There are two cropping seasons in Mastung district, Kharif and Rabi. Kharif crops are sown in summer and harvested in late summer or early winter. Rabi crops are sown in winter or during early summer. Important Rabi crops are wheat, barley, cumin, fodder and vegetables. Wheat is sown in irrigated as well as rain fed areas. More than 60 percent of the Rabi crops area was under wheat production in 1994-95. The major crops grown during Kharif are onion, fruit, fodder, vegetables, melon and potato. Most of the crops grown during Kharif crops are cash crops. Women and children are actively involved in agricultural activities at each stage of production, from sowing to harvesting. In Pashtoon areas the involvement of females and children in the agriculture sector is minimal. The demand for seasonal labour increases particularly at the time of sowing and harvesting of the crops. Seasonal labourers, male and female, are employed on daily wages. Female seasonal labourers are usually nomads and they are paid less than men.

It is unfortunate that the agricultural statistics of Balochistan 1994-95 do not provide data on reported area, current fallow, culturable waste, forest and areas not available for cultivation for district Mastung. However, from the Irrigation Department data on land use were obtained. These data are given in the table in paragraph 1.1. the table shows that only 74% of the total geographical area is reported (436,586 Ha), of which 211,066 Ha (35.8% of the total geographical area) is arable land. About 14% of the district is culturable waste which could be brought under cultivation given the necessary inputs are available.

Agricultural land in Mastung can be classified into irrigated and un-irrigated areas. Irrigated land has permanent sources of irrigation, like karezes, tube wells and springs. On irrigated land high valued crops are grown. The un-irrigated land of Khushkaba is rain fed. The area of un-irrigated land varies from year to year depending on the weather.

Cultivated area is under personal ownership, while pasture land and those lands which have not yet been brought under administrative records belong to the tribe residing in the area. It is unfortunate that separate data for Mastung district are not available. However, the Agricultural Census 1990, provides some information for Kalat district including present Mastung district. The total number of farms in the then Kalat district as 23,935. All farms were private farms. The total area under possession of these farms was 199,000 hectares. The cultivated area during the census year was 125,418 hectares, which was 63% of the total farm area. The average size of a farm area was 8.34 hectares. Average size of cultivated area was 5,26 hectares. Small farms up to 5.0 hectares constituted 55% of the total number of farms having 17% of the total farm area. Medium farms constituted 20% of the total number of farms and their total area was 34,601 hectares or 17% of the total farm area. The large farms were 5,895 in number and they were 25% of the total number of farms having 66% of the total area. Thus 75% of small and medium farms were having 34% of the farm areas and 25% of big farms had 66% of the farm area.

The process for generating Agricultural Statistics is as under. Before a specific crop is planted, a Field Assistant visits the area and estimates the area to be brought under a specific crop. The second visit is made when the crop is sown, to confirm the earlier estimates. The final visit is made when the crop is harvested. In the case of wheat, first, second and third visits are made in November, March, and July respectively. The Field Assistant sends his report to the statistical wing of the Agriculture Department. The Director General of Agriculture Department compiles the data and publishes it in the Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan.

It should be mentioned that the total area reflected in the table above (42.244 Ha) is only a part of the total arable land given in paragraph 1.1 (211.066 Ha). The table above probably givens the net sown area in 1994-95.

It is interesting to note that in the cropping pattern of Mastung district subsistence crops have been replaced by high valued cash crop. During the Rabi season, wheat occupies the major proportion of the irrigated as well as rain fed areas, followed by barley, cumin, fodder and vegetables. In the Kharif season the major proportion of land is taken by onion, followed by fruits, fodder, vegetables, melon and potato. Looking at the area during the Rabi and the Kharif crops, it is evident that the farmers mostly produce for the market. This shows that farmers have diversified their cropping pattern over the years from subsistence towards high valued cash crops.

Average yield of irrigated areas is much higher than rain fed areas. Total production is the combined effect of area and yield. The growth rate of average yields and total production of wheat, fruits and potato are given below.

Source. Agricultural statistic of Balochistan 1994/95

Contrary to Pashtoon area, female and child labour involvement in the agriculture and horticulture sectors is significant. For seasonal labour male and female nomads are hired. Agriculture decisions are made by the male members of the family. Most of the agricultural work is done through mechanisation, i.e. tractors are used for ploughing and tube wells are used for watering the field. Therefore, the need for manual labour has reduced to a great extent. Productivity per unit of irrigated land is approximately double the productivity of rain fed land. Under the various types of irrigation (karezes, springs and wells) tube wells are preferred. Another main difference between cultivation on irrigated or rain fed land is that in the latter case the farmer cannot plan his production according to his wishes.

There are three types of tenancy contracts prevailing in the district. First, there is share tenancy, in which the owner of the land bears the cost of inputs and the production is divided according to a fixed standard for each crop. A second form is cash tenancy. This means that the owner of the land gives his land for one agricultural year against an agreed amount of money. The third form is the crop sharing system in which the landowner gives his land to the tenant and all production costs have to be borne by the tenant himself. In that case 1/5 of the production is given to the owner of the land. If the water used belongs to the owner of the land and if he also contributes in fertiliser, than the owner’s share will be bigger.

The nature of agricultural production is changing rapidly in the area with the advancement of technology: from bullock to tractor and from traditional manure to the use of chemical fertilisers, from subsistence to cash crops. Traditional agriculture is transferring into modern agriculture.

The major source of irrigation during the early 20th century was through karezes. Mastung was famous for its karezes (360 karezes in total). With the passage of time, many karezes were replaced by tube wells, because the maintenance of karezes was expensive. However, some karezes are still in use. The expenses for digging and maintenance are shared by its users, in proportion to the size of their lands. The work is carried out by a ‘Mirab’, who also distributes water. Nowadays, tube wells have become the major source of irrigation, because they allow control over time and quantity of water to be used. In other words, the utilisation of water resources has become more efficient and effective. The maintenance of privately owned tube wells is the responsibility of the owner, while the maintenance of government owned tube wells is the responsibility of the Irrigation Department. Karezes and springs are maintained through community participation.

Tube wells and open surface wells are mostly in private hands, with all rights vested in the owners. In the case of karezes and springs, rights of ownership are vested in the community. The costs of maintaining such channels are shared in proportion to the land holdings. Some tube wells are currently not operational, because they are located in areas where the water table has dropped, due to depletion or because of a mechanical breakdown.

The table given below shows the sources of irrigation and the percentage of total cultivated area:

Source of Irrigation in Mastung District

According to Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 1994-95, there were 1,785 tube wells in the former Kalat district, out of these 1,752 were privately owned and 33 were government controlled. Most of the tube wells were electric generated (1,489). Only 296 were diesel fuelled.

Out of 264, 258 tractors were privately owned and 6 were owned by the government. There were 70 threshers in Mastung valley, of which 67 were privately owned and the remaining 3 were under government ownership.

There is no data specially on the use and ownership of tractors and tube wells in Mastung.

In Mastung it is possible to hire a tractor, usually on a per hour basis. In some cases and in some areas the amount to be paid is determined by the number of hectares to be worked on.

Fertilisers are supplied through a network. The retailer gets his supplies from the wholesaler, who is normally the distributor within the district. Certified seeds are usually distributed by the Agriculture Department of the district. Ordinary seeds are available from local shops. According to the Development Statistics of Balochistan 1994-95, consumption of chemical fertiliser in Mastung district during 1993-94 and 1994-95 was 1,700 and 1,800 tonnes respectively. The data prior to these years are not available.

The district produces large quantities of fruits and vegetables. Marketing of fruits and vegetables is not restricted to the province, but in many cases crosses the provincial boundaries. It is estimated that 60 to 70% of the fruit production is marketed and consumed in other provinces. The market infrastructure, regulation mechanisms and marketing costs directly affect the prices received by the growers. There are numerous intermediaries operating at various stages of marketing. It is imperative to look at agricultural marketing in the national perspective. Marketing of all agriculture produce is in the hands of the private sector, while government is only involved in regulation and development functions.

The process of marketing of fruits starts from the time when the orchard is sold to the pre-harvest contractor at blossom. He manages the orchard till harvest. For fruit cultivation a dominant role is played by the commission agent who works like a bank providing credit to farmers, pre-harvest contractors and wholesalers. By providing credit, he gets a guarantee that the produce will be marketed through him.

Agricultural prices are a key element in the decision making process of many institutions. Government agencies assess the welfare of both producers and consumers, and plan price support programs accordingly. Farmers need good information on prices to make optimum management decisions and to plan their crop marketing. The Agricultural Price Commission (APC) gives recommendations for support prices for agricultural commodities. The main purpose is to safeguard the interest of the farmer. In reality the consumer and producer prices are determined through the market mechanism. The main reason of variation between APC and market prices is that prices fixed by APC do not even reflect the marginal costs of the crop. PASSCO is responsible for buying agricultural crops from the farmers at the rates fixed by APC, but as in reality prices for crops are higher than the prices set by APC, the role of PASSCO is negligible.

Change in level of agricultural incomes cannot be worked out without estimating costs of production for specific crops. District level data is not available for this purpose. However, agricultural prices of almost all the crops have increased over time. Yield per hectare and total production of crops have also increased. The costs of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser, water etc. have gone up as well. However, the remunerative price relationship between input and output has remained in favour of farmers. Therefore it can be concluded that agricultural income has increased. Recently, government has substantially increased the procurement prices of certain agricultural commodities and reduced the prices of agriculture inputs like fertiliser. This will further increase the profit margin and income of farmers.

There are three important functions of the Agriculture Department at district level: agricultural research, agricultural engineering and agricultural extension. The objective of agricultural extension is to disseminate research results. The Department also provides subsidised seeds and its extension field staff introduces the application of new technologies (optimum use of water, NPK, seeds etc.) to the farmers. The Department, in collaboration with and with financial assistance from donor agencies, is also working on specific projects in the district. Under the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) programme water tanks and channels are constructed. Three quarters of the cost is paid by the agency and one quarter is borne by the farmers. Another example is the Precision Land Levelling (PLL) project.

In the district various institutions are involved in providing inputs and services to the agricultural sector. The provincial government is playing a dominant role in the provision of agricultural services such as agricultural extension, marketing, price setting, irrigation, the collection of agricultural statistics and agricultural research and education. The Local Government and Rural Development Department and local government bodies do not play any role in agricultural development. The federal government influences the agriculture sector through price setting, provision of agricultural credit through ADBP and through Commercial Banks. NGOs do not play any significant role. International donors are involved in the provision of input supplies and training facilities for project staff and a number of international donors are involved in the development of irrigation practices. Private enterprises are involved in the provision of almost all agricultural services with the exception of agricultural statistics, research and training and education.

The agricultural sector is the dominant economic sector in the district. Horticulture is the backbone of Mastung’s economy. The district has potential for high valued cash crops like fruits, vegetables, onion and cumin. Women and children are actively involved in agriculture sector. Water resources are scarce. The major source of irrigation are tube wells. However, the installation of tube wells is very expensive, due to the district’s low water table. Private enterprises and the provincial government are playing a significant role in the provision of agricultural inputs and services.

Major issues confronting the agricultural sector in the District are:

• Poor access to institutional credit;
• Water management problems;
• Lack of effective co-ordination among different institutions providing agricultural services;
• Lack of reliable and adequate agricultural data;
• Load shedding and volatile fluctuations in the supply of electricity.

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