint family systems as

they have limited resources and in this way they sustain well which could not be possible

living in extended and nuclear systems.

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Table 6. Distribution of the respondents according to their family size

Family size of the respondents Frequency Percentage

1-5 13 10.83

6-10 51 42.50

Above 10 56 46.66

Total 120 100

Family size is usually considered as an important variable which determine the socio-

economic status of a community and also affect the household decisions regarding

agriculture. The results gathered in Table 6, evidently proved that majority of the respondents

(46.66 %) said that they have above 10 family members followed by 42.50 % falling in group

of 6-10 family members while a very few 10.83 percent of the respondents have 1-5 members

in their families.

These results are contradictory to the findings of Adebayo and Adeola (2008) who

reported that large family size is falling with a good pace in rural areas while in our studies

the small farmers with large family sizes have financial burden and need to get loans

especially in off seasons to maintain their livelihood, to educate their children and for their

basic health requirements etc.

Table 7. Distribution of the respondents according to their residential status

Residential status of respondents Frequency Percentage

Own house 116 96.67

Hired house 04 3.33

Total 120 100

House ownership is considered as a vital determinant of socio-economic strength of a

person. Ownership of a house is an ultimate and exclusive right conferred by a lawful claim

or title, and subject to certain restrictions to enjoy, occupy, possess, rent, and sell. The facts

mentioned in Table 7 expressed that except a few (3.33 %) almost all respondents (96.67 %)

who are residing in rural areas had their own residential houses and not the hired or rented

ones.

These studies are in line with the findings of Sarwar (2011) who reported in his study

that 93% of the respondents had their own houses.

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The hired houses again put some financial burden upon the farmers which forces them

to get loans.

Table 8. Distribution of the respondents according to their house area

House area of the respondents Frequency Percentage

1-5 Marlas 18 15.00

6-10 Marlas 32 26.67

Above 10 Marlas 70 58.33

Total 120 100

A building for human habitation, especially one where a family or a small group of

people lives is called a house. The figures in Table 8 as mentioned above showed that the

majority of the respondents (58.33 %) said that they have more than 10 marlas house, while

26.67 percent replied that they have above 6-10 marlas house area and a few (15.0 %) of the

respondents said that they have 1-5 marlas of house area. In rural areas the houses are usually

of large sizes and hence small farmers dont feel problems like small houses as are felt in

urban areas.

Table 9. Distribution of the respondents according to their house type

House type of the respondents Frequency Percentage

Kacha 35 29.16

Pacca 38 31.67

Mixed 47 39.16

Total 120 100

House means a place where people live together. Type of house is another important

variable that reflects the socio-economic status of a respondent. In this regard, results

presented in Table 9 reveals that majority of the respondents (39.16 %) lived in mixed type of

houses while 31.67 percent of the respondents replied to be living in pacca houses while

29.16 percent of the respondents said that they had kacha house. It is generally observed that

most of the respondents who had pacca houses feel no tension regarding their houses and can

perform their field operations in an area with good pace as compared to those residing inkacha houses.

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Table 10. Distribution of the respondents according to their land size

Agricultural land size Frequency Percentage

Up to 5 acres 81 72.97

6-10 acre 20 18.02

Above 10 acre 10 9.00

Total 111 100

This study was specifically concerned with investigating the problems of small

farmers and in this regard results presented in Table 10 shows that majority of the

respondents (72.97 %) said they were having up to 5 acres of agricultural land. Thepercentage of farmers having 6-10 or more than 10 acres were 18.02 % and 9.0 %

respectively which is quite low.

These results are in line with the Economic Survey, Government of Pakistan, 2003,

MINFAL which reported that in Pakistan the size of land is very small and it has decreased

overtime and also those of Rehman et al. (2012) who conducted a study to reveal the socio-

economic problems of farmers in Sukkur district of Pakistan and reported that the size of land

holding is continuously decreasing with the passage of time due to the law of inheritance in

Pakistan. They further concluded that the holding of two or less than two acres does not allow

the use of mechanized method of cultivation. The fragmented and small size of holding is an

important factor of low agricultural productivity in the country.

Table 11. Distribution of the respondents according to their cultivated land area

Cultivated land area (Acres) Frequency Percentage

Up to 5 acre 83 74.77

6-10 acre 18 16.22


Total 111 100

Cultivated agricultural land means production of food and fiber by preparing the land

for growing crops (especially on a large scale). For this purpose Table 11 indicated that large

number of the respondents (74.77 %) said that they cultivated up to 5 acre land and 16.22

percent said that they cultivated 6-10 acre land while a few (9.00 %) of the respondents

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replied that they cultivated more than 10 acre land. These results proved that majority of the

farmers in the study area were small landholders.

Din (2011) carried out socio-economic study of small farmers in three villages in

Mardan, Pakistan. His study was focused on small farmers having less than 12 acres of land .

This study is in line with those of Ali, (2010) and Shahbaz et al. (2010). Shahbaz et al.

conducted analysis for the problems faced by small farmers in mountainous area of Pakistan

and revealed that majority of the farmers in the study area had small land holdings (less than

10 acres). Similarly, Ali discussed and reported that the small farmers are increasing in our

country as the lands are dividing generation by generation. Therefore, there are large numbers

of farmers who own less than 4 acres of land. These small farmers ultimately face plenty of

problems like difficulty in purchase of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc. Additionally, a large

area of land owned by feudal lords is cultivated by the small farmers, who work on their

lands as tenants. This uncertain situation of occupancy neither creates incentive for work nor

does attract capital investment in cultivation. Hence, the small farmers cannot get high yields

and remain at lower levels of income.

Table 12. Distribution of the respondents according to rented land

Land on rent Frequency Percentage

Yes 35 29.16

No 85 70.83

Total 120 100

Rent is a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in

exchange for a specified rent. Table 12 shows that most of the respondents (70.83 %) agreed

that they dont get any land on rent while 29.16 percent of the respondents said that they do

get some land on rent.

It is evident that small farmers do get some land on rent to have some more earnings

and some studies have revealed that such small farmers also get loans to maintain their farms

properly. But the number of such small farmers is very low who get some land on rent due to

a lot of factors. Some of the factors include high inflation, uncertainty in crop production,

high seed and fertilizer rates, increasing pest problems and pesticides, irrigation water

availability in some areas, the ever changing political situation of the country etc.

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Table 13. Distribution of the respondents according to size of land taken on rent

Land taking area Frequency Percentage

Up to 5 acre 27 22.50

6-10 acre 06 05.00


Respondents who asked no 85 70.83

Total 120 100

Taking land on rent means the act of someone who takes land on rent for cultivation.

The results presented in the Table 13 shows that a large number of the respondents 22.50

percent said that they took up to 5 acres land on rent and only 5.0 percent of the respondents

said that they took 6-10 acres of agricultural land while a very few 1.66 percent of the

respondents said that they took more than 10 acres of land on rent.

CBS (1997) revealed that amongst the agricultural households, 95 percent operate

their own land whereas 6.4percent also rent out part of their land. About 29 percent of the

households work on rented land along with their own land. About 5 percent of the households

work on rented land only.

Table 14. Distributions of the respondents according to land given on rent

Land given on rent Frequency Percentage

Yes 06 05.00

No 114 95.00

Total 120 100

As some of the respondents took land on rent for cultivation, similarly some others

give their land on rent to others. Farmers usually give their land to someone and take money.

Table 14 shows that the majority of the respondents (95 %) denied and said that they dont

give land on rent while only 05 percent of the respondents agreed that they give land on rent.

In many cases when farmers fail to get their maximum produce of the crops they give their

lands on rent for some money. This situation is also not good as the person taking on rent will

not take care of the land and will try to maximize the crop produce by any means other than

the healthier ones.

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Table 15. Distribution of the respondents according to size of land given on rent

Area of land give on rent Frequency Percentage

Up to 5 acre 05 04.16

6-10 acre 01 0.83

Respondents who said no 114 95.00

Total 120 100

It is important to note the trend of giving land on rent especially among small farmers

who usually are unable to cultivate their lands due to increasing cost of production. Table

15 shows that a very small proportion of the respondents (4.16 %) said that they give up to 5

acres of land on rent while only 1.0 respondent out of 120 (0.83 %) said that they give 6-10

acre land on rent while 95 percent of the respondents did not give their land on rent. The

results indicated that the trend was weak about giving land on rent in the study area. The

reason might be that most of the farmers in the study area are small land owners and they

want to cultivate their own land to get maximum benefits.

Table 16. Distribution of the respondents according to their tenancy status

Tenancy status of the respondents Frequency Percentage

Own cultivator 80 66.66

Contractor 08 6.67

Owner cum tenant 29 24.16

Tenant 03 2.50

Total 120 100

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Tenancy means a piece of land held by a tenant of a property owner. It is believed that

the tenancy and land ownership structure is very important in determining the level of

agricultural development through affecting the production efficiency. Results regarding the

tenancy status of respondents are gathered in Table16 which clearly shows, that most of the

respondents (66.66 %) said they cultivate their lands themselves, 24.16 percent replied that

they were owner cum tenant and 6.67 percent of the respondents said that they were

contractors and a very few (2.50 %) of the respondents replied that they were tenant by tenant

status. So, study revealed that majority of the respondents have their own land and they were

involved in cultivating it by themselves.

The results of present finding are comparable with those of Mari et al. (2011) who

showed that 41% of the respondents in their study were tenants, 15% were owner-cum-tenants while 44% of the respondents were own cultivators.

Table 17. Distribution of the respondents according to monthly income

Monthly income (Rs.) Frequency Percentage

Up to 7000 68 56.66

7001-15000 25 20.83

15001-25000 19 15.83

Above 25000 8 06.66

Total 120 100

Income is the flow (that is, measured per unit of time) of revenue accumulating to a

person. Income is said to be the most important factor determining the socio-economic status

of a community. Income is also important for the sustainable agricultural production.

Therefore, farming communitys response is presented in Table 17 regarding the level of

income which clearly shows, that majority of the respondents (56.66 percent) said that they

have up to Rs. 7000 monthly income. Another 20.83 percent of the respondents said that they

have Rs. 7001-15000 monthly income while 15.83 percent replied that they get Rs. 15001-

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25000 monthly income while a very few of the respondents (6.66 %) replied that they have

more than Rs. 25000 monthly income.

These results are in line with the findings of Din (2011) who studied the socio-

economic problems of small farmers in adopting new agricultural technologies during a case

study in three villages in Mardan, Pakistan. He reported that the farmers were having low

incomes, due to which they were unable to adopt new farm technology. Similarly, these

findings are also in line with other researchers like Mahmood and Hussain (2004), Meer

(2004), Jafferet al. (2006), Sabiret al. (2006), Farouque and Takeya (2007) and Kumar and

Bhagat (2009) etc.

Table 18. Distribution of the respondents according to use of irrigation source

The information regarding the source of irrigation for respondents is collected and

given in Table 18 which expressed that most of the respondents (90.83 %) replied that they

use tube well water for irrigation purpose. Similarly, 80.0 percent of the respondents reported

34

Use of irrigation sources Response Frequency PercentageTube Well Yes 109 90.83

No 11 09.16

Total 120 100.00

Canal Yes 96 80.00

No 24 20.00

Total 120 100.00

Turbine Yes 06 05.00

No 114 95.00

Total 120 100.00

Hill Torrent Yes 0 0.0

No 120 100.00

Total 120 100.00

Any Other Yes 0 0.0

No 120 100.00

Total 120 100.00


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that they used canal water for irrigation while a few viz., 05.0 percent of the respondents

favors to use turbine for irrigation of their agricultural lands.

The current findings are in line with those of Mari et al. (2011) who reported that the

majority (83 %) of the farmers faces problems of shortage of canal water and hence the

farmers use tube well water for irrigation purpose. Hence the majority of the farmers use tube

well water for irrigating their crops.

On the other hand, these results are contradictory to the findings of Rehman et al.

(2012) who indicated that the respondents face problems in accessing canal water for

irrigation purpose. They showed that 70 % of their land is irrigated by canal water, and 30 %

irrigated by sub soil water. Data collected by them showed that 90 % of the respondents have

no irrigated water at proper time, and 10 % responded agreed that they manage to have

irrigated water at proper time. Further it is revealed that there is 60 % natural shortage of

water, 10 % non-regulation of water and 10 % responded any other reason of water shortage.

It can be concluded from the current findings that although the canal water is cheaper

and good source for irrigation purpose but mostly the farmers irrigate their crops by tube well

water because they could access canal water.

Table 19. Distribution of the respondents according to ownership of tractor

Table 19 regarding ownership of tractors, revealed that the majority of the

respondents (84.17 %) said that they hired the tractors for their use in the field while 15.83

percent of the respondents were having their own tractor for their agricultural activities.

The results of present findings are in line with those of Khan et al. (2007) who

identified that the use of tractor on rent is common among farming community which raises

their input costs making them less competitive in the market.

35

Ownership of Tractor Frequency Percentage

Owned 19 15.83

Hired 101 84.17

Total 120 100


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As most of the studies done by other workers revealed that the technological

improvement has changed the traditional system and pattern of agriculture but at the same

time the small farmers face least approach to innovations and new technology as small

farmers are still facing a lot of constraints and problems in every step of agriculture

production which ultimately affects the pace of socioeconomic development of farmers and

their livelihood.

Table20. Distribution of the respondents according to the purpose of using tractor

Tractor is usually used to perform different tasks in agricultural production system

like ploughing, threshing, leveling etc. The respondents were asked about their use of tractor

in different agricultural practices and it was found that majority of the respondents (98 %)

said they use tractor for cultivation. Table 20 shows that 66.67 % respondents were agreed

that they used tractor for ploughing on their agricultural land while 43.33 % replied that they

36

Purpose of tractor using Response Frequency Percentage

For cultivation Yes 118 98.33

No 02 1.66

Total 120 100.00

For ploughing Yes 80 66.67

No 40 33.33

Total 120 100.00

For sowing Yes 52 43.33

No 68 56.67

Total 120 100.00

For leveling Yes 113 94.17

No 07 05.83

Total 120 100.00

Threshing wheat Yes 112 93.33

No 08 06.67

Total 120 100.00


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use tractor for sowing wheat. The use of tractor in leveling and threshing was 94.17 and

93.33 %, respectively.


identified that it is very difficult by the farmers mainly due to financial reasons to useimproved technology like the use of tractor for cultivation, ploughing and sowing etc. The

bank loans are also limited due to which farming community feels it difficult to use improved

technology for enhancement of their production. Due to limited resources they can only use

one or two farm machinery as these may raises their input costs on one hand although also

facilitate them in achieving their higher productivity goals.

Table21. Distribution of the respondents according to their use of different farm

implements

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A farm implement is used to break up the surface of the soil. It is reflected in Table 21

that the majority of the respondents, 95.00 percent replied that tractor was used for threshing

in their farms, 04.16 percent were of the view that they used reaper and 14.17 percent were

using ridger with tractor at their farms. Those respondents who use the rotavator at their

farms were 86.66 percent, 2.5 percent of the respondents were using the seed drills at farms

and only 01 out of 120 respondents (0.83 percent) was using the harvester at his farms fields.

It is conclusive from these results that the use of farm machinery in agricultural production

was limited to some extent except in case of harvester and thresher which identified one of

the main issues of small scale farmers in Pakistan.

38

Using of farm machinery Response Frequency Percentage

Thresher Yes 114 95.00

No 06 05.00

Total 120 100.00

Reaper Yes 05 04.16

No 115 95.83

Total 120 100.00

Harvester Yes 01 0.83

No 119 99.17

Total 120 100.00

Seed driller Yes 03 02.50

No 117 97.50

Total 120 100.00

Rotavator Yes 104 86.66

No 16 13.34

Total 120 100.00

Ridger Yes 68 14.16

No 52 56.67

Total 120 100.00


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inferred from his findings by studying the major constraints faced by small farmers in

achieving higher production. He concluded that the less use of agricultural innovation/

implements like tractors, drills, harvesters, ridgers etc. by the small farmers is only due to the

less available resources or money as these may increase their input costs which in turn make

them less competitive in the open market. As we know and also other workers revealed that

the technological improvement has changed the traditional system and pattern of agriculture

but at the same time the small farmers are facing least approach to innovations and new

technology as small farmers are still facing a lots of constraints and problems in every step of

agriculture production which ultimately affects the pace of socioeconomic development of

farmers and their livelihood.

Similarly, some studies regarding financial burden on small farmers (Terry, 2004),

revealed that farmers do not purchase according to their needs at a particular time hence

increasing financial burden on them. Under such situations, the small farmers need to get

loans to meet their requirements and so cant enjoy modern machinery like tractors to

enhance their productivity. The main reason behind the limited use of farm implements could

be non-feasibility of small farmers to adopt mechanized practices because of increasing costs.

Table22. Distribution of the respondents according to type of crops sown

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The main cropping pattern of the study area was wheat-cotton along with combination

of some other major and minor crops. Table 22 reveals that the farmers response was about

100 % regarding their preference of crop in Rabi season. Similarly, majority of the

respondents (68.33 percent) were involved in cotton production. Apart from these a few of

the farmers were also engaged in the cultivation of rice and maize as well.

Rehman et al. (2012) revealed that main crops of Pakistan are classified in to two

main categories viz., food crops and non-food crops. The food crops include wheat, rice,

maize, grain, and pulse. The cash crops are cotton, sugarcane. Wheat is the principal food or

staple crop of the people in our country. The area under wheat crop is in thousands of

hectares while its output stood at millions tons and it contributed 13.1% to value added in

agriculture. Rice is the 2nd largest food crop in Pakistan. It is now a major export item and

contributes to GDP. Pakistan produces finest quality of rice named as Basmati. It enjoysmonopoly in the international market. After Thailand, Vietnam, USA and India, Pakistan is

40

Type of crops that they

sow

Response Frequency Percentage

Cotton Yes 82 68.33

No 38 31.66

Total 120 100.00

Wheat Yes 109 90.83

No 11 9.17

Total 120 100.00

Sugar cane Yes 20 16.66

No 100 83.34

Total 120 100.00

Rice Yes 52 43.33

No 68 56.66

Total 120 100.00

Maize Yes 04 03.33

No 116 96.67

Total 120 100.00


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the 5th largest rice exporting country in the world. Maize is an important food grain as well

as raw material for edible oil production. It is also used to produce starch and poultry food

mixes. Cotton is the most important cash crop of Pakistan in the term of area and value

addition. It is the main foreign exchange earner for the country with the production of million

bales. Cotton now is the golden as the silver fiber of Pakistan. Cotton brings cash return to

the farmers. It supplies raw material to the textile industry and is the main employment

generating crop for the people living in both rural and urban areas and also contributes to

GDP. Sugar cane crop servers as a major raw material for production of white sugar and

gur and is also a cash crop.

As the above mentioned crops are very important for the farmers from edible or cash

point of view as well as for Pakistan also directly or indirectly hence the main croppingpattern of the area includes these crops. These results clearly indicate that although the study

area possesses squeezed land distribution even it doesnt have any serious effect on cropping

pattern of the area.

Table23. Distribution of the respondents according to mode of cultivation

Mode of cultivation Frequency Percentage

Traditional 109 90.83

Modern 11 09.17

Total 120 100

The main difference between traditional and modern mode of cultivation is adoption

and non-adoption of certain improved cultiv

thesis by farhan birmani

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