Alarming Decline in Agricultural Performance

According to the survey, the agriculture sector recorded a meager growth rate of just 0.56–0.6% in the past year—the lowest in the last nine years. Without the moderate growth in livestock (4.72%), fisheries (1.42%), and forestry (3.3%), the dismal performance of major crops would have dragged the overall sector into even deeper decline.

The most staggering drop occurred in major crops, whose collective production fell by 13.49%. Cotton suffered a massive 30.7% decline, with its cultivated area shrinking by 15.7%. Cotton ginning also declined by 19%, compounding the crisis. Wheat production declined by 8.9%, primarily because the government, despite earlier promises, refused to purchase wheat from farmers at PKR 3,900 per 40 kg, leaving growers in despair.

Other critical crops like sugarcane, rice, and maize also registered declines ranging from 1% to 15%.

In December 2024, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz claimed that wheat had been cultivated on 16.5 million acres—achieving 82% of the province’s target. However, ground realities have proven otherwise. All major farmer organizations had already criticized the government’s failure to procure wheat at the promised support price and warned that growers were abandoning wheat cultivation. This year’s Economic Survey validates those concerns.

 The Real Causes Ignored

Instead of acknowledging its policy failures, the government blames climate change: erratic monsoons, delayed sowing, and extreme heat. But the reality is that the government’s neoliberal agricultural policies have failed miserably. By exposing farmers to the whims of the free market and refusing to implement meaningful protections, these policies have caused a steep drop in production.

For the first time, the survey admits that cultivated area has decreased—especially for cotton and wheat. This has had a direct impact on national food security. Agriculture contributes 23–24% to Pakistan’s GDP and provides employment to 37% of the workforce. A crisis in this sector affects the entire economy.

 Hollow Claims and Failing Schemes

Despite Maryam Nawaz’s bold claims of allocating PKR 400 billion for various agricultural schemes—including PKR 64 billion specifically for boosting crop production—the outcomes have been dismal.

The much-touted “Kisan Card” scheme, which promised interest-free loans for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers owning 1 to 12.5 acres, has been a disappointment. While PKR 53 billion was allocated for the Rabi season under this scheme—and PKR 32 billion disbursed—wheat production still fell by 9%. This proves the scheme did little to support actual cultivation.

The government also claimed that 750,000 farmers had received Kisan Cards and were allowed to withdraw up to 30% of the loan in cash. But the survey exposes these boasts as false. The Kisan Card is not a grant—it is a loan that must be repaid, adding to the farmers’ debt burden instead of offering real support.

What was truly needed was the enforcement of Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and a shift towards sustainable, ecological farming systems. Ironically, such a system was once introduced in Pakistan but is now being successfully implemented by farmers in Indian Punjab—while Pakistan remains stuck in cycles of debt and inefficient subsidy programs.

 Corporate Farming and the Green Pakistan Initiative

Another failed scheme is the Green Tractor Scheme, under which 9,500 tractors were distributed with subsidies. But instead of reducing tractor prices, the government offered loans—again pushing farmers into debt.

The third phase of the Super Seeder Program, which offered machinery at 60% subsidy, also failed to attract farmers.

The most damaging initiative, however, has been the Green Pakistan Initiative—particularly the Cholistan Canal Project, which aimed to bring 480,000 hectares of land under cultivation by constructing six new canals. Thanks to a powerful public resistance movement—especially in Sindh—this plan was halted. Lawyers, civil society, and nationalist groups organized an 11-day protest in Babarloui (April 2025), demanding a stop to new canals that would deprive Sindh of its share of Indus River water. Following the protests, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) announced a freeze on the canal construction—marking a significant victory for people’s resistance.

Yet, the Green Pakistan Initiative continues to symbolize the militarization of agriculture. This project is 99.9% owned by the military. On 15 February 2025, COAS General Asim Munir and CM Maryam Nawaz jointly inaugurated it in Cholistan. The plan includes:
•⁠ ⁠Green Agri Malls offering subsidized seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and drones;
•⁠ ⁠Smart Agri Farms over 5,000 acres using advanced irrigation;
•⁠ ⁠Research Centers for flood labs, soil testing, and agronomic studies;
•⁠ ⁠Land Information and Management System (LIMS) for GIS-based monitoring of weather, soil, and crop conditions.

None of this has benefited small farmers. Instead, inequalities have grown. Rural families are being forced to migrate to cities in search of menial jobs as agricultural production plummets, and the country becomes increasingly dependent on food imports.

 Pakistan Kissan Rabita Commitee (PKRC) Demands: Time for a Policy Shift

The Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) calls the 2025 Economic Survey a wake-up call. It is time for the government to abandon corporate farming and military control over agricultural resources. PKRC puts forward the following urgent demands:

•⁠ ⁠Stop the corporate and military takeover of small farmers’ lands

•⁠ ⁠Redistribute public agricultural lands among landless farmers, especially women and youth, in plots of up to 12.5 acres

•⁠ ⁠Enforce a ban on new canals, particularly those impacting the Indus River system

•⁠ ⁠Legal implementation of Minimum Support Prices (MSP), starting with wheat at PKR 4,000 per 40 kg;

•⁠ ⁠Ban on private wheat imports, and instead strengthen PASSCO for public procurement

•⁠ ⁠Accountability for the wheat crisis, including arrest and investigation of hoarders and speculators

•⁠ ⁠Regulation of agricultural markets to prevent price volatility

•⁠ ⁠Reject IMF and WTO policies that undermine farmers; rebuild public procurement systems;

•⁠ ⁠Ensure real access to interest-free loans for small farmers, while excluding agri-businesses & banks from subsidies

•⁠ ⁠Promote food sovereignty, Agroecological farming led by small farmers themselves.

A Nationwide Peasant Uprising

Across Pakistan—in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—farmers are protesting against corporate farming, canal projects, lack of MSP enforcement, and wheat import policies. PKRC’s demands are rooted in the fight for just access to land, water, seeds and other natural resources, fair pricing, and protection from the monopolies of corporations and military elites.

These demands call for a radical transformation of Pakistan’s agricultural structure—towards sovereignty, sustainability, and equity for all.

Farooq Tariq
General Secretary, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee

(Founded in 2003, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) is a coalition of 30 farmer organizations from across Pakistan and the only member of La Via Campesina (A global Small Farmers & Peasant organization) in the country.)

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