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CHAPTR # 7
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AGRICULTURE
 Agriculture is a combination of two words i.e. Agri and culture. Agri means farming
and culture means practice; it means practice of farming is called agriculture.
 Agriculture is the process by which food crops and other goods are produce, including
Wheat, Rice, Sugarcane, Maize along with Cotton etc.

SUBSISTENCE FARMING
 Subsistence farming means growing of crops mainly for the people who work on them.
 Surplus is sold in the local village market.
 Most of the farmers have to supplement their income from othr sources e.g. carpenter,
blacksmith, cobbler.

INPUTS PROCESSES OUTPUTS

Land Ploughing by Bullocks Rice

Soil Sowing by Labor Wheat

Climate Irrigation by Traditional methods Maize

Water Fertilizing by Natural Manure Vegetables

Natural Manure Weeding by Labor

Draft Power Threshing by Labor

Desi Seeds
Traditional Plough
Labour
Inherited
Knowledge
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CASH CROP FARMING

 Cash crop farming means the growing of crops for sale
 A crop that is grown primarily for sale is called a cash crop

INPUTS PROCESSES OUTPUTS

Land Ploughing by Tractors Rice

Soil Sowing by Machines Wheat

Climate Irrigation by Modern Methods Maize

Water Fertilizing by Chemical Fertilizers Vegetables

Fertilizers Weeding by Labor Cotton

Machinery Threshing by Thresher Sugarcane

HYV seeds Harvesting by Harvestor

Pesticides
Skilled Labour
Knowledge

NATURAL INPUTS
 Agricultural requirements provided by nature e.g. Land, Soil, Climate.

FLAT LAND
 Use of machines.
 Crops grow at equal height, easy to harvest
 Distribution of water equally
 Less soil erosion
 Less drainage
 Easy to cultivate
 Provision of canal irrigation

SOIL
 Soil is the material in which the roots of the plant are embedded.
 A soil suitable for growth contains sufficient minerals for crop growth and also has
sufficient pore spacing.
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 Pore spacing is important as it controls the amount of air and water available for plant
roots.
 Too little spacing (clayey) soil means that it will contain less air and more water,
thus won’t support plant growth
 On the contrary a sandy soil will allow air but will also allow a lot of water to infiltrate
into the subsoil. This water may also take down with its fertilizers and other natural
minerals (which are wasted as roots did not have time to absorb them)
 The best soil is loamy soil, which contains sufficient pore spaces (to allow for sufficient
air and moisture). Spaces aren’t too big; so, the soil does retain nutrients, which are not
leached into the soil
 The soil must be deep and must contain nitrates and phosphates; which are required
for crop growth
 Alluvial soil contains nutrients, retains water, retains fertilizers. This type of soil can
be drained easily

CLIMATE
 Every crop has its own distinct climatic requirements. This includes rainfall, humidity,
temperature, amount of sunlight etc.
 In Pakistan, these requirements basically fall into two groups, Kharif and Rabi.

Sunshine
 Photosynthesis
 Warmth
 Ripening

Temperature
 For growing

Rainfall
 For germination
 Growing
 Swelling the grains
 Soften the soil for ploughing \ sowing
 Planting seeds
 For flooding fields for rice
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DISADVANTAGES OF NATURAL INPUTS

Early Arrival

 Low yield and income

 Flooded or water logged
 Seedlings may be washed away
 Ground too wet
 Encourages pests and diseases

Late Arrival

 Low yield and income

 May delay planting or sowing
 Growth stops
 Irrigation, costly
 Shortage of water

Variation Of Rainfall

 Irrigation is costly
 Shortage of water
 Unreliable income
 Livestock may die

Thunderstorms

 Damage crop
 Soil erosion

Frosts

 Kill plants
 Growth is reduced

Droughts

 Kill young plants

 Seeds can die
 Growth is reduced
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Floods

 Wash the crops away

 Soil erosion

HUMAN INPUTS
 Agricultural requirements provided by man. e.g. Capital, Labor.

CAPITAL
 This is all the money and machinery that is invested into the farm including tractor
and harvester etc

Money

 To buy seeds
 To buy Chemical fertilizers
 To buy HYV’s
 To buy Machines
 To buy Land
 To pay Labor
 Irrigation

Advantages Of Machinery

 Less time consuming

 Less labor
 Better work
 Better processes

Disadvantages Of Machinery

 Expensive to buy or import

 High maintenance cost
 Difficult to repair
 Unemployment
 Skilled labor
 Cannot be used in mountains
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 Cannot be used in small lands

FERTILIZER
 These replace the nutrients that have been used up by the crop.
 With the use of fertilizers, nutrients are available for plant growth resulting in higher
yields

Advantages

 Increases yield
 Extension of farm
 Grows faster because it provides nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate.
 Better than dung

Disadvantages

 Costly
 Knowledge and skills needed
 Soil erosion
 Pollution of ground water
 Eutrophication
 Not readily available

PESTICIDES AND INSECTICIDES

 These are sprayed to kill insects, which damage crop growth by eating leaves etc.

Advantages

 To kill insects, pests, and viruses

 Prevent loss
 Increases the output and income.

Disadvantages

 Costly
 Knowledge and skills needed
 Also kill useful insects
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 Sever effects in natural food chain

 Causes gastrointestinal infections

LABOUR
 Labour is all the human effort that is put in from the time of plantation of crop to the
time of harvest.

Advantages

 Maintain machinery
 Spread fertilizers
 Ploughing
 Sowing
 Threshing
 Harvesting

Disadvantages

 Can’t work 24/7

 Less perfection in work if compared with machinery

SEEDS
 A desi variety of seeds produces lower yields as compared to a high yielding variety of
seeds.
 But it must be noted that only desi varieties are adapted to the local climatic conditions.
 Therefore, to achieve high yields in an adverse climate a hybrid of the two varieties is
required

Advantages of Desi

 Cheap
 Less Chemical Fertilizer required if compared with HYV
 Locally available

Advantages of HYV

 Increases yields
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 Grow’s faster
 Less water demand
 Pest resistant
 Bigger germination
 Stronger stems
 Needs little space

Disadvantages of Desi

 Less yield
 Grow slowly if compared with HYV
 More water demand
 No Pest resistant
 No Stronger stems

Disadvantages of HYV

 Expensive to use
 Professional skills
 Require more chemical fertilizers
 To be imported

ROADS
 To takes crops to factories

ELECTRICITY/DIESEL
 Tube wells
 Tractors
 Drying crops
 Other machineries e.g. Generator

HERBICIDES
 Kill weeds
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IRRIGATION
 Better water supply
 Meet rain shortages
 Reduces salinity
 Increases yield

 Machine repairing EDUCATION SKILL

 New seeds varieties
 Better methods
 Modern methods
 Avoid crop failure

PROCESSES
 A series of things that are done in order to achieve a particular result.

Ploughing

 A large piece of farming equipment with one or several blades pulled by a tractor or
animal. It is used for digging and turning over soil specially before seeds are planted.

Sowing
 Spreading seeds in or on the ground with machine or by hands.

Irrigation

 To supply water to an area of land through tube well / channels so that crops will grow.

Fertilizing

 Adding substances to soil to make plants grow more successfully.

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Weeding

 Cutting of wild plants growing where they are not wanted especially among crops.

Threshing
 To separate grains of wheat or rice from the chaff.

Harvesting
 Cutting the crop

WHEAT
Type

 Rabi crop

Uses

 Manufacture of bread and a variety of baked products

 Low grades of wheat are used as feed for livestock

By Products
 Chaff, used for feed and mix it with mud to make storage hut

Method Of Cultivation

 In oct-dec after ploughing the field, wheat seeds are sown directly into the ground
 Most of the farmers irrigate land twice.
 First irrigation, one month after sowing
 Second irrigation one month before harvesting
 Harvested after three months

Natural Inputs

 10-20 degree for growing

 20-25 degree for ripening
 Light rain in oct-nov for growth
 Requires 325-625 mm
 Alluvial, loam,clay,water retentive and well drained soils
 90 days
 Little rain just before harvesting.

Human Inputs
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 New HYV’s
 Improvement in irrigation
 Chemical fertilizers
 Machinery
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Areas

 Nawabshah
 Nausharo
 Rahimyar khan
 Bhawalpur
 Multan

Hyv

 Maxi pak
 Shah khan 95
 Wadnak 95
 Kohsan 95

BARANI FARMING
 It is practiced in areas like the Potowar Plateau which have low amounts of seasonal
rainfall.
 Important crops grown are wheat, maize, millet etc all which require low amounts
of water and sunlight
 When the rains arrive or are about to arrive, the land is ploughed so it becomes
soft.
 Immediately after the rain, the seeds are sown and the periodic cycle of sunny
weather in between light rainy days continues till the harvest.
 Within the growing period hoeing is done (to remove weeds), if pesticides and fertilizers
are available then they are added otherwise cow dung is used.
 Lastly the harvest season must be sunny and dry.
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RICE
Type

 Kharif

Uses

 Used as food
 Exported

By Products

 Rice husks are used for making cardboards or covering roofs of houses after mixing it
with mud
 For livestock

Method Of Cultivation

 The tractor pulls a plough in march. Each time he ploughs, he goes in a different
direction, so that soil is well broken up.
 If the farmer cannot afford to hire tractor, he uses a bullocks to pull a plough at
the right depth in the soil.
 While land is being prepared, rice seeds are sown in the nursery in the corner of
the field.
 When seedlings are about 30 cm tall, they are ready to be transplanted.
 In may, farmers usually employ some labour for transplanting.
 Bundles of rice seedling are carried from nursery to prepared fields.
 Prepared fields have now been flooded to a depth of 25 cm, ready for
transplanting the seedlings
 It is skilled work because seedling will float away if they are not planted properly.
 Rice crops are protected from birds
 Fertilizers is scattered on the field
 Insecticide is also scattered on the field
 In September, rice is ripe and ready for harvesting
 Water is drained off
 Sickle is used to cut the crop
 Rice is then tied in bundles and carried to be threshed manually.
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Natural Inputs

 Worms’ hot temperature 30ₒ degree celcius with no cold season

 At least 1270 mm per year
 Over 2000 mm per year is ideal
 Dry sunny weather at harvesting time
 Loamy or clayey soil

Human Inputs

 Cheap labour
 HYV’s
 Irrigation

Areas

 Larkana
 Sialkot
 Gujranwala

Hyv

 Basmati
 Irri Pak
 IR8
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COTTON
Type
 Kharif

Uses

 Most widely used textile fiber in Pakistan.

 Clothes, fabrics

By Products

 Cotton seeds, separated from lint, a fluffy mass of fibers inside cotton balls
 Cotton seeds are used as animal feed and for the extraction of oil.

Method Of Cultivation

 Sown at a distance apart of 30 cm to 45 cm in April-May.

 One month later fields are irrigated.
 Second irrigation takes place after a further two months
 Cotton ball ripens in dry months of Oct and Nov.
 Plant reaches a height of up to 135 cm-150 cm.
 After picking cotton balls are loaded on to trucks.

Natural Inputs

 Ideal temperature for cultivation is 25 to 35 degrees.

 Mid nights temperature is better for development of the balls.
 Sensitive to frost.
 1000 mm rainfall.
 Medium loam.
 Level land

Human Inputs

 Machinery.
 Pesticides.
 Irrigation.
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Areas

 Nawabshah
 Bahawalpur
 Multan

Hyv

 Nayyab 78
 B-557
 149-F

What Harms The Cotton Crop?

 Greatly affected by rise in day and night temperature changes to leaf-curl virus and
fruit shedding.
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SUGAR CANE
Type
 Kharif.

Uses

 Sugar.
 Brown sugar.
 Gur

By Products

 Bagasse, fiber left over. It is used to make paper, clipboard and animal feed.
 Molasses, liquid left over after crystallization of sugar. It is raw material for citric acid,
yeast, rubber. It is also used as a fuel to generate electricity in sugar-mills.

Methods Of Cultivation

 Sugar-stalks 30 cm high are planted in April-May.

 A distance of 30 cm is kept between each stalk.
 Quality depends upon frequency of irrigation and fertilizers.
 If land is well irrigated then plant rise up to height of 6.7 feet and the crop can be
ratooned and so harvested for 2-3 successive years.

Natural Inputs

 Alluvial soil.
 Deep soil.
 Firm soil to support tall stem.
 Hot growing season.
 Dry harvesting period.
 At least 500 mm rainfall.
 Over 1500 mm is ideal.
 Rain should not be excessive during ripening period because it may diluk sugar
content.
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Human Inputs

 HYV’s.
 Pesticides.
 Irrigation.
 Labour.
 Machines.

Areas

 Nawabshah.
 Faisalabad.
 East central Punjab.

Hyv

 JN-88
 Thatta-10

MAPS OF WHEAT/RICE/COTTON/SUGARCANE
Wheat

Rice
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Cotton

Sugarcane
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WHEAT/RICE/COTTON/SUGARCANE
Wheat

Rice
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Cotton

Sugarcane
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APRICOTS
 Apricots are grown mainly in areas of mid-northern Balochistan.
 Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of Apricots.
 The apricots need to fulfil chilling units, meaning that they must be exposed to cold for
a certain period of time.
 Winters must be cold (but not colder than -30°C) to allow for proper dormancy.
 Dry weather must exist at the time of maturity/harvest.
 It is important that there should be no sudden and dramatic change in
temperatures in spring which kills the flowers.
 Apricots grown in well drained soils with PH around 6.5

MANGOES
 Mango requires a wet hot summer season with rainfall around 250mm.
 This needs to be followed by a long dry winter.
 Dry winter means that the plant is less susceptible to attacks by fungus etc.
 It needs deep well drained loamy soil.
 Mangoes are grown in southeastern Punjab and eastern Sindh.
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TOBACCO
 Tobacco plants are usually first grown in nurseries etc and then transplanted in the fields
when the risk of frost has passed.
 They need light rainfall early on, followed by a period of bright sunshine with rains in
between, followed by a dry period at harvest
 Tobacco is grown in central parts of Punjab, northern Balochistan and central parts of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

PULSES
 Pulses require high temperatures but are highly susceptible to frost.
 They can also tolerate high rainfall provided it doesn’t come at time of pollination
etc.
 Also the soil must not be waterlogged or saline. Pulses can be grown on sandy, loamy etc
soils
 Pulses are grown in eastern and western Sindh, along with north eastern Punjab
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MILLET
 Millet requires moderate rainfall and is sensitive to frost.
 It will not tolerate waterlogged soils or harsh drought.
 They are grown in southeastern and northwestern Punjab, western Sindh, and
central and southeastern Balochistan

DATES
 Dates are grown in parts of Balochistan and in parts of Tharparkar desert (southern
Punjab and eastern Sindh).
 It needs long hot summers with high day and night temperatures.
 It can tolerate fluctuations in temperature whether cold or hot.
 Mild winters and a dry sunny time for harvest is also required.
 They can grow in salty soils but they must be well drained

APPLES
 Apples are solely grown in northern Balochistan.
 They have the highest requirement of chilling units in fruits.
 Winters must be cold to allow for proper dormancy.
 These must be followed by rains during the growing season.
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 Dry weather must exist at the time of harvest.

 Well drained loamy soils are best for growing apples

CITRUS FRUITS
 They grow in tropical or subtropical climate with hot summers and moderate rainfall.
 They are also sensitive to frost and strong winds.
 Most of the production is from Punjab including its central but mostly southern
parts.
 Some citrus production also occurs in eastern parts of Sindh

BANANAS
 Bananas are grown exclusively in southern Sindh.
 They require a hot dry season lasting for around 2-3 months, with a mean rainfall of
around 10 cm.
 Bananas are very sensitive to frosts, which can suspend maturity or even kill the plant.
 They are also very vulnerable to strong winds, which damage the fruit etc.
 They require well drained alluvial soils
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OILSEEDS
 Oilseeds usually require average temperatures varying from 20-30°C.
 It must also be noted that high temperatures can hamper or delay growth and that
frost kills the plants.
 Oilseeds are tolerant to drought for some periods and require well drained deep
alluvial soils
 They are grown in southern parts of Punjab and eastern parts of Sindh, along with some
northern parts of Punjab.

MAIZE
 Maize needs a hot bright growing season to flourish.
 It is very intolerant to frost and needs moderate rainfall well distributed throughout
growth.
 It also needs well drained deep alluvial soils
 It is grown in central Punjab and central parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
 Supplying the agricultural product needs of the present generation while protecting
agricultural product needs of those in the future

Possibilities

 Less overcropping / multicropping

 Methods of preserving soil e.g. terraces / contour ploughing
 Soil management through afforestation projects.
 Restrict use of heavy machinery
 Keeping vegetation cover
 Better water management / avoiding over watering / conserving water / lining
canals
 Organic farming / using manure
 Use of appropriate knowledge / training
 Crop rotation.
 On farm waste recycling.
 Weed control by marching.
 Pest and disease control.
 Reclamation of deserts with help of irrigation schemes.
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Difficulties

 High demand for more food

 Pressures on land e.g. for timber
 Lack of education and less awareness of sustainable methods
 Unco-operative landlords
 Land reform needed
 Lack of government will / support / investment
 Resistance to changing traditional / modern methods

LIVESTOCK FARMING
 This type of farming (also known as pastoral farming) is concerned with rearing of
animals, whose products are then sold.

NOMADIC FARMING
 Nomads are the people who move from one place to another place along with their
livestock in search of water and pasture.
 Once they find these resources and settle over there and utilize their resources
 They move to another place so that’s why they keep on moving for the search of new
pastures.
 They hardly return to the old pastures unless rainfall takes place for new pastures to
grow.
 The area in which they graze have very poor pastures because of extreme arid
conditions.
 They keep sheep, camels and goats because they can survive in arid conditions and can
survive in poor pastures as they can nibble the thin glass.

Advantages

 Free access to pastures from open fields.

 Low cost of inputs.
 Source of income.
 Dung for soil.
 Don’t need to hire labour.

Disadvantages

 Don’t have veterinary facilities.

 Don’t have permanent places to live.
 Have to search for food for long distance.
 Unreliable income.
 Soil erosion.
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Inputs

 Livestock.
 Pastures from open fields.
 Water from oasis, wells, karez, ponds, lakes.
 Tents for shelter.
 Family labour.

Processes

 Natural breeding.
 Grazing.
 Migration for water, pasture.
 Milking manually.
 Collecting manure for fertilizer, fuel.
 Preserving meat.

Outputs

 Meat.
 Wool.
 Livestock.
 Manure.
 Milk.
 Income.

Environmental Problems

 Soft erosion.
 Desertification.
 Deforestation (damage to young trees).

Why Many Nomads In Baluchistan?

 Shortage of resources.
 Cultivation of crops is difficult or impossible.
 Rugged landscape.
 Population density is least so plenty of land is available.
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TRANSHUMANCE
 It is seasonal migration along with the livestock especially in winters from highland
areas to the valley.
 When the summer approaches they move back to the high land pastures, but below
snow line.
 In winter high land pastures are covered with snow and water sources also freezes so
that’s why they move to valley where temperature are suitable for them to survive
and water, pastures are available.
 Sometimes they move to village market for selling their surplus such as animals,
wools, skin and milk.
 In summer they move back to high land pastures below snowline because in summer
rich pastures grow as snow and glaciers melt so therefore water is available.
 They are mainly found in N.mountain and western highlands
 From Himalayas they migrate towards to Kashmir valley.
 From Hindukush to Chitral and Swat valley.
They keep sheep, goat, cattle, yak as these animals can adapt in highland climate and
mountainious topography.

Advantages

 Good access to rich pastures.

 Good accessibility of water.
 Do not have to travel long distances.
 Source of income.
 No need to hire labour.
 Requirement of food and clothes fulfilled.

Disadvantages

 Lack of facilities.
 No permanent home.
Unreliable income.
 Poor quality animals.
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Inputs

 Livestock.
 Pastures.
 Water.
 Labour.

Processes

 Breeding.
 Grazing.
 Milking.
 Slaughtering.

Outputs

 Meat.
 Wool.
 Milk.
 Manure

SETTLED
 They do not move; they have permanent homes.
 They are found in villages of sindhs and Punjab along rivers and on doabs.
 They keep cow, hens, goat, buffaloes, bullocks.

Advantages

 Own grazing ground known as shanilat.

 Do not move long distance.
 Reliable source of water.
 Proper sheds.
 All sources of inputs available.

Disadvantages

 Area which can be used for cultivating crop is utilized for grazing ground.
 Lack of nutritional fodder.
 Lack of investment.
 Poor quality animal.
 No experience.
 Unreliable source of income.

Inputs
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 Grazing grounds.
 Water.
 Labour.
 Shed area

Processes

 Natural breeding.
 Milking manually.
 Collecting, manure, eggs.
 Slaughtering

Outputs

 Meat, livestock, manure, eggs, milk, wool

POULTRY FARMING
 Poultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and
geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs
for food.
 In Pakistan, most of poultry farming consists of chicken.
 Poultry farms are mostly found around dense centers of population (Karachi, Quetta,
and Lahore) and cooler areas (Murree, Abbottabad).
 Nearness to population centers reduces cost of transportation and cooler areas are
preferred for optimal growth of chickens.

Steps Followed In Poultry Farming

 First the poultry farm building is cleaned properly, disinfectant is applied and the
building is fumigated.
 Maize is used as food, when the chicks arrive, they are given antibiotics in their food
for 3-7 days.
 The temperature of the building is maintained between 32 and 37 degrees
Celsius.
 The chickens are put in cages so their eggs and wastes can be easily removed etc.
 After around 4-8 weeks the chickens can be slaughtered for their meat
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BUFFALOES
 Buffaloes are found mostly in canal fed areas of Pakistan, especially the doab
between Ravi and Sutlej.
 Nilli-Ravi breed is found in Punjab, which is known for its high milk
production.
 In Sindh, Kundi breed is found along both banks of Indus but mostly in Northern
and central Sindh.
 Other breeds are found in areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
 Presence of water is very important as this animal needs to cool itself by smearing
mud on its body.
 Water is also used for drinking and for cleaning the farm etc.
 A lot of fodder is also required (which becomes expensive to buy in non- agricultural
areas) and thus buffaloes are not found in Balochistan as this would be too
uneconomical.
 There are less urban areas there and thus les demand for beef.
 Buffaloes are considered to be black gold of Pakistan because the milk they produce
has a higher fat content than that of cows and goats etc.
 At present, buffaloes provide almost 70% of the milk produced in Pakistan.
 Also, their meat is white and desirable due to the low cholesterol level as compared
to cow’s meat
 However, it must be noted that still there is ample room for improvement.
 Pakistan is the 2nd largest buffalo milk producer in the world after India.
 Also, Pakistan has one of the best breeds for producing milk (like Nilli and Ravi) but due
to mismanagement, inefficient marketing system, old livestock technique, exposure to
heat, shortage of fodder and late age of maturity mean that this potential is yet to be
exploited
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CATTLES
 Important cattle breeds are Red Sindhi and Sahiwali, which are
internationally recognized for their milk production.
 Another important Breeds are bhagnari (Imp for draft power found in Punjab
and sindh), Dhani (Imp for draft power found in N.Areas)
 Cattle are spread in Northern, central and Southern Punjab.
 In Sindh mainly in areas of Tharparkar desert.
 In Balochistan they are found in district of Hab and in Northcentral parts of Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa
 The yield of dairy animals in Pakistan is around 1/5 to 1/7 as to what yields are
achieved in Europe and United States of America.
 If our yields can be improved this can save us from import of milk and related
products, which costs around 20 million dollars annually.
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GOATS
 Goats have a much wider distribution than sheep in Pakistan.
 They are found in almost whole of Punjab, Eastern and Southern Sindh, Makran coast
and central Balochistan and districts of Peshawar and Mardan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
 Goats are also very adaptable like sheep but since their meat and milk is preferred
over sheep; to satisfy this demand they are reared in larger numbers as compared
to sheep

SHEEP
 Sheep are mostly found in rugged areas of Northern Balochistan, Gilgit- Baltistan,
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Southern Punjab.
 Sheep can survive both hot and cold seasons, and feed on shrubs and grasses.
 These adaptabilities make them vital for people living in these areas for meat, milk,
wool, bones etc

SHEEP AND GOAT

 The consumption of mutton is also increasing in Pakistan due to increasing
population.
 Much of meat produced in Pakistan is also exported to countries like Saudi Arabia,
Oman and UAE.
 The demand of wool is also increasing but the wool sector is still very much neglected.
 Goats and sheep along with poultry are the backbone of small rural households,
which use eggs and meat along with milk for their sustenance.
 But no real attention is being paid toward this sector; there is no proper system of
breeding at organizational level, shortage of fodder and droughts in areas of
Balochistan and Sindh means that supplies of fodder are being exhausted.
 Thus farmers are forced to make sure that their animals survive by grazing a same
piece of land again and again.
 This leads to desertification and subsequent problems of erosion and advancement of
sand dunes, which wreck agricultural fields further inland by covering them with sand.
 To prevent this problem the government encourages the keeping of stall fed goats but
due to problems like lack of disease management services, such high-density collection
of animals is risky
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SUBSISTENCE LIVESTOCK FARMING

 In it animals are kept to do daily tasks and provide daily food requirements usually by
a subsistence farmer (agriculture one).
 Animals include chicken, buffalo, cow, sheep and goats albeit on a very small scale.
 Chicken provides eggs and meat, cows provide milk whereas the bull (male cow) is used
for ploughing and transport (during planting, growth and harvest of crop).
 The manure is also used as fertilizer for crops.
 A pair of two bulls is known as a bullock.

COMMERCIAL LIVESTOCK FARMING

 Cows and buffaloes are raised in an organized manner for commercial
purposes.
 It can be very profitable for small land owners, giving higher returns as compared
to traditional farming methods, as land requirements are low.
 The fodder can be grown on the fields and then fed to dairy animals.
 The animals are also given a ration of special protein rich diet along with vaccinations
to protect from infections etc, which can affect production of milk.
 If bigger dairy farms are established then the milk can be processed and packed too
thus adding value to it.
 When the cow stops producing milk, it is slaughtered along with other bulls for their
meat, which is then sold in the market to earn a profit
 Dairy farms are important in Pakistan around big cities like Karachi etc.
 These farms provide milk regularly and cheaply due to the small distances involved.
 Meat and hides are also provided.
 Hides are used by leather industry and milk is used to make ghee.
 Furthermore, the dung can be sold and used in place of firewood etc

PROBLEMS OF LIVESTOCK
 Few veterinary facilities
 Lack of grazing grounds
 Expensive and difficult to keep in urban areas
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 Lack of marketing facilities

 Lack of facilities for storage
 Old methods of breeding
 Unhygienic conditions
 Desertification due to overgrazing
 Lack of investment
 Disease transfer to humans.

IMPROVEMENT IN LIVESTOCK
 Capital, investment, loan subsides
 Selective, cross breeding
 Better feed
 More grazing land
 Control of disease
 Vaccination
 Better hygiene, care
 Mechanization.