Wheat is a staple food crop of Pakistan, dominating all crops in acreage and production. In Pakistan, spring wheat is grown as a Rabi crop in the Sindh, Punjab, NWFP, and Balochistan provinces. In the northern parts of Balochistan, some winter wheat is cultivated on a small scale. Despite rigorous efforts from the government, Pakistan will still fall short of attaining self sufficiency in wheat. Pakistan imports about 2 million tons of wheat at a cost of 8 billion rupees.
Rice crop in Pakistan is extremely important in terms of export earnings, domestic employment & rural development. Rice is an important food as well as cash crop in Pakistan. Rice is grown in fertile lands of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan regions where millions of farmers rely on rice cultivation as their major source of employment. Among the most famous varieties grown in Pakistan include the Basmati, known for its flavor and quality.
Cotton is the most important cash crop in Pakistan. Pakistan is the sixth-largest producer of cotton in the world. It also has the third-largest cotton spinning capacity in Asia (after China and India), with thousands of ginning and spinning units producing textile products from cotton. By increasing the cotton per acer yield we improve the livelihoods of the approximately 1.5 million smallholder farmers who rely on cotton for a living.
Sugarcane is an important cash crop of Pakistan. It is mainly grown for sugar and sugary production. It is an important source of income and employment for the farming community of the country. It also forms essential item for industries like sugar, chip board, paper, barrages, confectionery, uses in chemicals, plastics, paints, synthetics, fiber, insecticides and detergents. Sugarcane production in the country has increased over time.
Maize is the third most important cereal crop in Pakistan after Wheat and Rice. It is used as food, feed and industrial crop around the world. It contributes towards food security in several developing countries of Asia and Africa. Maize crop is called “the other gold” due to its diversified industrial consumption. As a very higher per acre yielding crop, it can provide subsistence to large number of persons. Now a days maize grain is being used as novelty food.
Pakistani farmers have a strong interest in reliable potato varieties from high-quality, certified seed potatoes. Potato is one of the major edible and profitable crops of Pakistan. Potato is forth important crop after wheat, rice and maize. Potato can be called complete diet. It contains plenty of starch. In addition, potato also contains vitamins, minerals and proteins. Potato crop is able to produce much higher yields from per unit area than other crops.
