Agricultural development in Khyber Pakhtun Khwa, prospects, challenges and Policy options

Abstract

KHYBER PAKHTUN KHWA is home to citizens, famed and known for their sense of honor, bravery, and hard work. This is evident from their history and their achievements in Pakistani metropolis and abroad. Despite true potential of its dwellers the Frontier Province is one of the poorest in Pakistan. The main income generating sectors of the province being hydro-power, tourism, horticulture, forestry, tobacco, maize marble and gemstone while main hurdles in the way of development are poverty, ignorance, security threats, religiosity and narrow nationalism. In KHYBER PAKHTUN KHWA agriculture is the main source of livelihood for masses. The emerging scenario of globalization demands a type of agriculture that can compete in the global market. The agriculture in the KHYBER PAKHTUN KHWA though diversified and possesses potential but is still under developed. There is a dire need of a thorough study on agriculture of the region to investigate the factors, which cause backwardness of agriculture in the province. To know about the causes of comparatively lagging state of agriculture in KHYBER PAKHTUN KHWA, investigation of various physical, institutional and economic questions about the role of government in disseminating information and knowledge, enabling farmers to accede to physical inputs, removing where ever possible environmental obstacles and improving the structure of incentives will have to be explored on the inter-provincial level. The study will induce the efforts for improving the living standards in the rural areas of the province. As the study is spadework in its nature on agricultural development in the province. It may stimulate the policy makers, practitioners and researchers whose daily concern brings them into direct contact with the problem of lagging agriculture, to do thorough work on agriculture of KHYBER PAKHTUN KHWA in future.