The 7th Agricultural Census 2024 has revealed that 16,958 farm owners possess land of 100 acres or more, cumulatively 3.65 million acres, which amounts to 6% of land holdings nationwide.
Unveiling the results of the census, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said this indicated 97% of farmers own less than 12.5 acres of land, noting this was a cause of concern. These farmers fall into the low middle to middle income groups, whose landholdings do not generate enough resources to save money, leaving them vulnerable to adverse situations as they live crop to crop.
According to the census, 89% of farmers had less than 12.5 acres of land in 2010. It has attributed the increase to division of inherited land and the selling of properties to meet expenses.
The census states 26% of farmers own less than one acre of land against 15% in 2010, when the last census was conducted. Overall, 61% farmers have less than 2.5 acres of land, while 19% farmers have less than five acres.
Iqbal said the average size of farms had reduced from 6.4 acres in 2010 to 5.1 acres today, noting such small landholdings reduce the scale of the economy and minimize the prospects of corporate farming. However, he maintained, the findings of the census would prove beneficial in boosting the country’s Gross Domestic Product, as the government could more accurately measure outcomes.
Noting this census marked the first time agriculture, livestock, and farm machinery were covered by one report, he said the country’s total cultivated area now stands at 52.8 million acres, while there are more than 251 million livestock animals nationwide.
The census states total cultivable area has expanded by 10.2 million acres over the past 14 years, while the share of non-irrigated farmland has shrunk from 8.4 million acres in 2010 to 4.9 million acres in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of farms has increased from 8.26 million in 2010 to 11.7 million in 2024.
In total, 19.8 million households are associated with agriculture. The livelihood of 40 million people is directly linked to agriculture and 37.4% of the labor force is employed by the sector.
According to the census, the highest concentration of agricultural land lies in Punjab, with 5.05 million farms covering over 31 million acres. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4.17 million farms cover 8.83 million acres, while Sindh has 1.82 million farms covering 9.19 million acres. Balochistan’s 633,000 farms span 8.83 million acres, and Islamabad’s 17,000 farms account for a relatively minor portion.
The country’s total irrigated area stands at 45.9 million acres, with 14.4 million acres irrigated by canals, up from 12.3 million acres in 2010. Punjab has the largest irrigated area with 27.1 million acres, followed by Sindh with 7.3 million acres. The census states that while farms in KP and Balochistan also utilize canals, irrigation in these regions also relies on other sources. Traditional methods such as Rod Kohi and Karez remain functional in Balochistan.
Rain-fed farming saw a sharp decline from 8.4 million in 2010 to 4.9 million acres in 2024.
The country’s total cropped area increased from 68 million acres in 2010 to 82.8 million acre in 2024. The discrepancy between the cropped area and the total cultivated land arises from farms utilizing the same plot of land multiple times annually.
Among major crops, wheat remains dominant, going from 42% in 2010 to 43.3% in 2024. Rice has slightly declined from 14% to 12.9%, while maize has increased from 4% to 5.1%. The share of cotton has dropped from 14% to 7.9%, while sugarcane has also declined from 4% to 3.3%. The share of fodder crop has increased from 9% to 9.5%.
Livestock
According to the census, there are 55.8 million cows, 47.7 million buffaloes, 44.5 million sheep, and 95.8 million goats across Pakistan. The country also has 1.5 million camels, 553,000 horses, 296,000 mules and 4.9 million donkeys.
Punjab leads in livestock numbers with 26.9 million cows, 29.5 million buffaloes, 13.3 million sheep, and 31.3 million goats. Sindh has over 11.2 million cows, 13.4 million buffaloes, 4.7 million sheep, and 19 million goats. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has 13.5 million cows, 3.9 million buffaloes, 7.6 million sheep, and 22.4 million goats, while Balochistan has 4.07 million cows, 664,000 buffaloes, 18.8 million sheep and 22.8 million goats. Islamabad has a livestock population of over 1 million cows, 120,000 buffaloes, 5,000 sheep, and 127,000 goats.