According to a recent study published in Pakistan Journal of
Agriculture Sciences, it was found that the farmers in the rain-fed zones of
Punjab can increases wheat productivity through increased technical efficiency
within the same limits of input use and technology.
These scientists analyzed the
technical efficiency in wheat production in the rain-fed cropping zone of
Punjab through stochastic Cobb-Douglas production frontier. The study was
conducted over randomly selected 70 farm households. And the data from 2009-10
wheat production was analyzed in the present study. The mean efficiency was
found out to be 47.1%. the results were suggesting that technical efficiency
improvements must be made, hence, production can be doubled in rain-fed zones of
Punjab.
The results also suggested that
the efficiency can be made by better moisture conservation of the rain water,
irrigation and investment in the water resources of the farm. Seed rate on the
other hand showed negative impact on productivity; this means that seed rate
should be decreased in order to increase efficiency. The use of poor quality
seed by the farmer from the farm produce also contributed towards the
inefficiency in farm productivity.
Food insecurity is a major
challenge and globaly many organizations are working to deal with it. According
to the ministry of Finance (2008), wheat provides 72% total protein and 48% of
daily calorie diet of population in Pakistan. Although wheat yield has
increased over time by 69 percent; from 15.9 mounds per acre in 1986-87 to 26.9
mounds per acres in 2008-09 which is far less than genetic yield potential of 60-80
mounds per acre from semi-dwarf wheat cultivars available in Pakistan. This yield
gsp accounts 40% in the irrigated zones of Punjab and even more in rain-fed
zones.
Rain-fed zone/Pothowar
consists of Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Chakwal and Attock. Rain-fed zone is
the smallest zone in terms of area under wheat cultivation and production. In
the crop year 2008-09, area under wheat cultivation and total production in
this zone were 466.8 thousand hectares and 772.1 thousand tonnes respectively and
according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (2010) it accounted for 6.8% of the
provincial wheat area and 4.2% of the wheat production, respectively.
Technological development is a slow
process, hence the increase in agriculture growth in future will depend on the
stock of existing knowledge and how fast this knowledge is disseminated to the
farmers. This will help in improving the technical efficiency of the growers.
Improved extension services can
play effective role in this regard. Farmers should be taught to use appropriate
seed rate. The use of poor quality crop produce as seed should be discouraged
and farmers should be taught to use certified seed of wheat varieties approved
by the agricultural department for rain-fed areas.Rain-fed farming is very
risky in nature, thus resource poor farmers are diverted to different farm and
non-farm activities hence efficiency for the crops is reduced.
Reference
Hussain, A., A. Saboor, M. A.
Khan, A. Q. Mohsin and F. Hassan (2012). Technical efficiency of wheat
production in rain-fed areas: a case study of Punjab, Pakistan. Pak. J.
Agri. Sci., Vol. 49(3), 411-417.
