Overview

The Agriculture Sector contributes 21% of GDP of Pakistan, which consumes 46% of direct labor force, coming from 67% of the population. Out of Agriculture, the share of livestock sector is 56%. However, the head count involved in both sectors is same as livestock and agriculture supplement each other in the rural landscape. Livestock’s value exceeds the combined value of all the major and minor crops by about 6.1%. The share of livestock products in the generation of foreign exchange is about 13%. More significantly, livestock is an integral part (30-40%) of livelihood of about 30 to 35 million rural farmers. Presently, the reported gross value addition of livestock stands at PKR 1,172 billion, whereas livestock share in export is 8.5%. The economy of Pakistan is the 25thlargest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 38th largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Pakistan has a population of over 191 million (the world's 6th largest). However, Pakistan's undocumented economy is estimated to be 36% of its overall economy. Some non-conventional estimates put this figure at much higher level, a fact, which is substantiated to some extent by the external shocks the economy has had succeeded to bear. Pakistan is one of the ‘Next Eleven’, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICS (five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has a potential to become one of the world's large economies in the 21st century. Pakistan's average economic growth rate in the first five decades (1947–1997) has been higher than the growth rate of the world economy during the same period. The World Bank (WB) and International Finance Corporation's report on “Ease of Doing Business Index 2015” ranked Pakistan highest in South Asia and also higher than China and Russia. Agriculture accounted for about 53% of Pakistan’s GDP in 1947. While per-capita agricultural output has grown since then, it has been outpaced by the growth of the non-agricultural sectors. The share of agriculture has dropped to 21% of Pakistan's economy by 2016. In recent years, the country has seen rapid growth in industrial and services sectors, with latter crossing half the total GDP output. Livestock sub-sector contributes 11.6% in National GDP and 56.8% in overall Agri. Sector GDP of Pakistan;3 it employees 46% direct labor force that comes from 67% of the population. The share of livestock in developed countries’ Agri sectors ranges between 59%- 79%; for India, it stands around 25%; it was 28% for Pakistan in 90s. Livestock sector is the biggest cost reducer of Agriculture sector through harvesting operations in Pakistan. Livestock’s value exceeds the combined value of all the major and minor crops by about 6.1%. The share of livestock products in the generation of foreign exchange is about 13%. More significantly, livestock is an integral part (30-40%) of livelihood of about 30 to 35 million rural farmers. Presently, the reported gross value addition of livestock stands at PKR 1,172 billion, whereas livestock share in export is 8.5% Dairy sector in Pakistan consists of three types of producers; 80% small farmers raising more than 50% of total milch animals (herd size less than 5 animals), 14% medium-sized farmers/ producers, raising 29% milch animals (herd size 5-10 animals), 3% large-scale producers sharing 21% of milch animals (herd size more than 10 animals). Animals are raised in agricultural lands and almost 1/5th of this land is used as pasture land to raise animals including milk-producing animals. Medium and large size producers are mostly located in peri-urban areas having better farm-to-market access. In the Punjab Province, livestock sector is the largest women engagement in any economic activity as a rural woman spends 59% of her daily life in livestock related activities. Punjab is the largest province, population wise (both human and animal), of Pakistan. By 2011, Punjab had a GDP of $104 billion, which is growing steadily. It is featured well within the list of country subdivisions with a GDP over $100 billion. It is the biggest contributor to the national GDP with 59% share in 2014. It is especially prominent in the Services & Agriculture sectors of the economy with a thriving private sector. Province has 49% of Pakistan’s cattle, 65% of the buffaloes, 24% of the sheep, and 37% of the goats.1 In value of product, it is producing 62% of milk, 43% of beef, 32% of mutton and 75% of poultry of Pakistan. However, livestock productivity and standards of preventive health are far below world benchmarks. The reasons are inextricably not linked with the genetic potential of the breeds but with wider market distortions.

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