There are two cropping seasons in Quetta district Kharif and Rabi: Kharif crops are sown in summer and harvested in late summer or early winter, while Rabi crops are sown in winter or early summer and harvested accordingly. The important Rabi crops are wheat, barley, vegetable and fodder.

The crops grown during Kharif are fruits, melons, vegetables, potato, fodder, onion etc. It is interesting to note that almost all the crops grown during Kharif season are cash crops, which reflect that the farmers are commercial minded; they mostly produce for the market. This also indicates that agriculture in the district is a settled sector. It is worth mentioning that melon is the crop which is sown both on irrigated and un-irrigated areas. It can be inferred that the farmers are rational. They use scarce resource (water) in an efficient and effective manner.

Rural women are involved in the agricultural activities within the walls of their houses. Some aged women do take part in assisting with agriculture activities, for which they are not paid. At the time of sowing and reaping the harvest, the demand for seasonal labour increases and male labour is employed on daily wages for this purpose. It is worth mentioning that rural local male labour has been replaced to some extent by skilled Afghan refugees, who are hard working and submissive.

It is evident from the table given in section 1.1 that 83 thousand Ha. arable land is potentially available for cultivation in the district. The area under cultivable waste is 43.37 thousand Ha. From the table, it can be seen that 47% of the 265,287 Ha. area is not yet reported. The area which is now considered as cultivable waste that holds

potential for future development. The table below provides information regarding irrigated and un-irrigated areas.

Source: Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 92-93, 93-94 and 94-95.

It can be seen from the table that the total area under cultivation during 1992-93 to 1994-95 has ranged from 11,341 to 12,712 Ha. The proportion of irrigated area has hovered around 94%. Farmers do not take risk to cultivate un-irrigated lands. This is mainly due to the uncertain nature of rainfall. It should be noted that the total area mentioned in the table is much smaller than the arable land area given in the table in paragraphs the area in the table above gives the actual cultivated land in the years concerned.

As far as the land ownership in the district is concerned, the cultivated area is under personal ownership. Those lands which have not been brought under administrative record belong to the tribe residing in the area. Cultivation is normally done by owners with the help of labourers on the pattern of share cropping or with the labourers on cash tenancy for an agricultural year.

The Census of Agriculture 1990, which is the latest available, provides information for land ownership and the tenure system. The total number of farms in Quetta district was 3,139; excluding 8 farms, all farms were private farms. The total area under private farms was 30,791 Ha., the cultivated area during the census year was 14,143 Ha. which was 46% of the farm area. The average size of the farm area was 24.3 Ha., while the average size of cultivated area was 11.2 Ha. Small farms up to 5.0 Ha. were 67% of the total farms while the area under these farms was 3,025 Ha. which is 10% of the total area. Medium farms were 357 in number. They were 11% of the total farms and the farm area under them was 2,640 Ha. which was 9% of the total farm area. The large farms were 668 (21%) but the interesting point is that they were having 81% of the farm area under them which comes to 25,126 Ha.

Out of 3,131 farms in the District, more than 30 thousand were owner farms (97%). Of the remaining, 2% were tenant farms and 1% were owner cum tenant farms. The owner farmers were having 96% of the area, while 2% of the tenant farms and 1% of the owner cum tenant farms were having 1% and 3% respectively.

The process for generating Agricultural Statistics can be described as follows. Field Assistants visit the area, before a specific crop is planted, and estimate the area which is to be brought under that specific crop. Then they pay a second visit to reconfirm the earlier estimates. The final visit is made when the crop is harvested e.g. in the case of

wheat the first visit takes place in the month of November; the second is made in March and the final visit is paid in the month of July.

Looking at the table below, we note that the major proportion of the area is under fruit production followed by wheat production. During Rabi season, wheat is both a food crop as well as a cash crop. Cash crops are those crops, which can be easily marketed. Therefore fruits, onion, potato, vegetables, melons are cash crops.

In 1992-93 the area under fruit production was just 4,977 hectare. During 1993/94 it went up to 5,605, during 1994/95 there was an increase to 5,696 Ha. Thus during 1992-93 - 1994-95 the area under fruit production grew with 14.44%. Similarly the area increase in wheat during the same period was 19.49%.

It is clear that this table only gives a part of the area of arable land of 39,709 ha (see table in 1.1)

It is interesting that Quetta district does not produce subsistence crops. Moreover those crops, whose water requirement is very high compared to the market price are not produced. During Rabi, wheat occupies the major proportion of the irrigated area followed by vegetables, cumin, fodder and barley. In Kharif season, a major proportion goes to fruit production followed by vegetable and melon. Onion and fodder are also important Kharif crops. Looking at the nature of Rabi and Kharif crops, it is clear that the farmers mostly produce for the market. This also shows that the farmers are rational and they have diversified their cropping pattern over the years from subsistence to high valued cash crops based on 1994-95 area figures.

It is evident from the table that almost half of the area is under fruit production. Within fruits apples and grapes can be singled out as major district fruits. Wheat is the second major crop. Vegetables occupy third place in ranking.

The cropping pattern ranking in area is given below:-

The growth rate of average yields and total production of wheat, fruits, and potato are given below

Fruit production is very important and dominant in the district. Some 68% of the irrigated area was under fruit production and if we add the area under melon production, than the proportion of fruit area comes to 76%. Within fruits, apple and grapes can be pointed out as major district fruits.

Growth Rate Comparison 1993/94 to 1994/95

Source. Agricultural statistic of Balochistan 1994/95

Female labour involvement in the agriculture/ horticulture sector is negligible. Due to peculier tribal setup, female labour is not involved either in Rabi or Kharif.

Agricultural production decisions are made by the male members of the household. During peak season when the need for casual labour arises, they are hired on daily wages or a special contract for the entire time period is negotiated. In the district, most of the agricultural work is done through mechanisation i.e tractors are used for the ploughing of land and tubewells are used for watering the fields. Therefore, the need for manual labourers are reduced to a great extent.

Productivity per unit of land of irrigated lands versus rainfed widely differs. In the case of irrigated areas, the productivity is at least double than the rainfed areas. Another major

difference between production and cultivation under rain fed and other sources of irrigation is that the farmer is not able to plan his production ( for rainfed areas ) according to his whims and wishes.

• There are three types of tennancy contracts prevailing in the district.

Share tennacy: under this system, the owner of the land bears the cost of inputs and the production is divided according to a set formula.

Cash tennacny: under this the method owner of the land gives his land for an agricultural year on an agreed amount.

Crop sharing system: The land owner gives his land to the cultivator and all costs of production are borne by the cultivator and normally 1/5th of the production is given to the owner of the land.

With the passage of time came the advancement of technology. From bullock to tractor and from manual harvesting to thresher, from traditional manure to the use of chemical fertilizers, and from subsistence crops to cash crops. The nature of agricultural production is changing rapidly. Thus traditional agriculture is transforming into modern agriculture.

The major source of irrigation during the last quarter of the 19th century was through kareezes. The construction of kareezes and its maintenance was an expensive affair. The expenses for digging and maintaining kareezes were to be shared by water users in proportion to the share held by each in the land. Nowadays tube wells have become the major source of irrigation, because this system means having control over time and quantum of water to be used; in other words water resource utilization has become more efficient and effective. The maintenance of privately owned tube wells is the responsibility of the owners themselves, while the maintenance of government owned tube wells are the responsibility of the Irrigation Department. The kareezes and springs are maintained through community participation.

There are two types of drainage facilities/ schemes in the District

1. Delay Action Dams (7)
2. Flood protection walls (4)

The drainage facilities in the district can be classified according to the areas which fall within the range of rural or urban areas. As far as rural areas are concerned, traditional drainage facilities exist. The drained flood water find its way into Quetta Lora. Many persons dispose of their waste water using septic tanks, specially built for this purpose.

In the urban and Cantonment areas, water is drained through cemented outlets into Habib Nallah which leads to Quetta Lora. There this water is bought by the farmers for irrigating their lands, particularly for vegetable cultivation.

As far as water resources are concerned, tube wells and open surface wells are mostly owned by the private sector and all rights are vested with the owners. Whereas in the case of kareezes and springs, rights of ownership are vested in the hands of the community. The costs of maintaining such channels are borne in proportion to the land holdings.

There are some tube wells which are not being utilized. The reasons are that these tube wells are located in those areas where the water table has dropped due to surplus uplift, or mechanical breakdown.

A number of irrigation schemes have been sponsored by different donor agencies in district Quetta. Some of them are under tendering process, some have already been completed and some are in the process of implementation. These schemes have been funded by Government of Balochistan (Special Fund), MPA Fund and World Bank. These schemes were initiated for different purposes e.g.

( i ) Flood irrigation

( ii ) Perennial irrigation schemes

( iii ) Small delay action dams and Flood protection work.

( iv ) Rehabilitation of kareezes.

The Irrigation Department is supposed to develop irrigation facilities within its administrative boundaries. The department performs multidimensional functions such as:

1. Increasing the yield for agriculture
2. Protecting the cultivated land
3. Exploiting underground water resources
4. Recharging the ground water
5. Drinking water supply schemes
6. Safeguarding orchards and villages situated near river Bank
7. Exploring new water resources

According to the Agriculture Statistics of Balochistan 1994-95, there were 953 tube wells in the district, out of them 36 were government owned. This means that 96% was privately owned. Most of the tube wells (99.4%) were electric tube wells, while the remaining were diesel fuelled. As far as the number of tractors is concerned, there were 225 of them, out of these 92.5% were owned by individuals, while 7.5% belonged to government. The number of threshers was 41 with some 93% belonging to the private sector. No harvesters or reapers were reported belonging to the private sector.

According to Agricultural Census 1990, 49% of the reported farms (1,005) having 18,335 Ha. were using only tractors, while 1000 farms (having 4,834 Ha. of land) were using both tractors and draught animals (being 49% of the total farms).

There were 27 owner-cum-tenant farms (having 814 Ha) reporting the use of tractors for cultivation, 93% was using only tractors and 4% was using draught animals. Another 3% was using both tractors and draught animals.

Tenant farms who reported the use of tractors only were 49% of the reported farms having a farm area 3,334 Ha. Some 30% of the reported farms having 2,317 Ha, was using both tractors and draught animals, whereas 22% (having 592 Ha) were using only draught animals.

There are various ways to use agricultural machinery. If the machinery is owned, the farmer uses it according to his need. Buying a tractor is not justified in the case of very small farmers and even some of the middle class farmers are not financially able to purchase them. In general tractors are individually owned. Those who are not able to purchase one, hire tractor services from the owner and this has led to a market for tractor services. Normally (for cultivation purposes) a tractor is hired per hour. In some areas payments per hectare are made. Tractors are multi-purpose machinery. Besides ploughing and commercial use, they are also used for extracting water where electricity is not available.

Similarly tube well services for irrigation are available on hourly basis. The rates may differ based on the fuel used for its operation.

Fertilizer is supplied through a network. The retailer gets his supplies from the wholesaler, who is normally a distributor within a district. Certified seeds are usually distributed by the concerned Agriculture Department of a district. Ordinary seeds are available from local shops.

Source: Development statistics of Balochistan 1994/95

The district produces large quantities of fruits and vegetables. The marketing of fruits and vegetables is not restricted to the province, but in many cases crosses the provincial boundaries. It is estimated that 60-70% of the fruit production is marketed and consumed in other provinces. The market infrastructure, regulation, marketing costs, directly affect the prices received by the growers for their produce. There are numerous intermediaries operating at various stages of marketing, some more active than others.

Therefore, it is imperative to look at agriculture marketing in the national perspective. Marketing of all agriculture produce is in the hands of private sector, while government is confined only to regulation and development functions. The process of marketing starts from the time, when an orchard is sold to the pre-harvest contractor at blossom. He manages the orchard till harvest. In most production chains, there is a dominant business force; in the case of fruits, it is a commission agent. He 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. Marketing channels of fresh fruit are shown in the given figure.

District Quetta Production, Quetta Market Rates and Value of Crops 94-95

Agricultural prices are a key element in the decision making process of many institutions. Government agencies asses the welfare of both producers and consumers and plan price support programs. Farmers need good price data to make optimum management decisions and plan crop marketing. The producer price of a crop is the price received by the farmer from the sale of his crop. The consumer price is the price which retailers charge the consumers.

The main reason of fluctuation between APC and market prices is that prices fixed by APC even do not reflect the marginal costs of the crop. The second reason for fluctuation in prices is the nature of the crop itself. PASSCO is responsible for buying agricultural crops from the farmers at rates fixed by APC but in fact the market prices for crops are normally higher than the APC. Therefore, the role of PASSCO in the district is therefore negligible. Farmers prefer to sell their crops in the open market at a price which is considerably higher than the price fixed by the government.

A change in level of agricultural incomes cannot be worked out without estimating costs of production for specific crops. The required district level data is not available. However, agricultural prices of almost all the crops have increased over time. Yield per Ha and production of crops have also increased. The cost of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, water etc. have gone up as well. Despite all these the remunerative price relationship between input and output has remained in favour of farmers. Therefore it can be inferred that agricultural incomes have shown an increasing trend. Recently government has substantially increased the procurement prices of certain agricultural commodities and reduced the prices of agriculture inputs like fertilizer. This will further increase the profit margin of farmers.

There are three important functions in the Department of Agriculture at district level: agricultural research, agricultural engineering and agricultural extension. The objective of agricultural extension is to disseminate the results of proven research. It provides subsidised seeds and through its extension, field staff introduces the application of new technology (optimum use of water, NPK, seeds etc.) to the farmers.

The Department (with collaboration and financial assistance from donor agencies) is also working on specific projects in the district e.g. under Own Farm Water Management (OFWM) water tanks and channels are constructed. Some 3/4th of the cost is paid by the agency and 1/4^th is borne by the farmers. Another example is the Precision Land Levelling (PLL) project.

The demand for agricultural credit is far higher than its supply through institutional sources. Therefore there is a wide scope for agricultural credit.

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:

(i) Agricultural extension

(ii) Marketing

(iii) Price setting

(iv) Irrigation development and its operation and maintenance

(v) Agricultural Mechanization

(vi) Collection of Agricultural statistics

(vii) Agricultural research / education.

Local Government does not play a role in agricultural development. The Federal Government, through its policies influences the agriculture sector through price setting, provision of agricultural credit through ADBP and through commercial banks. The role of NGOs does not exist in this context. International donors are involved in the

provision of input supplies and training facilities for the project staff. Moreover, in the development of irrigation, many international donors are involved in the district.

Private enterprises is also involved in the provision of almost all agricultural services with the exception of agricultural statistics/research/training and education.

1. The district is a major producer of fruits and has vast potential for fruit and vegetable processing industries and fresh fruit juice industry.
2. The farmers are commercial minded, they mainly produce for the market.
3. Because of social and cultural factors, female involvement in the agricultural sector is insignificant.
4. Water resources are scanty. Major source of irrigation is tubewell. The installation of which, due to lower water table is very expensive.
5. The private sector and provincial government are playing a significant role in the provision of agricultural inputs and services

Major issues confronting agricultural sector in the district are:

- Poor access to institutional credit.

- Water management problems

- Lack of reliable and adequate agricultural data.

• Load shedding and volatile fluctuations in supply of electricity

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