Hello everyone, I hope you all doing well. I am here to share my participation in the Steemit Engagement Challenge season 20, week 4. It's my first time sharing content about agriculture, even though my late father was a farmer from his early teenage.

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Explain the social and industrial roles of agriculture in Pakistan sighting one of the main grown crops in Pakistan?

If I talk about my country, Pakistan, basically the main crucial role in the Pakistan economy for social and industrial development is agriculture plays a really important role.

First of all, it is important because unemployment is so much in Pakistan. So basically, agriculture provides the place to work for almost 50% of the people in Pakistan. Secondly, food is independent; the person can supply and can be self-sufficient for the food if he/she belongs to agriculture.

If I talk about the economy, you can say around 30% of GDP is contributed, and I think this is a very huge number that Pakistani economic growth is participated by our agriculture almost 30%. Pakistani agriculture products, for example, rice, cotton, and wheat, are widely exchanged all over the world.

How has this main grown agri product helped in reducing poverty and as well promote rural development in your country?

Cotton

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Though there are a lot of products that mainly contribute to the economy and GDP, if I talk about the largest scale, then it is cotton.

It's almost 15% of our GDP is contributed by cotton, and you can say 60% of it is important and exported throughout the country as well as foreign countries. Along with that, there is a force of almost 20% in different mills, and farmers are basically from cotton.

You know there is much more poverty in Pakistan, but I think our agriculture is contributing significantly to decreasing our poverty rate and how it is doing. Just let me elaborate on it.

Reducing poverty Rate

For example, our farmers are working day and night for cotton and they are giving us a significant direct source of income. Secondly, the most important thing is the cultivation of cotton, and when we do the cultivation so in this way we are providing a significant workforce for the people.

And what we are cultivating and then selling, I think, is a huge contribution to education and our health system these are all the ways to reduce poverty.

Secondly, we discuss about the technology and the infrastructure. Both are mainly contributed by our cotton production and mainly if I talk about the rural areas and factories, textiles mills, all these are contributed by our cotton cultivation.

In this way, Cotton is contributing to rural development, as I already mentioned, infrastructure and opportunity for the farmers. Secondly, the irrigation method has also come up in the technology adaptation.

And most importantly our government is helping a lot there are a lot of things and initiatives which have been taken to improve for example the farmers are trained in such a way and they must get the new technology adaptation. The irrigation system has been introduced, and it is also widely developed, most importantly, there are certain institutions which have been opened just to give education researching about Cotton.

What are the main challenges facing your country's top crops (e.g., cocoa, palm, maize, wheat, rice, etc.) in terms of economic impact?

There are a lot of Pakistani top crops, but as I am giving the example of cotton and, other products, for example, rice, wheat and sugarcane.

Challenges

The most important thing which we are suffering is the irrigation system firstly we are not adapting and secondly it is not well sufficient for us.

Second most important thing is climate you know in the Pakistan almost 10 months we have a summer and the temperature is not well, change or regulated in such a way there are a lot of disaster for example floods. Then come up with certain viral disasters, for example, the pests.

Our infrastructure is not very good, for example, the roads and transportation. We are not familiar with modern technology and we are not able to adapt to that technology.

The lag point is our finances. We are not financially so strong and under price fluctuation whenever any you know. For example, cotton, when it is cultivated, its prices fluctuate so much fluctuate it that we are not even able to compensate for what we have invested.

And in the past few years, our government was also not very supportive so these are some of the lack points that we are facing. I think they should work on it.

Cotton

We don't have high-quality seeds, and as I already mentioned, there are a lot of viral disasters, for example, pests.

Maize

We don't have an irrigation system and we are not even able to adapt and be sufficient. And there are other disasters along with that our seed qualities not very good.

Economy Changes

As I already mentioned, GDP is not well regulated after the cultivation of any specific agricultural land. Due to this, financially, farmers are suffering a lot, and import agriculture incomes are decreasing.

Strategy for Mitigation

As I am focusing on again and again the irrigation system there must be strategies to improve and how to adapt it.

Water Scarcity system

The farmers must be financially strong in whatever they are investing in agricultural land. The government should support and make some policies to regulate as well as to facilitate the farmers. There should be measures to improve the technology adaptation and, along with that, infrastructure improvement.

What current or past government initiatives are boosting agricultural productivity in your country?"

Government initiative for boosting agriculture

The last few years have been very supportive in terms of the farmers and agricultural land. This is our basic backbone which contributes to the GDP. As I already mentioned, culture is almost contributing 50%.

Kisan package deal

Initiated in 2015, this was providing a lot of great packages of fertilizers that are necessary no matter the seed quality.

PM agriculture emergency

The Prime Minister's agriculture emergency program showed so much acknowledgement among the farmers in 2018. This was basically to increase GDP mainly in our top crops, for example wheat, rice etc.

PARC

This something extraordinary is called the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council. What this is going to do is teach the farmers as well as do research work in agriculture to improve the agricultural sciences and how we can adapt it.

What solutions can enhance agricultural productivity and growth in your country?

Solutions for agriculture productivity

• Our irrigation system must be improved and must be sufficient for the farmers.

• Our seed quality should be improved and fertilizers because most of the time, the farmers are compromising the fertilizers just because they are so expensive.

• If we want to see the long-term changes in our agriculture and to exceed the GDP in Pakistan. So, there must be measures taken and should be improved. For example, there must be institutions to educate and research the agriculture sciences.

• Infrastructure must be modern technology adaptation and farmers should know how to use it.

• I guess the most important issue in our Pakistani supporter reservation is conservation because we are suffering a lot from floods. Mainly, about 20 to 30% of the agricultural land is affected by floods, so there must be some to conserve the water.

How we can implement the solutions we must require

• Our government should be supportive and loyal to our private sector and must involve our farmers and invest in the institutions for research purposes.
• If we follow all these solutions I think we can improve our economic growth from 60 to 70% just due to our agriculture and importantly our farmers can live more happily.
• They can do more for us, and the food quality can be improved, and export income can be increased 10 to 15 times more. Most importantly, the cropping rate can be increased.

This was all about my participation, I hope you like & share your valuable feedback if I am lacking at some points. I would like to invite my friends @drhira, @iqrarana786, @m-fdo to share their participation.

All images are my own fields