Pakistan's farm economy is built on an awkward contradiction. Companies selling seeds, fertilisers and pesticides keep growing, while the growers who buy their products contend with rising costs, erratic markets and mounting climate risks. Cotton tells the story most starkly: roughly 5m acres are still sown, yet output has slumped to about 6m bales. Nearly 35% of the country's agricultural produce is lost after harvest because of poor storage and handling. Against this backdrop, Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has announced plans for an apex forum and a comprehensive national agriculture policy, and reformers are lining up with prescriptions.
Agriculture contributes nearly a quarter of GDP, and cotton remains the backbone of the textile industry and the main raw material for export-oriented manufacturing. During a single cotton season, private-sector sales of seeds, fertilisers and crop-protection products are estimated at Rs150bn-220bn. Critics ask how much of that sum is ploughed back into farmers' productivity through research, soil testing, water management, modern seed technology and scientific extension.
The question matters for business too. Cotton absorbs almost a quarter of the country's fertiliser consumption and a large share of its pesticides. A continuing decline would therefore hurt not only growers but also the firms whose sales depend on a productive farm sector. A farmer who cannot turn a reasonable profit will eventually skimp on quality seed, balanced fertilisation and crop protection, and weaker farmers ultimately mean weaker markets.
Other farm powers handle this differently. In America, Brazil and Australia, private agricultural companies increasingly complement state research with farmer education, demonstration plots, digital advisory services, precision farming and technology transfer. In Pakistan, firms organise seminars, field days and conventions, but these tend to promote individual products. Farmers are left with piecemeal advice rather than integrated, science-based crop management, a structural gap rather than the fault of any single company.
Sugar offers a domestic contrast. Mills depend on a steady supply of quality cane, so they engage continuously with growers, funding extension and technical guidance. Advocates argue that cotton needs a comparable long-term partnership linking textile manufacturers, seed and fertiliser firms, pesticide makers and public research institutions.
They also want success measured differently. One proposal is for big agribusinesses to adopt "Farmer Impact" performance indicators covering yields, production costs, climate resilience and net farm income alongside sales targets. Others include structured partnerships with public research and extension bodies, and a voluntary reporting framework under which companies would publish annual assessments of how their products and advice affected farm profitability.
Agriculture Republic, a think-tank, has set out its own agenda in a letter to the prime minister. Its co-founder, Aamer Hayat Bhandara, a member of the Punjab Agriculture Commission who sat on the Agriculture Yield Improvement Committee during Mr Sharif's previous tenure, welcomed the planned forum as a timely chance to tackle long-standing structural problems. Citing the Green Pakistan Initiative, he called for a shift towards climate-compatible farming and modern marketing systems.
His proposals are wide-ranging. The Zarkhez-e loan scheme, he argues, should move from demand-based lending to running finance, so that farmers can avoid distress sales after harvest and rely less on subsidies. Grain and vegetable markets should install electronic scales to end under-weighing, while digital payments in mandis would document trade and lift revenues without burdening growers.
The letter also urges climate-adaptive irrigation, better on-farm water management and contingency planning, given agriculture's heavy reliance on the Indus River System and regional water uncertainties. It recommends an integrated logistics network of collection centres, cold chains and digital transport management, and a nationwide electronic warehouse-receipt system to support storage and commodity finance. Losses for highly perishable produce range between 20% and 40%.
Two further ideas stand out. Traditional co-operatives would become professionally managed joint-stock companies, giving smallholders better access to finance and technology. And an independent provincial tribunal would hold suppliers of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides liable for verified product failures that cause crop losses. Mr Bhandara has offered to serve on the apex forum or its working groups.
Climate change sharpens every one of these problems, particularly in Punjab, the agricultural heartland. Longer heatwaves, irregular rain, floods, smog, crop losses and water shortages are already reshaping daily life there. The province's Climate Resilient Punjab Vision and Action Plan 2024 aims to move from reacting to disasters to preparing for them, and the government has linked it to allocations in the development budget.
Water security is the foremost priority. Groundwater is being depleted by inefficient irrigation and rising demand from farms, factories and swelling cities. Analysts call for accurate monitoring, curbs on excessive extraction, water-efficient irrigation and rainwater harvesting. Farmers, especially small and medium ones, need climate-resilient seeds, reliable forecasts, crop insurance and affordable technology without taking on extra debt.
Cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Multan face their own threats from air pollution, urban flooding and extreme heat. Smog, critics argue, cannot be treated as a seasonal emergency; it demands year-round action on vehicle emissions, industrial fuels, crop-residue burning and construction dust. Construction in flood-prone areas and natural drainage channels also needs firmer restriction.
The deepest weakness is institutional. Responsibilities are fragmented, enforcement is lax, and the Environment Protection Agency lacks modern laboratories, equipment and qualified inspectors. Reformers propose publishing climate spending and project timelines, naming a responsible officer for each scheme, and presenting an independently reviewed annual Climate Performance Report to the Punjab Assembly.
Pakistan, in short, does not lack plans. Whether in cotton fields, mandis or smog-choked cities, the harder task is building institutions able to deliver them. The proposed national policy will be judged not by its announcement but by whether farmers end up earning more from what they grow.