Agriculture In Pakistan Research Articles

The Role of Green Energy in Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan

This study examines the role of green energy in sustainable agriculture based on data from 250 farmers in Punjab, Pakistan. The survey explores farmers' awareness, perceptions, and attitudes toward transitioning to green energy for sustainable agriculture. Results indicate that most respondents recognize the potential of green energy in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and emphasize the importance of its adoption. Green energy is believed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable agricultural sector. Government policies, regulations, and investments are considered crucial for facilitating the transition to green energy in agriculture. Education and awareness initiatives are also identified as essential for promoting its use. The study underscores the significance of promoting green energy adoption to achieve a sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural system. The findings can inform policymakers and stakeholders in developing strategies to encourage the use of green energy in agriculture.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER CRISIS, CONSEQUENCES ON AGRICULTURE AND HYDROLOGICAL JUSTICE: CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN

Hydrologic justice is necessary in the current time of climate change deteriorating effects. This thesis examines the impacts of climate change on Pakistan's hydrological system and agriculture sector and evaluates the government and stakeholder response to such impacts, with a focus on the water crisis and its implications for hydrological justice. The study uses qualitative research methods to analyse the data collected from various sources, including interviews, and observation. The findings of the research indicate that climate change has led to a reduction in water availability, which has had a significant impact on Pakistan's agriculture sector, particularly small-scale farmers. The frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods has also exacerbated the water crisis, leading to inequitable distribution and access to water resources. The study highlights the importance of hydrological justice in addressing the water crisis in Pakistan. The government, policymakers, and stakeholders must prioritize the needs of vulnerable communities and ensure equitable distribution of water resources. Additionally, promoting sustainable agriculture practices and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure can help reduce the impacts of climate change on Pakistan's hydrological system and agriculture sector. Overall, the study emphasizes the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to address the water crisis in Pakistan and pursue hydrological justice. The research findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and academics interested in climate change, hydrology, agriculture, and environmental justice.

Contributions of artificial intelligence for circular economy transition leading toward sustainability: an explorative study in agriculture and food industries of Pakistan

Contributions of artificial intelligence for circular economy transition leading toward sustainability: an explorative study in agriculture and food industries of Pakistan

Soil organic carbon sequestration and modeling under conservation tillage and cropping systems in a rainfed agriculture

Conservation agriculture is a well-established method for promoting carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but little is known about how it affects subtropical dryland farming systems. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential of conservation agriculture in Pakistan's subtropical dryland to reduce atmospheric CO2 enrichment and alter soil organic carbon fractions. In a field experiment, fallow-wheat (farmers' practice) and the conservation tillage methods minimum tillage (MT), reduced tillage (RT), and zero tillage (ZT) were compared to conventional tillage (CT) in the main plots and the cropping systems sorghum-wheat (S-W) and mungbean-wheat (M-W) to fallow-wheat (F-W) in the sub-plots. Multiple assessments taken over a two-year period revealed that CT plots lacked greater soil organic carbon and its fractions than ZT and RT plots. In comparison to CT, ZT, and RT exhibited higher average total organic carbon (TOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) concentrations, respectively, of 1.43% and 1.31%, 4.61% and 2.83%, 2.42% and 1.97%, and 1.66% and 1.76%. In comparison to the S-W cropping system, the F-W and M-W cropping systems showed increased MBC and MOC, but POC and TOC were little impacted. The maximum TOC (0.589% and 0.589%), MBC (0.021% and 0.021%), POC (0.195% and 0.192%), and MOC (0.489% and 0.485%) were found in the combinations of ZT with F-W and M-W. Regardless of the cropping systems, cumulative CO2 flow was lowest in ZT plots compared to the other tillage techniques. The CENTURY model confirmed that the use of continuous tillage is a major threat to both soil fertility and production. The study, therefore, concludes that ZT and RT systems in particular are potential possibilities for carbon sequestration in subtropical dryland soils for CO2 reduction.

International manufacturing and trade in colistin, its implications in colistin resistance and One Health global policies: a microbiological, economic, and anthropological study.

The emergence of colistin-resistant Enterobacterales is a global public health concern, yet colistin is still widely used in animals that are used for food as treatment, metaphylaxis, prophylaxis, and growth promotion. Herein, we investigate the effect of colistin-resistant Enterobacterales in Pakistan, global trade of colistin, colistin use at the farm level, and relevant socioeconomic factors. We conducted a microbiological, economic, and anthropological study of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli in humans, animals, and the environment and international trade and knowledge of colistin in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China, India, and Viet Nam. We collected backyard poultry cloacal swabs, commercial broiler cloacal swabs, cattle and buffalo rectal swabs, human rectal swabs, wild bird droppings, cattle and buffalo meat, sewage water, poultry flies, chicken meat, and canal water from 131 sites across Faisalabad, Pakistan, to be tested for mcr-1-positive and mcr-3-positive Escherichia coli. We recruited new patients admitted to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, with abdominal pain and diarrhoea for rectal swabs. Patients with dysentery and those who were already on antibiotic treatment were excluded. Data for colistin trade between 2017 and 2020, including importation, manufacturing, and usage, were accessed from online databases and government sources in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. We recruited participants from poultry farms and veterinary drug stores in Pakistan and Nigeria to be interviewed using a structured questionnaire. International manufacturing, import, and export data; value analysis; and trade routes of colistin pharmaceutical raw material (PRM), feed additive, and finished pharmaceutical products (FPPs) were accessed from 2017-21 export data sets. We collected 1131 samples between May 12, 2018, and July 1, 2019: backyard poultry cloacal swabs (n=100), commercial broiler cloacal swabs (n=102), cattle and buffalo rectal swabs (n=188), human rectal swabs (n=200), wild bird droppings (n=100), cattle and buffalo meat (n=100), sewage water (n=90), poultry flies (n=100), chicken meat (n=100), and canal water (n=51). We recruited 200 inpatients at Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, between Nov 15, 2018, and Dec 14, 2018, for rectal swabs. We recruited 21 participants between Jan 1, 2020, and Dec 31, 2020, from poultry farms and drug stores in Pakistan and Nigeria to be interviewed. 75 (7%) of 1131 samples contained mcr-1-positive E coli, including wild bird droppings (25 [25%] of 100), commercial broiler cloacal swabs (17 [17%] of 100), backyard poultry cloacal swabs (one [1%] of 100), chicken meat (13 [13%] of 100), cattle and buffalo meat (two [2%] of 100), poultry flies (eight [8%] of 100), sewage water (six [7%] of 90), and human rectal swabs (three [2%] of 200). During 2017-20, Pakistan imported 275·5 tonnes (68·9 tonnes per year, 95% CI 41·2-96·6) of colistin as PRM, all sourced from China, 701·9 tonnes (175·5 tonnes per year, 140·9-210·1) of colistin as feed additives from China and Viet Nam, and 63·0 tonnes (15·8 tonnes per year, 10·4-21·1) of colistin as FPPs from various countries in Asia and Europe. For Bangladesh and Nigeria, colistin PRM and FPPs were imported from China and Europe. Colistin knowledge and usage practices in Pakistan and Nigeria were unsatisfactory in terms of understanding of the effects on human medicine and usage other than for treatment purposes. China is the major manufacturer of PRM and feed additive colistin and exported a total of 2664·8 tonnes (666·2 tonnes per year, 95% CI 262·1 to 1070·2) of PRM and 2570·2 tonnes (642·6 tonnes per year, -89·4 to 1374·5) of feed additive in 1330 shipments during 2018-21 to 21 countries. Regardless of 193 countries signing the UN agreement to tackle antimicrobial resistance, trading of colistin as PRM, FPPs, and feed additive or growth promoter in low-income and middle-income countries continues unabated. Robust national and international laws are urgently required to mitigate the international trade of this antimicrobial listed on WHO Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and INEOS Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research TRANSLATION: For the Urdu translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Climate change adaptation strategies for sustainable water management in the Indus basin of Pakistan

Pakistan's agriculture faces water security challenges owing to insecure water supply and bad governance. The increasing food demand of the growing population and climate change vulnerability are future key threats to water sustainability. In this study, the current and future water demands as well as management strategies are evaluated for two climate change Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) for the Punjab and Sindh provinces in the Indus basin of Pakistan. The RCPs are assessed for the regional climate model REMO2015, which was found to be the best-fitting model for the current situation in a preceding model comparison using Taylor diagrams. The status quo water consumption (CWRarea) is estimated to 184 km3 yr−1, consisting of 76 % blue water (freshwater from surface water and groundwater), 16 % green water (precipitation), and 8 % grey water (required to leach out the salts from the root zone). The results of the future CWRarea indicates that RCP2.6 is more vulnerable than RCP8.5 in view of water consumption as the vegetation period of crops is reduced under RCP8.5. For both pathways (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5), CWRarea increases gradually in the midterm (2031–2070) and becomes extreme at the end of the long term (2061–2090). The future CWRarea increases up to +73 % under the RCP2.6 and up to +68 % in the RCP8.5 compared to the status quo. However, the increase in CWRarea could be restrained up to −3 % compared to the status quo through the adaptation of alternative cropping patterns. The results further show that the future CWRarea under climate change could be even decreased by up to −19 % through the collective implementation of improved irrigation technologies and optimized cropping patterns.

GROWTH AND INSTABILITY OF EXPORT OF SELECTED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN PAKISTAN

The present study was conducted in Faisalabad at Social Sciences Research Institute, Pakistan Agricultural Reseaerch Council, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan during 2019. Countries wise time series data of exported fruits and vegetables were taken from AMIS for finding instability of commodities and countries. Current study focused on the compound annual growth rates of production, export quantity and value of mostly exported fruits and vegetables. Growth trends of selected commodities were executed by using semitrend growth model. Coefficient of variation technique was used to find out instability of specific commodity for specific country/market. Selected exported vegetables (potato, tomato, onion and garlic) indicated instability results for Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Qatar and Indonesia among given markets and within the given period. Among fruits kinnow export shared 24.96, mango export results showed 22.08 percent share in total fruits export followed by 13.55 percent share of orange and 8.6 percent export share of dates dried in total export from Pakistan. Results observed for instability of exports to countries, minimum value of coefficient of variation (24.34 percent) was recorded for Bahrein market for kinnow export and Bahrein market was stable among given markets. Similarly, mango results showed that export of mango to Germany market was stable among given markets and within the given period. Export of orange to Saudi Arabia market and export of dates to Bangladesh market was stable among given markets within the given period of time. Finally, in order to lessen the instability, it can be proposed that Pakistan ought to take steps to boost the exports of primary commodity and value added products to raise revenue profitable.

Development of Cost-Effective and Easily Replicable Robust Weeding Machine—Premiering Precision Agriculture in Pakistan

Weed management has become a highly labor-intensive activity, which is the reason for decreased yields and high costs. Moreover, the lack of skilled labor and weed-resistant herbicides severely impact the agriculture sector and food production, hence increasing the need for automation in agriculture. The use of agricultural robots will help in the assurance of higher yields and proactive control of the crops. This study proposes a laser-based weeding vehicle with a unique mechanical body that is adjustable relative to the field structure, called the Robot Operating System (ROS) based robust control system, and is customizable, cost-effective and easily replicable. Hence, an autonomous-mobile-agricultural robot with a 20 watt laser has been developed for the precise removal of weed plants. The assembled robot’s testing was conducted in the agro living lab. The field trials have demonstrated that the robot takes approximately 23.7 h at the linear velocity of 0.07 m/s for the weeding of one acre plot. It includes 5 s of laser to kill one weed plant. Comparatively, the primitive weeding technique is highly labor intensive and takes several days to complete an acre plot area. The data presented herein reflects that implementing this technology could become an excellent approach to removing unwanted plants from agricultural fields. This solution is relatively cost-efficient and provides an alternative to expensive human labor initiatives to deal with the increased labor wages.

Floods and Climate Change and its effect on agriculture of Pakistan: A case study of Sindh

Floods and Climate Change and its effect on agriculture of Pakistan: A case study of Sindh

Analytical observation Upsurge and Current Situation of Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) in Sindh, Pakistan:

Schistocerca gregaria (Forskl, 1775), one of the most notorious insects in the world, significantly harms the economy and agriculture each year. It was reputedly the biggest infestation to hit Pakistan since the 1990s, destroying wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, and vegetable crops, and it was also the cause of the worst disaster of 2019–2020. We have extensively examined the external characteristics of this swarm using the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit 1 (COI), morphometry of the solitary and gregarious phases, influenced host plants, as well as its deterrent status. Swarms of Desert Locusts, which have been on the rise recently, have had a substantial negative influence on Pakistan's agriculture, destroying all kinds of crops. Preliminary projections of the financial losses over the two agricultural seasons in 2020 and 2021 may vary from 3.4 billion US dollars to 10.21 billion US dollars. This drastically increased the price of ordinary products in the market. In addition, locust activity has grown and is presently present in a number of affected areas. For the species to be managed and controlled effectively, accurate species identification is essential. This study seeks to explain this essential management attention

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN PAKISTAN: AN INSIGHT INTO THEIR SOLUTION

In a nation like Pakistan, where the security of one's food supply is critical for those living in poverty, it is imperative to take on the issue of increasing food production. According to estimates, food production must increase by at least 40% until 2025 in order to meet the long-term demands of the 33% predicted increase in population. Pakistan's agriculture faces significant difficulties in meeting the nation's food needs as a result of the population's growth, the irregular climate, and low crop production. The management of crop production presents many challenges for Pakistani farmers, including the absence of soil testing on farms, the unavailability and poor quality of fertilizers, loss during harvest, a lack of warehouses, machinery, and equipment, and, above all, a deterioration in soil fertility. In Pakistan, only tractors and cultivators are used for agricultural mechanization. The country is experiencing major issues with the production gap as a result of conventional farming methods and a lack of creative technology use. Production and average yield are vastly different. Furthermore, the country's food security policies are gravely in jeopardy due to the sharp rise in population. A significant increase in agricultural output is essentially needed to ensure the nation's agricultural future. To increase agricultural output and close yield gaps, the agricultural sector should utilize the most recent technological advancements. Land, design, farm equipment, seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, transport, and other resources are needed for agricultural operations. Farmers need to have simple access to finance in order to quickly and conveniently acquire these supplies. Because our farmers are so impoverished, the loans that banks offer to them are insufficient. The review article will briefly go over the mentioned problems, as well as some potential solutions that may be used in Pakistan's environment to increase agricultural output there.

Land Inequality by Mode of Irrigation in Pakistan, 1990-2000

In Pakistan agriculture land accounts for a large portion of total wealth and the distribution of this land effects household welfare and agriculture efficiency. Evidence shows that in developing countries, land inequality is detrimental to overall efficiency due to incomplete markets and therefore results in welfare losses to those with little or no land as there are several benefits associated with access to land [Vollrath (2007)]. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy of Pakistan which contribute 22.4 percent to Gross Domestic Product, 43.05 percent of labour force engaged in agriculture sector and 67 percent of population reside in rural areas out of which 30 percent of people living below the official poverty line. As the climate of Pakistan is arid to semi arid, its 80 percent agriculture is irrigated. Pakistan has one of the largest irrigation system in the world based on Indus basin irrigation system which plays an important role in the development of agriculture and the nature of distribution of irrigation water across farm size groups determines to a significant extent the nature of distribution of agriculture income.

Reforming the Government's Role in Pakistan's Agriculture Sector

This paper assesses the role of the government in Pakistan's agriculture sector and concludes that major reforms are needed. The government's role is grouped into two main areas: price and trade policy, and public institutions, services, and expenditures. First, the paper assesses the impact of the price and trade policy on incentives and the functioning of input markets. Agricultural incentives have been severely distorted by policy, both through direct effects on agricultural prices and indirect effects operating through the exchange rate. Although indirect effects from the exchange rate have been corrected, some indirect effects remain because of higher protection given to industry. Subsidies on the input side have created distortions in input markets, dissipating much of the subsidy and its intended benefit to small farmers. Second, the paper looks at the role of public institutions. These have proliferated into almost every area of agriculture, with very little benefit to the sector. The most notable failure has been in the area of research and extension. Public enterprises have crowded out the private sector in marketing and distribution, and the rationale for government presence in these areas is not clear. Hidden expenditure also has taken place through underpricing of water and electricity, making the continued provision of these inputs financially unsustainable. The paper concludes that the role of government in agriculture has had little beneficial impact for most farmers and, therefore, major reforms are needed in policy and institutions to help sectoral growth.

Fiscal Space for Investment in Agriculture— A Review of Taxes and Subsidies in Agriculture in Pakistan

Despite agriculture’s importance in terms of its relationship to poverty and welfare of the poorest households, the government finds it increasingly difficult to find the fiscal space for budgetary allocations for agriculture and agricultural RD. We hypothesise that expansion of expenditures on agriculture is possible in the short to medium run with a combination of reallocations and new taxation. We argue that existing spending aimed towards the agriculture sector includes very large outlays on implicit subsidies that are largely unproductive. These costs include: subsidisation of gas for fertiliser plants, which approach Rs 48 billion in gas subsidies to fertiliser companies; the full costs of the infrastructure and operation and maintenance of the irrigation system, which amount to Rs 166 billion per year; and losses on wheat procurement, which have been about Rs 25 billion recently. On the taxation side, while agricultural producers are not currently liable to pay tax on income, they do however pay indirect taxes on agricultural inputs. Using a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), we estimate agricultural producer pay about Rs 61 billion, mostly from GST taxes on fertiliser. Using a Computable General Equilibrium model, we show that agriculture could contribute further with an income tax on agricultural income. With a ―low-rate-widebase‖ income tax of 15 percent on non-poor, medium and large farms, as much as Rs 130 billion could be raised, enough to cover, for example, a sizable portion of the operation and maintenance cost of the irrigation system. JEL Classifications: D58, E16, H20, H22, H23, Q10 Keywords: Agriculture, Fiscal Policy, Subsidies, Taxation, General Equilibrium, Social Accounting Matrix, Pakistan

Recent Input-Output Price Policy in Pakistan's Agriculture: Effects on Producers and Consumers

The paper analyses the impact of the input-output price policy in agriculture on producers and consumers. Trends in prices cause immense resource transfers from agriculture. with adverse consequences for investment, output, employment, and income distribution. To the extent that these transfers accrue to industrialists and the government, the poorest benefit the least. These deleterious effects can be minimised by assured world prices for agriculture and restoration of true competition in agricultural commodity and input marlcets. In agricultural input marlcets, elimination of corruption; excessive profiteering and overstaffing should serve as the basis of a cost reduction strategyand removal of input subsidies. In the specific case of irrigation water, equitable distribution, compatibility of water rate assessment and water supply bases, and elimination of overstaffing are the prime issues deserving immediate government attention.

The Livestock Economy of Pakistan: An Agricultural Sector Model Approach

The Pakistan Agricultural Sector Model (PASM) developed by Davies et al. (1991) was modified to enhance the livestock sub-sector. Nutrient-based rations replaced feedstuff-based rations and dry matter minimum and maximum constraints (stomach capacity) were added. Several initial simulations were undertaken to examine the structure of the modified model and its impact across the crop and livestock sub-sectors. These simulations included relaxing exogenous livestock numbers and selected crop hectarage constraints, and requiring that green forage be fed in the season grown. Most importantly, the results demonstrated that fodder hectarage will grow with livestock numbers to insure that sufficient green forage is available seasonally. Two other analyses were performed to demonstrate the need to specify linkages between the crop and livestock sub-sectors. An analysis of transforming the livestock sub-sector from traditional to feedlot-based technology demonstrated that the reduced numbers of non-milking cattle needed for a given output of meat would provide the potential for increased production of various crops and other livestock products. Also, expanded cotton and Irri rice exports, hypothesised to occur through trade liberalisation from the Uruguay Round of the GATT, highlighted other inter-relationships between the crop and livestock sub-sectors. Greater production of both livestock and other crops might accompany the expansion of cotton production but less livestock feed would be available with expanded exports of Irri rice.

Pathways to strengthening capabilities: A case for the adoption of climate-smart agriculture in Pakistan

Pakistan has an agro-based economy with a high dependency on the sector, contributing 19.2% to the country’s GDP. The country's geographical position makes agriculture highly vulnerable to climate change as it frequently faces periods of extreme weather events - flooding, droughts, and heatwaves. Due to growing environmental issues and institutional incapacities, there is an observed trend of urbanisation and depleting natural resources. Changes in land use and water scarcity cause reduced productivity and compromised economic growth. The country needs to adopt Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an adaptation measure against climate change. CSA is an approach to adopting agricultural systems strategies to minimise climate impacts and preserve natural resources. This study explores the intervention that enhanced the capabilities of provincial agriculture service-delivery organisations in the adoption of CSA. It produced a country-specific CSA resource kit and delivered training for agriculture extension officers and frontline government officers in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) jointly delivered the project in line with the broader mission of research support, building government capacities and suggesting science-based response strategies as adaptation measures. The project experience highly recommends the adoption of CSA in Pakistan.

Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Poverty Eradication in Pakistan: The Role of Foreign Aid and Government Policies

For decades, agriculture has been central to economic growth and development in Pakistan. However, endemic rural poverty hinders the performance of agricultural production, and thus deteriorates the sustainable development perspectives of the agricultural sector and the entire country. The need for agricultural reform emphasizes raising farmers’ incomes as a cornerstone of the sustainable development of rural areas, and this study attempts to reveal the effects of foreign aid and government policies on the level of rural poverty in Pakistan. In total, 384 farmers from major agricultural areas of Pakistan completed the survey-based questionnaire. The partial least square structural equation modelling technique tested the results. They, using sustainable agriculture practices, improved agricultural production positively and significantly. Agriculture production positively and significantly reduces or mitigates poverty. This study aimed to reveal the role of foreign aid in sustaining agricultural production and eradicating rural poverty. Foreign aid positively moderated the association between sustainable agriculture practices and agricultural production. In addition, government policies negatively, yet insignificantly, moderate the association between agriculture production and poverty reduction. Furthermore, the findings indicate that agriculture production positively and significantly mediates the association between sustainable agriculture practices and poverty reduction. The study contributes to the literature by improving the understanding of linkages within the poverty-policies-aid-sustainability framework.

Co-digestion of cow manure and food waste for biogas enhancement and nutrients revival in bio-circular economy

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) with suitable substrate ratios may have the potential to improve biogas process and could play a better role in nutrient management for biocircular economy. The goal of this study was to enhance biogas yield from AcoD of cow manure (CM) and canteen food waste (CFW), and pertinent co-digestion of suitable substrate ratios for nutrient management i. e NPK from linear to biocircular economy, using ruminant intestinal fluid as a source of inoculum. A mesophilic (37 ± 1 °C) laboratory-scale AcoD with varying CFW/CM ratios of (0:1, 1:4, 2:3, 1:1, 3:2, 4:1, and 1:0) based on wet weight was performed. The AcoD systems of different CFW/CM ratios were evaluated with a loading rate of 400 g/L in the presence of 100 g cow intestinal fluid (CIF) inoculation. All experimental AcoD systems yielded greater biogas (147–300 cm3/g VS) than the mono-digestion in which only CM (135 cm3/g VS) and CFW (146 cm3/g VS) were digested anaerobically. The AcoD system of CFW/CM with 4:1 showed the highest biogas yield (300 cm3/g VS), and VS and COD reduction rate (39.51% and 65.15%, respectively), and nutrient contents (6.53%). Moreover, the experiment results were verified by modified Gompertz model. This work provided a window of opportunity to examine the anaerobic co-digestion technology beyond biogas production and to put the current low-cost technology to use for nutrient management and as a better component of the biocircular economy for agriculture in Pakistan in order to achieve sustainable development goals.

ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

Agriculture is an important part of Pakistan's economy. It makes up a large part of the country's GDP, generates employment, ensures food security, and helps many people make a living. About 38.5% of the people who work in rural areas rely on this sector. There are a lot of problems in the industry, such as a lack of water, a growing population, traditional farming methods, a shift in labor from the country to urban areas, and an uneven distribution of canal water systems. The government needs to take the lead in figuring out and fixing the serious problems in the farming sector, such as giving farmers more help, bringing in new technologies and policies, and building more dams. Pakistan's economy depends extensively on the country's farm industry. The biggest problems are the lack of water, the lack of modern farming methods, the difficulty in getting credit, and the lack of infrastructure. To deal with these problems, the paper suggests increasing access to credit through micro-finance, developing modern farming methods, giving farmers access to markets, and improving irrigation and other infrastructure; by putting these ideas into action, Pakistan's agriculture industry can become more productive, and help the country's economy grow.