The people are predominantly dependent on agriculture and livestock. Almost 70% of the people are engaged directly or indirectly in these sectors. The contribution of individual other sectors is nominal, but combined still amount to 30%. Minerals are not explored. Some people are engaged in the informal sector.

Important crops grown are wheat, fodder, vegetable, jawar, onion, garlic, melon and fruits. The major fruits are apples, almonds, plums, apricots, pomegranates and peaches. It is government policy to encourage and increase agriculture and livestock production. In this connection loans are provided by the Agricultural Development Bank. Beside, the Agriculture and Livestock Department provides technical expertise, through extension, and provision of inputs like quality seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and facilities for animal husbandry. Agriculture mechanization is encouraged through provisions of loans. Government policy is aimed at industrialization and privatization and encourages the private sector to come forward and invest. Provision of infrastructure is the responsibility of government

The major crops grown in rabi season are wheat, fodder, vegetable and barley. Out of total rabi production of 25,020 tonnes during the year 1994-95, wheat production was 19,870 tonnes, which is 79.42%. Fodder production was 4,280 tonnes, which is 17.11%. Kharif crops are jowar, fodder, onion, vegetable, garlic and fruits. Out of the total kharif crop production of 28,220 tonnes during 1994-95, the major crop was fruit with 16,145 tonnes, or 57.21% of total kharif production. Second came fodder with 14% of total kharif production. The production of vegetables during kharif season was 3,225 tonnes, which was 11.43% of the kharif crops.

Wheat production shows a continuous decrease. The production of wheat was 21,650 tonnes in 1992-93, which subsequently decreased to 19,870 tonnes in 1994-95. Similarly, fruits production decreased from 16,200 tonnes in 1992-93 to 16,199 tonnes in 1993-94 and then to 16,145 tonnes in 1994-95. Although the area under fruit production has increased from 1,399 in 1992-93 hectares to 1,470 hectares in 1993-94, to 1,523 in 1994-95. Harsh weather was the main reason in reduction of fruit production. Fodder production shows fluctuations increasing from 8,200 tonnes in 1992-93 to 14,420 tonnes in 1993-94, but again declining to 8,230 tonnes in 1994-95. This fluctuation in production is due to the seize of unirrigated area which fluctuated from 15 hectares in 1992-93 to 285 hectares in 1993-94 and again declining to 50 hectares in 1994-95 . The main reason is the change in precipitation.

The total geographical area of the district is 341,113 hectares and is 100% reported. The area net available for cultivation is 232,106, which is 68% of the total geographical area. The potential area for cultivation is 99,562 hectares which is 29.19% of the geographical area. Arable land is 33,720 which is 9.89% of the geographical area and 33.8% of the net potential area for cultivation. The net sown area of the district was 16,859 hectares which is 50% of the arable land. Another 50% of the area was not cultivated, and left as current fallow; the area of the current fallow was 16,861 hectares. So out of 16,859 net sown area, the irrigated area is 7,192 hectares and unirrigated areas 9,667 hectares. Thus 42.66% of the net sown area was irrigated. While unirrigated area is 57.34%. Out of the total irrigated area 62.7% was irrigated through tube-wells, 30.27% through karezes and springs and 6.3% through wells. It means that the major source of irrigation in the district is tube-wells.

The latest available source of information about land ownership is the 1990 Agriculture Census report. But Barkhan was given the status of district at the start of 1992, so the data in the Agriculture Census report of 1990 cannot be used for Barkhan, because during that period Barkhan was a part of Loralai district.

The majority of the farmers are petty Zamindars, having less than 2 hectares of land. In the old Loralai district, the farmers with less than 2 hectares of land comprise 52% of the total number of farmers in the district. Thirty percent of the farmers own 2 to 4 hectares of land, 15% of the farmers owns 5 to 20 hectares and 3% has more than 20 hectares of land. The petty Zamindars cultivate their lands themselves. Many persons who do not own agriculture land, work as tenants and labourers in the fields of well to do Zamindars.³⁶

In tenancy contracts, tenants get one fourth of the total yield in case of irrigated land. For salaba (rainfed) lands they get half of the total yield.

Source: Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan, 1994-95

The area under wheat production was 11,200 hectares in 1993-94, which decreased to 11,150 in 1994-95 and further decreased to 10,750 in 1995-96.

The wheat production was 20,050 tonnes in 1993-94, which decreased to 19,870 in 1994-95 and further decreased to 18,690 in 1995-96. The reason was the fall in irrigated as well as unirrigated land under wheat. The irrigated area for wheat was 4,775 hectares in 1993-94, which decreased to 4,560 hectares in 1994-95, and decreased further to 4,440 hectares in 1995-96. The unirrigated area decreased from 6,425 hectares in 1993-94 to 6,310 hectares in 1995-96.

Fruit production was 16,198 tonnes in 1993-94, which decreased to 16,145 tonnes in 1994-95, but again increased to 17,093 tonnes in 1995-96. Although area under fruit production has increased from 1,470 hectares in 1993-94 to 1,523 hectares in 1994-95, production decreased. As mentioned earlier, the reason could be the harsh weather in the latter period. However with the increase of the area under fruit production from 1,523 in 1994-95 to 1,589 in 1995-96, production has also increased from 16,145 tonnes to 17,093 tonnes during the same period.

Potato, pulses, vegetables and fruits are considered as cash crops, while wheat and jowar are considered as food crops. However, for some crops it is difficult to draw a line of demarcation between food and cash crop. For example, fodder is both a cash crop and food crop, depending upon the consumption requirement of the farmers.

For more statistics see annex 7.

The cropping pattern of district Barkhan shows that wheat occupies the major proportion of the total production of the various crops. The area under wheat was 10,750 hectares, whereas the production was 18,690 tonnes in 1995-96. The second in row regarding tonnes produced, are fruits. The area under fruit production was 1,589 hectares, and production of fruits was 17,093 tonnes during the same period.³⁷ The average yield of wheat was 1,739 kg per hectare, compared to 10,757 kg per hectare for fruit.

The average yield of wheat was 1,739 kg per hectare during 1995-96 in Barkhan district.³⁸ For the whole province of Balochistan the average yield was 2,320 kg per hectare. It shows that the average yield of wheat is less in the district compared to the province. The average yield of fruits is 10,757 kg per hectare in the district compared to 11,155 kg per hectare for the province as a whole. It shows that per hectare production of fruit in the district is below the province average. The average yield of fodder in the district is 27,753 kg per hectare, whereas the provincial figure is 31,620 kg per hectare. Here also the average yield is less in the district compare to the province. In case of vegetables the average yield is 16,101 kg per hectare in the district,³⁹ compared to 14,064 kg per hectare in the province. The average yield of vegetable in the district is higher than that of the province as a whole.

Most of agricultural work is done by men, but in some areas women are also taking part in agricultural activities.

Fruit producers give their orchards on contract. The contractor arranges labour for picking and packing, which is all done by men. Most of the farming is done with traditional techniques, with the exception of a few large farmers who have taken the first steps in mechanisation. Irrigation through tube-wells is fully mechanised.

The major sources of irrigation are, tube-wells, karezes, springs, canals and wells. The total irrigated area was 16,520 hectares in 1994-95. The canal irrigated areas was 120 hectares, which is 0.73% of the total irrigated area. Tube-well irrigated area was 10,360 hectares (62.71%). Wells accounted for 1040 hectares (6.3%). Land irrigated by karezes, springs and other irrigation sources was 5,000 hectares (30.27%) of the total irrigated area.⁴⁰

There were 740 tube-wells, (734 privately owned and 6 owned by government), and 160 wells in the year 1994-95.⁴¹ The number of diesel fuelled tube-wells was 717 (96.9%), the other 23 run were electric tube-wells. The reason for the dominance of diesel fuelled tube-wells is the non-availability of electricity in the major part of the district.

There are 8 perennial irrigation schemes in Barkhan district, and an area of 3,152 hectares is irrigated through perennial source. Similarly 12 karezes irrigation schemes are there and an area of 403 hectares is irrigated through this source. Eleven flood irrigation schemes exist in the district, and the area irrigated through this source is 2,345 hectares.⁴²

The total number of the tractors in the year 1994-95 was 286, out of which 284 were owned by private farmers and only two were government owned tractors. There were 110 threshers and all were privately owned. The number of harvesters was 8 and they were all privately owned. There was no reaper in the district.

According to the Agriculture Officer of Barkhan, 90% of the farmers use fertilisers. The use of manure in orchards is almost 60%. The main fertilisers used in the district are Urea, DAP, Nitro Phos, Ammonium Sulphate, SOP and NPK . All fertilisers are brought from Punjab Province. The use of pesticides in the district is 60 to 70%. Good quality seeds are not available in sufficient quantity, as the Potato Seed Project and the Vegetable Seed farm in Quetta are not producing enough seeds due to lack of funds. However, the Oil Seed Project Quetta provides quality seeds for sunflower and conola. Quality seeds of wheat, mong, bajra, mash, etc. are brought from Punjab by the farmers themselves.

Nursery plants of apple, almond and other fruits are provided by the Agriculture Department from Rakhni Nursery.

The marketing system in the district has not been developed properly and needs improvements. The existing market practices in the district can be grouped into three components :

a) District Marketing by Growers: District marketing is very common for vegetables. They are either sold to retailers or offered for auction through commission agents. Direct marketing fetches the growers better returns, but they prefer not to do it, because they may have difficulties getting a good price on the market when they produce oversupplies.

b) Marketing through Commission Agent. Commission Agents play a major role in the marketing of fruits and vegetables. They work either on behalf of the growers, for which they charge a commission, or by contracting crops.

c) Contract Marketing : Fruit orchards are contracted to the interested parties at the start of the season. Once the contract is made, the fruit grower has no responsibility for the volume of the production.

Most farmers in the district send their agricultural produce for sale to Punjab Province. However, the roads are not all weather roads and therefore in rainy season the supplies cannot reach the market. There is no cold storage or other type of modern storage. The only traditional form of storage existing in the district is the technique to bury the harvest underground or to heap it and cover it with earth. This traditional technique of storage is applied to crops like potato and onion.

There are no fixed prices for agriculture products, except for the ceiling prices fixed by government for wheat and rice. Usually, prices are settled by the middlemen known as Commission Agent or Dalal. They settle the prices between growers and buyers. No market committee exits in Brakhan district.

Middlemen normally get the bigger share of the profit, as the growers have to sell their products at whatever rate they are offered. They have no alternative but to sell it, as the cost of storage is high due to little storage facilities. Besides, some of the produce like fruit and vegetables are perishable.

Agricultural income is subject to fluctuations, due to variation in weather and the availability of quality inputs. Income of small landholders is low. Their income could be raised through intensive farming and use of modern technology.

In Barkhan district, the Department of Agriculture Extension is working with one Extra Assistant Director Agriculture (EADA), two Agriculture Officers, one Agriculture Inspector, 35 Field Assistants and 45 other supporting staff. The Department provides information and technical know-how about agriculture to the growers. The department is also responsible for the establishment of research farms in the district. Barkhan is working on a On Farm Water Management Project with one Assistant Director, one Agriculture Officer, 2 Sub-Engineers, 2 Field Assistants and 10 other staff. The Department is responsible for the implementation of the On Farm Water Management Project. According to the progress report of that project for 1995-96, 7 water courses have been completed and 7 water tanks were constructed for the total cost of Rs. 1,343,913.

x minor involvement

xx substantial involvement

xxx major involvement

In Barkhan district great potential for agriculture development exist. Vast stretches of virgin land are available; especially the Baghao area has very fertile soil. However, shortage of resources is an obstacle in the development of the agricultural sector.⁴³ If due attention is paid to the development of agriculture sector in this area by the government and the donors, the fate of this poverty stricken district could change for the better.

The average production per hectare is low compared to the provincial figures. The reason for low average production is, that the majority of the farmers are uneducated tribesmen and therefore do not use improved varieties of seeds and fertiliser. Most farmers use bull and oxen for ploughing, but now the trend is towards the use of tractors, as the farmers have begun to realise the benefits of improved methods of cultivation. It is expected that the average production per hectare will increase over the next few years.⁴⁴

Although some areas are linked with the national power grid station, most areas are deprived of electricity. The supply of electricity for agricultural purposes is so limited, that out of the total of 740 tube-wells only 23 are electric generated tube-wells and the rest are diesel fuelled. Electricity is one of the cheaper sources of exploiting underground water; diesel engines are more costly.

Agriculture production can also be increased through intensive farming and use of modern technology. Innovative farming is non-existent; the role of the Agriculture Department needs to be improved to assist in this direction. Due to the law of inheritance, small land holdings are further fragmented, which makes the land economically less interesting for cultivation. The yield per hectare can be increased through the use of better quality seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and better irrigation facilities.

The policy of the government has been to remove subsidies on fertiliser and pesticides, which increases the cost of production and acts as a dis-incentive for their use. This will affect the farmers’ income. The production of Barani areas fluctuates depending on rainfall, and thus the income for the farmers becomes uncertain. The marketing system is not developed and middlemen exploit the situation and play an important role in determining the agriculture prices. There is a need to improve the marketing system and to assist in the establishment of farming market committees, so that the produce can be sent to the correct market, at a proper time and in preferred quantities. Farm to market roads should be improved as well, so that the produce can easily reach the market.

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