Agri yields fall by 4.5pc in 2015

KARACHI: The yield of major crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane, and maize has declined by 4.5 percent in Pakistan in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 due to use of poor quality seeds and low use of fertiliser, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
"...the use of quality seeds and an efficient application of fertiliser are important for improving the crop yields...," said the central bank in its report on the State of Pakistan's Economy for the third quarter of fiscal year 15. "...the fertilizer off-take was low as income of growers came under pressure due to falling prices of agri produce," it added.
The SBP reported the yield of sugarcane has declined by approximately 4.5 percent in the fiscal year 2015 as compared to an increase of around two percent in the previous year 2014. Similarly, the yield of wheat fell by close to two percent against half a percent rise last year; the yield of rice reduced by approximately half a percent against surge of just less than two percent last year, and maize dropped its yield by around two percent in the fiscal year 2015 against over six percent surge in the fiscal year 2014.
Cotton was the only one major crop of Pakistan which maintained growth in the year 2015.
Its yield improved by around four percent against less than half a percent in the previous year, the SBP report said.
Reportedly, average yield of wheat was 2,797 kilogram/acre in the fiscal year 2014. Average yield of rice was 1,400 kilogram/acre in 2015; sugarcane was 3,000 kilogram/acre, while average yield of cotton was 1,040 kilogram/acre.
The bank maintained the production of sugarcane declined by 7.1 percent to 62.7 million tonne in 2015; the production of wheat fell by 1.9 percent to 25.5 million tonne; production of maize decreased by five percent to 4.7 million tonne.
Production of rice and cotton surged by three percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, to seven million tonne and 14 million bales, it said.
The State Bank said decline in yield of all major crops (except cotton) during fiscal year 15 was a key concern in the agriculture sector. “This is disappointing given that the yields are already low in Pakistan."
There is a need to make farmers aware of the best agriculture practices in the area of land preparation, sowing, water application, use of fertilisers, plant protection, harvesting and post harvesting to fetch higher yield, it said.
A better performance by the livestock subsector during the year, however, helped the entire agriculture sector to have surpassed the previous year's growth level. "...the overall growth in agriculture fell short of the target for the third consecutive year."
Moreover, minor crops posted a modest growth of 1.1 percent against the expectation of a strong recovery from significant losses last year. "This poor performance of the crop sector was mainly due to low prices received by growers in the last season and adverse weather," the bank said.
Stagnant sugarcane prices in 2013-14 amid rising input costs, discouraged farmers from growing sugarcane during 2015. Similarly, in the case of cotton, growers did not wait for third or fourth picking due to unattractive market prices. As for wheat, the prolonged low temperatures and hailstorm at the time of harvest partly damaged the crop, the SBP report said.
Within minor crops, pulses (gram, mash and moong), vegetables (especially potatoes and onion), and fruits performed better, whereas oilseeds (rapeseed, mustard, sunflower, and canola) recorded a decline as falling international prices translated into lower domestic prices of oilseed crops.
Despite this weak performance from the crop sector, agriculture still managed to outgrow last year’s level, largely due to some recovery in livestock.
The value addition in livestock includes headcount of animals and their products (milk, meat, wool, etc.); poultry and its products (meat and eggs); and animal husbandry practices.