In Musakhel agricultural crops are categorised in two types, Rabi and Kharif, according to their cultivation seasons. Rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in late winter or during early summer. Kharif crops are sown in summer and harvested in late summer or early winter. The major Rabi crops of the district include wheat, barley, rape seed, and mustard. Kharif crops in Musakhel include chillies, maize, jowar, melons, potato, onion, and pulses including mash and moong. Vegetables and fodder are cultivated throughout the year. Fruits are produced in Kharif season. As the winter season is mild in Musakhel, some of the fruits of cold areas are produced in the district including apple, almond, apricot, grapes, and pomegranate.

Agricultural labour is predominantly done by men. However, women often assist. All farming activities are done by the land owner and his family themselves.

The time series data on total production show an inconsistent trend, but in case of unreliable data it seems difficult to comment on this situation. The total agricultural and horticultural production has decreased drastically over the last three years, specially of wheat, onion, and melons. However, the average yield data is consistent, except for melons. A significant decrease (from 11,150 tonnes to 2,220 tonnes) has been observed in the total production of wheat from 1992-95, while the area under cultivation has also decreased considerably (from 9,790 Ha. to 1,460 Ha.). The same has been the case for onion and melons (see Annex 6 for detailed statistics). The main reason behind this declining trend seems to be the inconsistent statistics.

Men are the visible agricultural workers in Musakhel. Females take part in agriculture related activities within the house. For example storage of grains is done by women. Similarly, women prepare manure fertiliser from dung of the livestock they graze. Land owners themselves till the land and tenants are not easily available to be contracted. Although mechanisation, like use of tractors and threshers, is increasing, still most of the farming is performed through indigenous methods, e.g. bullocks are used for ploughing and grains are threshed manually.

According to the Agricultural Statistics 1994-95, the major source of irrigation in Musakhel is springs and lohras. Other significant sources are tube wells and open surface wells, both operated by diesel engines. A very small proportion of land is irrigated with karezes while the remaining is khushkaba or sailaba land depending upon rainfall. The total number of tube wells increased in 1993-94, but, according to the Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 1994-95, a sudden decrease has been observed in 1994-95 which is hard to explain. According to the data provided by the Deputy Director of Agriculture of Zhob division, there are 352 private and 130 government tube wells. In addition, the government owns 115 open surface wells and 155 are privately owned. These data are consistent with those provided by the Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 1994-95

Agricultural machinery used in the district includes tractors, threshers, and tube wells. There has been a consistent increase in the number of privately owned agricultural machines, but it is not documented adequately, especially the threshers. The Agricultural Engineering Directorate provides bulldozers at the rate of Rs. 300 per hour for levelling of agricultural lands and construction of embankments.

At present, no data are available about the use of fertilisers and pesticides in Musakhel district. It was observed that two shops in Musakhel bazaar sell chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Livestock’s manure is used as fertiliser by many farmers.

Most of the agricultural as well as horticultural produce is consumed locally, however, tomato and chillies are exported to neighbouring districts and a considerable amount of money is earned by this export. The unavailability of roads is a major hindrance in proper marketing of agricultural produce.

The prices of agricultural products cannot be fixed, as they change with the quantity of the product supplied into the market. Official rates are totally invalid in Musakhel. Grain crops just meet the local needs, therefore, organisations like PASCO are not active in the district. Tomato and chillies give, according to a rough estimate, about three fourth of the income from agricultural as well as horticultural activities.

As most of the agricultural produce is used domestically at local level, agriculture is not a significant source of income. The average yield of cash crops like rice and wheat is low, hence farmers are unable to raise their economic status through agriculture. However, agriculture fulfils part of their nutritional needs. According to an estimate, per capita value of the agricultural produce in 1994-95 was Rs.3,800. It can be assumed that the agricultural income is insufficient to live a comfortable life.

The Department of Agriculture Extension is providing assistance to farmers through dissemination of technical know-how and information regarding agriculture/horticulture. The task of data collection and onward transmission by the Department at the district level needs some improvement. There seems to be very little co-ordination between research activities by the federal government and the knowledge dissemination process by the provincial government through the Department of Agriculture Extension.

The department is operating the On Farm Water Management Project, which is executed with assistance from the Japanese government. In this project water channels and water tanks are constructed in the fields by involving the farmers on participatory basis. The Department also sells pesticides and insecticides to the farmers.

The Balochistan government and private sector are the main partners providing support to agricultural sectors. Federal government is also involved in agricultural development while the Japanese government has provided financial assistance for the On Farm Water Management Project.

Traditional crops are sown and innovative farming is non-existent in Musakhel. Although irrigation water is available, only a small area is under cultivation. There is need for human resource mobilisation though media campaigns and a participatory approach, so that the area under cultivation can be increased. The production of tomato and chillies can be organised to give more yield and more income to the farmers, if the government would provide incentives and technical input.

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