Production Possibilities in Catchment Areas Under
Production Possibilities in Catchment Areas Under
Production Possibilities in Catchment Areas Under
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2008
PRODUCTION POSSIBILITIES IN CATCHMENT AREAS UNDER
DHARABI DAM IN CHAKWAL
by
in
Agriculture Economics
2008
ii
O’ ALLAH
Our Minds…
To Know…
What Is True;
Our Hearts…
To Love…
What Is Good.
(Aa’meen)
iii
I
To My
Me for my Studies
iv
CONTENTS
Page
List of Annexure x
Acknowledgements xi
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 10
v
4.2.2 Farm machinery 24
4.2.3 Livestock 24
vi
4.7.2 Nature of Farm Assets 51
SUMMARY 61
LITERATURE CITED 68
vii
List of Tables
4. Categories of farmers 16
11. Average number of ploughings and plankings of crop per hectare on sample 34
farms
12. Average quantity of farm yard manure (40 kgs/ha) applied on sample farms 35
viii
20. Average prices (Rs. /40kgs) of various crops 42
25. Cost per Unit animal of irrigated and rain fed farms 49
ix
List of Annexure
No. Page
1. Cost of input use 73
2. Yields of Crops 76
3. Prices of Enterprises (Crops and livestock’s) to
calculate Outputs. 77
4. Questionnaire 79
x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
If oceans turn into ink and all of the wood becomes pens, even then the praises of
“Allah Almighty” cannot be expressed. He, who created the universe and knows whatever, is
there in it, hidden or evident and who bestowed upon me the intellectual ability and wisdom
to search for the secrets. I must bow my head before Allah Almighty who is compassionate
and merciful and whose begin help enabled me to complete this job, which marks an
Wassalam), the city of knowledge who has guided his “Umma” to seek knowledge from
cradle to grave.
The words are inadequate to express my deepest sense of appreciation and devotion to
extremely grateful to his scholastic and sympathetic attitude, inspiring guidance, generous
I wish to extend my thanks to Prof. Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Mian Chairman, Department
xi
Akhtar Ali, Project Coordinator Watershed Project for their obligation, well wishes and
encouragement during the course of my research studies and presentation of this manuscript.
University Rawalpindi and Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan Senior Director SSD, PARC for
Mushtaq,Madam Saima Asad and Madam Gulnaz Faculty members of Economics and
studies.
Pakistan for their skilful guidance, encouragement, suggestions and friendly behavior during
my research work. Thanks and profound appreciations are also extended to Mr. Khalid and
Thanks are due to my colleagues Bilal Mansoor, S Rauf, Adeel Ahmad, Raja
Rehan, Yasir Khurshid, Yasir Habib, Haider Abbas, Muneeb Ahmad, Muhammad
Abid, Farhan Hassan, Naveed Ahmad, Obaid ur Rehman, Abdullah and for their
xii
Last but not least I pay my cordial thanks to my Parents, brothers, sisters and well
wishers for their prayers, moral encouragement and financial support through out my
academic career. No words can really express the feeling that I have for my beloved parents.
xiii
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
million hectares of its total culturable land, 19.62 million hectares come from irrigated
area, giving about 90% of its total agriculture production. Culturable waste is about
8.32 million hectares. Like in other developing countries, poverty in Pakistan is largely
viz. either by bringing more area under cultivation or increasing the yield per acre. The
first option is almost flexible, however, the yield per acre could be increased. To
increase the crop yield, water input is the most limiting factor particularly in the barani
The Punjab province contains about 70%, or 14.8 million hectares of Pakistan’s
total cultivated area. Of these 12.6 million hectares are irrigated of which 8.3 million
hectares is irrigated through the Indus Basin irrigation system. Decentralized irrigation
1
system in the so-called barani (rainfed) tract of the Punjab province irrigate part of the
The 2.2 Million hectare Potohar Plateau has a great potential for agricultural
and social development. Total cultivated area of Potohar Plateau is around 1.0 Million
hectare. Out of this area the Potohar Plateau with the area of 0.24 million hectare
(Mha) falls in the civil districts of Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock and federal
A common feature of the rain fed areas is that agriculture is not developed due
to low yield, inconsistent and tardy rainfall over a year, losses of rainwater due to swift
run off, small size holdings and primitive technology. At the same time, topography of
Barani areas having sheer ground slopes, helps the rain water to flow with high
velocity to the slant of numerous brooks, thus resulting in erosion of the fertile soils.
In the past, the rain fed areas were considered great peril for agriculture, thus
almost all the resources were directed to the progress of the irrigated areas. However,
our Barani areas are too big to be ignored as they sustain over 80 % of the country’s
livestock population, contribute 12% of Wheat, 53% Barley, 69% of sorghum, 31% of
millets, 23% of rape seed/mustard, 65% of gram and 89% of ground nut and 17% of
2
The three month monsoon and erratic winter rain fall made the crop very
uncertain in the Potohar Pleatue.On the other hand the topography of the hilly area
with steep ground slopes, helps the rain water to form numerous streams. Due to high
velocities, this water erodes the good land. Apart from damaging the land and the
erosion of soil the rain water thus does not get a chance to soak down and develop any
ground water reservoir. Agriculture in these areas, therefore, depends entirely upon
rainfall, which at times is very meager. This cycle of drought is frequently experienced
and now witnessed in recent years. Consequently, to conserve the rain run-off for
agriculture, the only solution is to build dams, which would also eliminate the hazards
caused by delayed rains at the time of sowing and growing when a little delay in
rainfall may result into reduction of crop yield to less than half (Small Dam
Organization, 2007).
and subsurface) and its management (to improve the efficiency of the offered
large or small reservoirs, such as small dams, mini dams and ponds. The collection,
importance in these areas. Each millimeter of water collected, stored, conserved and
saved in these areas can produce wheat by an average of about 10 kg/ha (Marshal and
Holmes, 1988).
3
To raise the socio-economic formation of the farming society the construction
of small and medium size dams was started in 1961 and by 1986 nineteen such dams
had been completed encompassing a command area in excess of 17000 acres. Its
unfortunate that for most of these soils no proper and detailed research for viability
had been conducted which resulted in low percentage of command area development.
Later on, under the Umbrella Project 12 dams were competed between 1987 and 1995
covering a command area of 17500 acres and rehabilitation of 9 old dams with
description only 23% water of these dams was being used for crop production.
The Dharabi dam project is one of such efforts to develop water path by making the
dam in Dhrab River, a tributary of Soan River out fall in Indus River at a distance of
about 5 kilometers from village Balkasar of tehsil and district Chakwal. Total
catchment area of dam site is 147.31Sq.Km (56.88 Square miles). Mean Annual
rainfall in the Catchment area is 701.52 mm (28 inch).The proposed project will bring
about 6400 Acres of land water under irrigation out of which 6000 Acres through
gravity flow and 400 Acres through lift (Small Dam Organization, 2007).
After heavy investment on these small dams, less than one third of the
proposed area was irrigated by small dams. Therefore, the desired changes in cropping
4
pattern could not be achieved (Iqbal and Shahid, 1992). Owing to high surface area to
volume ratio, these small reservoirs are subject to high evaporation losses. On an
average, small reservoirs lose 50% of their impoundments to evaporation in arid and
semi-arid areas .The leaching and percolation losses in small reservoirs are about 20%
On the other hand these reservoirs positively found that due to the availability
of water in these dams contributed to the crop productivity and the crop yield has been
increased 36% in case of wheat and 51% in case of maize (Shah, 1984)
dams. These small dams having a live storage of 214327 Acres and can irrigate more
5
The research study of the gross margins has been carried out at Dharabi dam.
dam water. Most of the farming community (95%) of the surrounding villages has
small land holding, therefore, the small farmers would be direct beneficiaries in long
The Dharabi dam was selected because it was approachable and also keeping in
view the significance for agriculture of the area. An applied agricultural component of
International centre for Agriculture in Dry Areas (ICARDA) was also initiated
research on water use efficiency in the catchment area of the dam. With the
collaboration of the ICARDA the study has been conducted. From this study the
existing water use for alternative crops and livestock combinations explored. This will
address the low water use efficiency issues at this target site. The information from this
study would be used in the project villages as well as to other villages where similar
circumstances are prevailing, as water requirements for crops are very significant.
irrigation and power department. Small Dams organization was integrated into the
6
West Agricultural Development Corporation (WAPDC) in early 1962. Later on, when
the WPADC was dissolved in 1972, SDO became part of the Punjab Department of
irrigation and Power. Until 1986, Small Dams Organization had completed 18 small
regions. Besides supplying water for irrigation, these dams have many indirect effects.
They help recharge the ground water, provide water for domestic and municipal
purposes, control erosion, control floods in hilly and plain tracts, help to develop fish
There are fifty (50) small dams constructed in Potohar region. The detail of
7
Salient features of Dharabi dam
Catchment Area:
The catchment area is the overall adjoining area of the dam where from water
flows towards the dam. The catchment area of Dharabi dam is 56.88 square miles..
Live Storage:
The live storage capacity is the minimum level of water that can be utilized for
irrigation and drinking purposes, in the dam. The live storage capacity of Dharabi Dam
is 37000 A Ft.
Thus this study will play a significant role in identifying the Production
possibilities of the communities of two villages i.e. Chak khushi and Kalar kahar
8
located in the Dharabi dam command area. It reflects somehow a true picture of
farmer’s economic condition in the form of gross margins at enterprise and at a farm
level. The coefficients estimated from the study will be used for analysis of different
rain fed and irrigated farmers with an emphasis on specific objective of the study will
be as follows:
of Dharabi dam.
9
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Khan et al. (1988) evaluated 22 small dams in Punjab and found that average
cropping intensity was 110.9% and average land use intensity was 92.3%. He
suggested that formal and informal organizations of farmers could play a significant
Punjab and NWFP that crop intensities achieved were very low compared to the
target of 81%.Water supplied from dams was costly than any other source but it
NESPAK (1991) reported that the achieved crop intensities will be very low
compared to the set targets. These ranged from 22 to 29% at dams in Punjab against an
average target of 84%, where as, in NWFP it ranged from 33 to 39% against a target of
81%.
Iqbal and shahid (1992) concluded that less than one third of the proposed area
was being irrigated by small dams. Therefore, desired changes in cropping pattern
10
could not be accomplished. They suggested weekly rotational schedule/ wara bandi in
which equitable and reliable distribution of water could be made possible. Agriculture
extension service was required to motivate farmers to bring about desired changes in
Bennie et al. (1994) reported that in arid and semi-arid areas, 60 to 85% of the
rainfall evaporates from the soil surface before making any contribution to production.
Azhar (1995) reported that in Pakistan, farmers were unaware of the irrigation
scheduling for their crops. 75% of the farmers apply less water than the crop water
requirements, two third of farmers apply first irrigation very late. Farmers were
negatively affect the wheat yield. A delay in irrigation after 30 days could cause yield
Shahid et al. (1996) reported that the Small Dams Organization has been quite
successful in achieving construction related physical targets of the small dam projects.
However, follow up activities after dams’ construction have been weak. After dam
irrigation, which ultimately could contribute towards better quality of life and living
towards the high value crops including rabi fodder, rabi and kharif vegetables as a
11
positive contribution of small dams project at both newly built and rehabilitated small
dams.
Cheema and Bandaragoda (1997) conducted base line survey for farmers
organizations of Mirwal and Shahpur dams. The cropping and land use intensities were
123.4 and 63.5 under the ittigated area of Mirwal dam, respectively whereas these
were 117.7 and 90 % at Shahpur dam, respectively. Iqbal (1989) reported cropping
Directorate of Soil Conservation (1997) reported that the barani area always
suffered from shortage of water.Under the project 323 mini dams and 693 ponds were
constructed and about 9000 acres has been brought under irrigation. These mini dams
and ponds were being utilized for irrigation and fish farming. With the development of
water resources and through other soil and water activities the farmers were getting an
increased income of Rs. 51.00 Million, also the value of the land had been increased.
investment made at small dams in the form of improved irrigation network, not only
the share of high value crops in the cropping pattern should be improved, but some
12
IIMI (1999) reported that the small dams system offered a precious opportunity
for the sincere promotion of reforms in the irrigation sector. They will be independent
of the large scale Indus Basin irrigation System and therefore, more easily manageable
Tarar (1999) suggested that changing the water distribution practices from the
according to the size of land holdings in which water could be made available to every
Asianics Agro-Dev. International (2000) reported that half of the world’s dams
were built exclusively or primarily for irrigation, and an estimated 30 to 40% of the
270 million hectares of irrigated lands worldwide rely on dams. Dams were estimated
Botha et al. (2003) concluded that the use of mulch in the basins reduced
Ogbeide et al. (2003) reported that communities that host small dams have
risks imposed on them and pay unwarranted and unacceptable costs of the benefits
13
Mugabe et al. (2003) reported that water resource development and
developed can be lost without playing a significant role in the crop production and
Beukes (2004) reported that irrigated agriculture draws water mainly from
dams and water transfer schemes between catchments on which the retention of suf-
Renfro (2005) reported that improved soil moisture will open new
opportunities for diversifying farming activities in rain-fed areas. Due to the watershed
14
Chapter 3
farms level, which were mainly: level of water use on dam, dam condition, and the
Through informal survey, based on title and in the light of objectives of study
the questionnaire covering important aspects of output and input costs components was
prepared and was tested in field for accuracy. During pre-testing there was observed
about different aspects of Dharabi dam command area like resource farmer interview,
15
3.1.4 Selection of Respondents and Collection Of Data
The primary data pertaining to the gross margins of the command area of
Dharabi dam from two villages (Kalar kahar & Chak Khushi) were collected on the
basis of stratified random sampling. Data was collected by making two categories of
farmers. First, farmers using dam water (irrigated), second, farmers from control area
(rainfed).
The sample size for study was 60 as mentioned in Table 4. Farmers from both
categories were selected randomly. The data was collected through face to face
interview with each individual farmer. Questionnaire was in English language (Annex-
4) but questions were interpreted in local language for farmers and exact reply was
written instantaneously.
Irrigated 30 50%
Total 60 100%
The data thus collected was sorted out, tabulated and enterprise budgets were
prepared and gross margins were calculated for the purpose of analysis.
16
3.2 CALCULATION OF GROSS MARGINS
Enterprise gross margin was calculated by enterprise gross income minus the
budgets were prepared at enterprise level for different crops and livestock in both the
villages.
Revenues from out put and costs of different variable inputs used were
calculated. Gross Margins were calculated at average sample size level by taking a
difference in the activity per unit revenue and per unit variable cost.
Gross Margin at average farm level was calculated by different area allocation
• Enterprise Budgeting
• Marginal Analysis
17
Estimation of activity variable costs, revenues, and gross margins
The total cost of the variable input used to produce one unit of each enterprise
consists of money costs and opportunity costs. The opportunity costs were estimated
for the operations performed by owned farm machines, family labour and farm inputs
(Farm yard manure and seed ). The money costs were paid for inputs like fertilizer,
herbicide, insecticide, fuel, improved seed, casual hired labour, picking and
k T
cj = ∑ ∑ Pijt aijt
i =1 t =1
Where pijt is the unit price of the ith variable input applied to activity xj in time period
t ; aijt is the amount if ith input used by activity xj in time period t ; the subscript t =
1,….T identify the time intervals with in the activity’s production period
The revenue earned by production activities is the type and quantity of outputs, and
their market price. The types of output per activity were categorized into main product
and by product. Given the prices received for each output; the total revenue earned
N T
rj = ∑ ∑ Pnjt Ynjt
n =1 t =1
Where pnjt is the unit price of the nth output of activity j in time period t ; Ynjt
is the yield of the nth output produced from one unit of activity j in time period t ; and
18
The contribution of each enterprise to farm profitability is that activity’s gross
margins; that is the difference between an activity’s per unit revenue and variable input
Gj = rj – cj
variable input
The general limitation confronting almost every developing country in the field
of research today is the lack of understanding and appreciation of the practical utility
of the research endeavors on the part of the sampled respondents, along with a
common mistrust in the research agency for fear of tax levies etc.
For the sake of drilling into the minds of the farmers the clear purpose and
objectives of the study, they had to be explained not to conceal the facts. They had to
be assured that the researcher collecting the data belonged to the PMAS Arid
Agriculture University, Rawalpindi and were in no way involved in the tax estimation
Lack of proper record also turned out to be a serious difficulty in collecting the
accurate data. The researcher then had to partially depend upon farmer’s memory.
19
Chapter 4
assets, farm characteristics, farm inputs, farm outputs, production possibilities and
household’s income.
A farm household was defined to include all those individuals who operated at
farm holding and their dependants who lived for at least three months at the house in a
with family size, age distribution, educational status etc of the respondent farmers.
facilities, demography, land and land use pattern, agricultural production, agricultural
machinery, soil, water, rangelands utilization, marketing and labor etc. The
sharing with experts and specialists in national agricultural research institutes like
20
PARC, BARI, SAWCRI and Project coordinator. After survey of the area data has
been collected through focused group discussion with communities from 10 districts.
It is important to study the nature and location of off farm work because it
indicates the type and level of employment available within village (Iqbal, 1989). It
was observed during survey as given in Table 5 that about 12 and 24 percent of the
adult male members of respondent farmers were participating in off farm work in both
irrigated and rain fed areas. It might be due to inadequate work for them on their farm.
Off farm work includes casual non-farm work, government service and private
Service.
It was clear majority of the workers were working outside the village which
area had a trend of government services. Also some people were engaged in different
basis. Therefore it was observed during survey that farmers used their family labor
partly for on farm and partly for off farm work to supplement their income. All family
members of respondent farmers including male, female and children were also
engaged at different levels in different cultural practices all round the year, Farmers,
21
Table 5. Number Of Off Farm Workers
Irrigated Rainfed
22
poor economic conditions, large family size and small land holdings were possible
The major purpose of agricultural extension service was to bridge the gap
between the modern technology evolved at the research farms and that practiced by the
The field survey revealed that at Dharabi dam command area very few farmers
knew about the agricultural extension services. It might be owing to both the farmers
means that construction of Dharabi Dam was not followed by supporting services of
government institutions that was essential to better utilize the dam water.
It mainly deals with farm assets such as present value of land, farm machinery
23
4.2.1 Farm assets
Land was the major item of the total farm household assets. The present per
hectare value of rainfed and irrigated land was reported to be about 357890/- and
Farm machinery is in too much use in barani areas as a means to get higher
production as well as a time saving technique. The size of land holdings in barani areas
is small. In barani areas the farming is done on subsistence level, that is why, mostly
people are engaged in the off farm works too, and women have been given the
(Iqbal, 1989). The same trend was observed in the sample area. All the rainfed sample
farmers were using tractor and tractor driven implements. It was observed during
survey that the use of farm machinery was less in irrigated area as far as sowing of
crops was concerned, as the farmers used broadcast method for sowing of different
crops.
4.2.3 Livestock
nearly 52.2 percent of agricultural value added and about 11 percent of the GDP. Its
net foreign exchange earning of the country during the same period. The role of
livestock in rural economy may be realized from the fact that 30 ~35 million rural
24
Livestock are an important source of motive power for land cultivation, milk
and milk products. Almost every rural household maintained livestock in order to
supplement their cash income (Iqbal, 1989). During survey it was observed that in
village Kalar kahar mostly people had buffaloes and cows. Buffaloes were more in
number in irrigated lands (average 1.5 buffaloes per irrigated former than 0.45
buffaloes per rain fed farmer) because of availability of fodder crops in former areas.
People kept buffaloes to get milk and their dung for fuel. Livestock were handsome
The resource farmer interview (given in Annex-2) was asked from four
responsible persons of the both the villages. It was about the community contribution
The construction of Dharabi small dam had been almost completed. The village
community had forced to initiate the project. The government agencies prepared the
design/outlay of the dam. The village community was not involved in any amendment
in the outlay.
25
4.3.2 Community Contribution in Dam Construction
opportunities were generated for the villagers on average 150 men worked per day.
The estimated area to come under dam irrigation was about 6400 acres and
about 2/3rd of the village communities were expected farm household beneficiaries
from dam water in village Kalar kahar. At the time of study about half of the estimated
area was under dam irrigation and about half of the households, beneficiaries from
dam water. The other half households of the Kalar kahar village, even having their
lands very close to the dam site, could not benefit from dam irrigation, except by using
turbine engines. It was due to the reason that barani lands are not leveled in that area
that is why the water distribution is not proper. It was observed that the dam had been
construction at some more elevation the number of beneficiaries would have been
more. The community could also get additional benefits by proper and organized
warabandi.
Small Dam organization was mainly responsible for the maintenance of water
supply channels. The contribution of community in the maintenance of dam and its
peripheries was almost negligible. The maintenance status of the water channels was
poor. The main reasons for poor condition of water channels were:
26
1. Improper look after by Government agencies and
Farm characteristic deal with salient features of farm, land distribution pattern
land use intensity, soil types, fragmentation of land holdings, cropping systems,
Production per unit area depends on size of the farm (Iqbal 1989). The main
problem of the barani tract was that mostly there were small sized land holdings and
fragmented that might reduce the total production of crops from these very fertile lands
(Iqbal 1989). The same was true for both the villages. The land utilization pattern of
sample farms by farm size in both the villages was given in Table. 6.
The data relating to the land utilization pattern of dam command area given in
table 8 shows that in Dharabi dam command area, the average farm size was 3.12 ha,
out of which 2.98 ha per farm was cultivated area. Of the farm the average size of
rainfed area was relatively higher than average size of irrigated area. The average size
27
4.4.2 Land Distribution Pattern
The land distribution pattern of rain fed and irrigated lands in both the villages
given in Table 7. The average size farm of less than 2 ha of land of irrigated area was
greater than that of rain fed area. It as evident from the date that 75% of irrigated
farmers and 48% of rainfed farmers had land holding less than 2 ha. The average size
of farm of 2~5 ha and more than 5 ha land in fainfed area was greater than that of
irrigated area. It was due to the reason that most of the sample respondents of irrigated
area also had rainfed land holding in rainfed areas so the sample size for percent
The sample size was large because most of the sample respondents of irrigated
area also have rainfed land holding in rainfed areas so the sample size for percent
Land use intensity is defined as the ratio of cultivated area to the operational
holdings and is expressed in percentage. The data relating to the land use intensity of
both the villages was collected during the field survey and is presented in Table 7.
It indicates that the land use intensity of rain fed area was less than irrigated.
There can be four types of soils in the barani areas, namely, Lepara, Maira,
Khunder & rocky (Iqbal, 1989). Lepara land is the best quality land and majority of the
28
Table 6 Land Utilization Pattern of Sample Farms by Farm size
Irrigated 51
Rainfed 32.5
29
4.4.5 Fragmentation of Land Holding
parcels of land belong to the same operating farm unit. The sample respondents
(Iqbal, 1989). The cropping system of sample farmers was determined separately for
irrigated part of dam command area and un irrigated (barani) part of dam command
The percent area allocation to different crops in irrigated and barani lands is
The data in table 8 shows that the percent allocation of area to different crops
in irrigated area was 129% and that in the rainfed area, 65%. The results reveal that
percent area allocation of irrigated area was almost double than that of the rainfed area.
30
4.4.7 Cropping Intensity
Cropping intensity is defined as the ratio between the area under crops and the
area operated by the farmers and is reported as percentage (Iqbal, 1989). Cropping
intensity was calculated separately for irrigated and rainfed areas. Iqbal and Khan
(1991) had argued that cropping intensity of an area was influenced by soil condition,
climate, and availability of labor, water and farm machinery. A higher cropping
intensity indicated multiple cropping which could help in raising total revenue per
The table 9 showed that rabi cropping intensity of irrigated area was only
64.8%, it was very much less. As compared to this the irrigated Kharif cropping
intensity was found to be 71.4%. It might be due to the fact that for irrigated Kharif
crops in case water is not applied still there is rain and crop can grow well.
The kharif cropping intensity of rain fed lands was found to be low as 25.93%.
It was due to the fact that in Kharif season farmers of rainfed area left fields fallow.
The farmers fulfilled fodder requirements by grasses from fallow lands. The rainfed
cropping intensity in rabi season was found to be 36.38%. It was due to the fact rainfed
farmer take risk, prepares the soil if rain happens then they can get higher yields
31
Table 8 Percent Area Allocation to Different Crops
32
4.4.8 Tenurial Status
Tenurial status is another variable which may affect the division of farmers for
long term investment in the farm and adoption of improved farming practices (Iqbal
1989). The data regarding the tenancy status of Dharabi dam sample farmers indicated
Farm input use and level of farm output have a direct bearing on farm income
realized (Iqbal, 1989). This part section deals with the cultural practices and farm
inputs use.
can result in increased crop production (Iqbal, 1989). The data relating to the average
The average number of ploughing and planking varied from crop to crop. On
an overall basis, the average numbers of ploughing per cropped hectare of rainfed area
were higher as compared to that of irrigated one. It is due to the reason that rainfed
farmers want to conserve moisture, so after monsoon rains they plough the soil many
times to conserve moisture for next crop. Table 10 also shows that in irrigated areas of
Dharabi dam command area, mostly farmers were also growing vegetables that require
33
smooth seed bed and as such number of ploughing and planking for vegetables were
The main input used by the farmers of both the villages were farm yard
manure, chemical fertilizers, see and seed rate, farm labor, irrigation for crops and
soil. The doses of FYM are dependent on the farm size and livestock strength. About
half of fertilizer requirements are fulfilled by FYM (Iqbal, 1989). The data on use of
farmyards manure was collected on 40 kg basis. During survey it was observed that the
use of farmyard manure was more in irrigated area and applied to most of the crops. It
was due to the fact that farmers in irrigated area had more number of livestock. The
amount of farmyard manure used in vegetables was generally higher. The amount of
farm yard manure used in both irrigated and a rainfed area is given in Table 11.
34
Table 10 Average number of Ploughing and planking of crop per Hectare on
Sample Farms
Wheat 5 6
Maize 5 5
Sorghum 4 5
Groundnut 3 4
Vegetables 7 -
Table 11 Average Quantity of Farm Yard Manure (40 Kgs/ha) applied on sample
Farms
Groundnut - -
Vegetables 10.8-15.3 -
35
Chemical fertilizer use has become a common practice among the farmers and
they apply some quantity of fertilizers to their major crops, either at the time of sowing
or at any other appropriate stage. As a result of this higher crop output could be
obtained. Dose of fertilizer applied can vary with fertility status of the soil, farmer’s
knowledge and their financial resources (Iqbal, 1989). The dose of fertilizer was
computed in terms of nutrient kilograms per treated hectare. The chemical fertilizers,
which were in common use of sample farmers of both of the villages were urea, DAP.
The average quantity of chemical fertilizer (Kg/ha) applied on irrigated and rainfed
The comparison among crops of irrigated and rain fed areas showed that the
use of chemical fertilizer in terms of nutrient kilograms per treated hectares was more
in case of irrigated areas except for sorghum. The use of chemical fertilizer was much
higher in vegetables as compared to other crops. It was due to the reason that more
water was available to irrigated formers they were getting more yield, and grow
36
Table 12 Average Quantity of Chemical Fertilizer (Kgs/ha) applied on sample
farms.
N P N P
Groundnut - - - -
Maize 32.6 57
Vegetables 4.25~6.25 -
37
The use of certified seeds was not a practice in this area probably mainly owing
to lack of extension services and low literacy rate. Farmers in Dharabi dam command
area were reported to use domestic seeds for rabi and kharif crops and purchased seeds
for vegetables.
The seed rate used by farmers for wheat in irrigated area was higher than that
in rain fed. It was thus because farmers in irrigated area used broadcast method for
wowing of wheat while farmers in rain fed area used drill for this purpose. The seed
rate for other crops in rain fed area was generally higher as compared to irrigated ones,
because due to doughtiness and lack of proper moisture the chances of seed
4.5.2.4 Irrigation
Main purpose of Dharabi dam was to irrigate the crops. Adequate availability
of irrigation facilities was essential to obtain higher crop yield. The main irrigation
method from Dharabi dam, was through water channels and water courses network.
Water distribution among farmers was done through warabandi. Farmer used water on
their turn. Land leveling is an important factor, which determines the irrigation
method. The lands of this region were not well leveled, some being at high level and
others at low level reveling distribution of dam water through ordinary water course /
38
Adequate availability of irrigation facilities is essential to obtain higher crop
yield. The information relating to the average number of irrigations applied to various
crops was collected during the field survey and is presented in table 14.
During the survey a discrepancy was observed for some crops like maize and
some vegetables among the number of irrigation applied by sample farmers and those
The water from Dharabi dam is not used for drinking purpose. It is used
domestically by households for washing clothes etc. However, its main purpose is to
irrigate the crops. Other source of irrigation in Dharabi dam command area was hand
pump.
The water rates paid by farmers of Dharabi dam command area are given in the
table 16.
39
Table 14 Average Number of Irrigations applied to various crops
Wheat 5
Groundnut 2
Maize 07
Sorghum 04
Onions 11
Chilles 15
Tomato 12
Reddish 14
Spinach 13
Garlic 09
Potato 11
Okra 09
Turnip 14
40
Table 15 Recommended Average Numbers of Irrigations
Crops Recommended
Wheat 4~5
Maize 5~6
Groundnut 5~6
Berseem 10~12
Vegetables 10~12
Wheat 256
Maize 212
Groundnut 196
Berseem 154
Vegetables 558
41
4.5.2.5 Farm Labour
Family members were generally carrying out farm work while some causal
labour was hired at the time of crop harvest and also for other activities like irrigating
the fields, interculture and pesticide sprays. The employment of permanent hired
labour was found to be negligible. Time spent by family labour, causal hired labour
and permanent hired labour in form activities was converted into the opportunity cost.
The forage source for livestock varies from season to season. Mostly all the
barani farmers used maize and sorghum (Jowar) as kharif fodder and oilseeds used as
rabi fodder. Cotton seed cake and wheat bran were major type of concentrates used for
livestock. The feeding cost of livestock on irrigated and rainfed sample farms is given
in Table 17.
This part deals with the farm outputs of crops. This section also relates to the
42
Table 17 Feeding Cost of Livestock on Sample Farms
A data shows that feeding cost per adult animal unit was significantly higher on
43
4.6.1 Crop Yield
The data on average yield of various crops in overall dam command area, is
A comparison of the data given in table reveals that the average yield of major
crops was significantly higher on irrigated part of the dam command area than that of
rain fed one. This may be attributed to higher fertilizer dose (table 15), and access to
The data regarding the average prices received for crops during the study
period was also collected during the field surveys and is presented in Table 19.
The data shows that the average prices of vegetable were relatively higher as
44
TABLE 18 Average Yields of Major Crops on Sample Farms
Wheat 50 37.34
Vegetables 158-198
Crops Price
(Rs/40 Kgs)
Wheat 800
Maize 500
Sorghum 70
Groundnut 2000
Vegetables 500~1900
45
The following were reported to be the main marketing problems in the Dharabi
1. The farm to market roads was absent either or in non metaled form. It kept
farmers from sending their product to market at proper time and in large quantity.
2. There was no bridge on nalla manda and farmers had to face difficulty to cross it
Buffaloes, cows, goats and sheep all contribute to milk production. In farm
enterprises, milk production supplements and stabilizes farm income. Milk is also an
important component of human diet. According to the house hold and income
expenditure survey 2004, the average consumer spends one fourth of his food budget
on milk. The data regarding annual production, consumption and sale of milk on
sample farms was collected during field survey and presented in table 20
Table 20 Milk Production, Consumption and Sale of milk (kgs) on sample farms
46
Mile production Liters per animal
Irrigated 2300
Rainfed 1950
The farm house hold consumed about 60-70% of the total milk production
where as the remaining production was sold out to supplement their income. The
comparison indicates that irrigated farmers had higher milk production as compare to
the rain fed. It might be due to better feeding of animal at irrigated farms.
above variable costs, and are expressed per unit of some common resource (per hectare
or per head of animal). It is a very useful measure of efficiency for both single activity
farm business and multiple activity plans of a business. (Chaudhry et al., 1995).
To calculate Gross Farm Income firstly, enterprise budgets were prepared. For
important distinction is drawn between variable and fixed cost. The market value of
47
the produce (and that of any by-product) of a production system is defined as its
output. Normally this value is based on prices of the farm. When the variable costs are
subtracted from the estimate of the output, the remainder is called the Gross Margin
The difference between the output and the variable costs, usually calculated on
per acre or per hectare basis, is a very useful measure of the performance of an
enterprise and the contribution that it can make to farm income or profitability.
Gross margin at average farm level was calculated by different area allocation
to different enterprises multiplied by Gross Margin / unit area. The gross margins of
crops at farm level are presented in Table 21 prices used for different crops to calculate
The value of Gross margin per unit area/ha of irrigated and rainfed crops were
18152.44 and 15837.28 rupees, respectively. Thus, irrigated crops fetched more
returns than rainfed crops. The calculation of gross Margin and other performance
indicators for livestock enterprise follow essentially the same principles as for
cropping enterprises. The value of output per unit farm of buffaloes and cows is given
in table 22.The value of output per unit of irrigated livestock was higher than rainfed
ones. It was due to the fact the availability of fodder to irrigated livestock’s
48
TABLE 21 GROSS MARGINS OF CROPS AT FARM LEVEL
Irrigated Crops
49
Garlic 0.08 23222 1857.76
Rainfed crops
50
Farm costs include cash cost and imputed cost. Cash costs are those costs
which are met “Out of pocket’. The items included in the cash cost are seed, fertilizer,
farm yard manure, causal labor hired, permanent labor, threshing, payment to artisans
Imputed cost is defined as the cost for which no cash expenditure is incurred;
instead these are met by using resources already available with the farm household.
Imputed costs include the imputed wages of family workers, rental value of land etc
(Iqbal, 1989). In the study the costs of family labor, rental value of land, irrigation
labor, and additional labor from time to time for different activities were used as
imputed costs.
The cost per unit of crops of irrigated farm is higher than rainfed farm. It was
due to the more usage of inputs. The average annual cost per unit farm of irrigated and
rainfed crops were found to be 21569.52 and 13466 rupees respectively. The cost per
unit of animal of irrigated and rainfed areas presented in table 23 was also calculated
by same procedure.
51
Table 23 Average annual Cost per Unit Sample Farm
Irrigated Crops
52
Garlic 0.08 6931 554.48
Rainfed crops
53
Cost per unit animal in Cost per unit area in
The cost per unit animal of irrigated area for buffalo and cow was higher than
rainfed ones.
54
4.7.3 Whole Farm Budget
The farm budget is a physical and financial plan for the operation of the farm
for some period of time. The total farm budget is prepared as an aid in organizing the
The whole crop and livestock production programme is reviewed and the use of farm
proposed farm plan. The costs and returns analysis accounts cash and non cash costs as
well as both fixed and variable costs (Chaudhry et al., 1995). The whole farm budget
was prepared by adding the benefits of crops and livestock of irrigated area and also
the costs of crops and livestock of irrigated area. Same was adopted for the calculation
of whole farm budget for rainfed area. The whole farm budget of irrigated and rainfed
In whole farm budget the costs and returns of irrigated area, both are greater
55
It is a profitability indicator, which expresses the relationship between the sum
of net benefits and capital costs over the life of the project. It is in fact, a form of input
output analysis that is useful for on farm trails. Cash and non cash costs and benefits
To calculate the benefit cost ratio, the benefits and costs of irrigated crops and
livestock were added, respectively. And then ration of benefit to cost was calculated.
Same procedure was adopted for rainfed ones. The benefit cost ration of crops and
Here, it was observed that the output level in relation to input use level was
The same procedure was adopted for livestock as that for crops. The benefit
cost ration of irrigated livestock was higher than rainfed one. The difference of benefit
cost ration of irrigated and rainfed buffalo was significant. The benefit cost ration of
irrigated as 14.06 and was found greater than rainfed buffalo 7.10.
56
Crops Benefit Cost B/c Ratio
57
The purpose of marginal analysis was to reveal just how the net benefits from
this relationship is by calculating the marginal rate of return. This is simply the
marginal net benefit divided by the marginal cost expressed as a percentage. The
acceptability of new innovations at the farm level. The marginal rate of return of
Incremental NB
Incremental TCV
65078
= ________ × 100
13468
= 483%
This means that for every Rupee invested in the application of dam water
facility, farmers can expect to recover Rs. 1 and also obtains an Additional Rs.4.83.
58
Total farm income is the most commonly used measure of economic
performance of the farm. The total farm households income was calculated by the
addition of gross margins of crops and livestock (obtained by enterprise budgets) and
also the off farms income for both irrigated and rain fed areas. The average annual
total household income of users and non users is given in the table 29
The total household income of irrigated area is much greater than rainfed area.
Livestock contribute about 80% and 83 % in total farm income in irrigated and rainfed
areas, respectively in the study area. The off farm income share of rainfed area 2.97%
The off farm households receive their income from professional and non
professional source comprised of income from farm labor, non farm labor government
service, private service and livestock rearing. The average off farm household income
59
Irrigated Rain fed Differences
Irrigated Rainfed
60
SUMMARY
Barani area can play a significant role in attaining self sufficiency in food.
However, water is a limiting factor for agriculture development in these areas. Therein
agricultural production mainly depends upon the nature and extent of rainfall.
Nevertheless, there is high potential for the development and management of water
resources in these areas. Crop yield could be increased manifolds by adopting proper
and management are concomitant. Otherwise, the water resource developed would be
small Dams in Barani tract under four different projects. ICARDA (International
productivity on Dharabi dam in District Chakwal. With the collaboration and financial
For the purpose of the study, the farmers were divided into two categories
irrigated and rainfed farmers. The data on different aspects to calculate Gross Margin
61
From the survey farms, it was found that the irrigated farm seems to be
enjoying more water advantages over the rain fed because of availability of water. The
analysis by different categories of farmers did not reveal any considerable difference
that people in this area have trend for government services. The socio economic
conditions of the village Chak Khushi not up to mark. The educational facilities
available were only up to elementary school level for both girls and boys. The basic
infrastructure and basic facilities like post office, bus stand, hospital electricity,
telephone, sewerage system etc were not available in the villages of the study areas.
The average irrigated land holding and rainfed landholding was 1.97 ha and
2.17 ha respectively, about 75% irrigated land and 48% of rainfed land was found less
than 2 ha. The land holdings in both the villages were fragmented.
Rabi and Kharif cropping intensity of irrigated area were found to be 64.8%
and 71.4% respectively. Land is the major item of the total farm household assets. The
present worth value of irrigated land is almost double than the rainfed land. It was
observed that livestock were the handsome source of the cash income of the people of
lands were more than the irrigated ones. To conserve moisture numbers of ploughing
were more in rainfed area. The other inputs like chemical fertilizer, Farm Yard manure
62
was found to be applied in greater amount in irrigated area than in rainfed one. The
farm yard manure applied to irrigated wheat was 5.01 m/ha and 2.34 m/ha to rainfed
wheat.
The chemical fertilizer N and P applied to irrigated wheat was 69.1 and 52
Kgs/ha, respectively and 36.7 and 27.8 Kgs/ha, respectively in rainfed area. The
irrigation method in irrigated area from Dharabi dam was through water channels and
water courses network, Hand pump was the water sources other than dam water in
Average yield of major crops in irrigated farms was found to be more than that
in rain fed. The more yield of irrigated farms was due to availability of dam water. The
wheat in irrigated area was found to be 50 m/ha and 37.7m/ha in rain fed area. The
source of income. The yield of vegetables was found to be 160~190 m/ha in irrigated
area. As far as marketing of crops was concerned the farmers sold their product to
nearly markets. There were some problems faced by farmers while doing marketing, as
these was no metaled and not any other efficient source of transport present in the
respective area.
The value of out put per farm of crops and livestock of irrigated farms was
found to be significantly more than rainfed. For irrigated crops the value of out put per
unit farmer was found Rs. 18152.44 and for rainfed farm it was 15837.28. The value of
output per unit farm of livestock’s in irrigated area was found to be Rs. 152833 and in
63
rainfed area it was Rs. 92925. The cost of per unit farm of crops and livestock was
found to be more irrigated farm than in rainfed farms. The cost per unit of irrigated
crops was found to be Rs. 21569.52 and for rainfed it was Rs. 13466. For livestock’s
in irrigated area the cost per unit animal was found to be Rs. 10673 and for rainfed
area it was found to be Rs. 10221. It might be due to fact the usage of input was more
in irrigated farms.
The average annual total house hold income of irrigated farms was found to be
more than that of rainfed. The total household income of irrigated area was Rs, 186124
and for rainfed it was found to be Rs. 124580. It was found out that the livestock’s
contribute about 80% of the share of the total household income in irrigated area and
in rainfed area they contribute about 83%. In rainfed farms the percentage share of off
farm income about 2.97% was found to be more than irrigated farms which was about
2.8%.
64
CONCLUSION
There is need for research in the barani (rainfed) area of Pakistan to diagnose
recommendations that are relevant to farmers of the area. They have generally been
developed without economic analysis to determine the most profitable and least risky
rainfall and crop rotation in the area and have provided general recommendations to
cover the entire region. In addition, the recommendations provide a complete package
of technology, which is very costly for farmers to adopt. Given these deficiencies of
research, and poor extension services, it is not surprising that many farmers have not
It was observed during study that farmers in both the irrigated as well as the
rainfed must shift from conventional crops to high value crops. They must start
farming on the commercial basis. They can increase their income by an appreciable
amount by commercial farming of vegetables. As they have opportunity they can send
65
Government authorities must take care for the maintenance of dam structure
The area adjoining to the dam sites where water of Dharabi dam was not
There is need for proper agricultural extension service in the command area of
Dharabi dam that they bridge the gap between the modern technology involved at the
research farms and that practiced by the majority of the traditional farmers through
guidance to farmers how they can maximize the profit by increasing the output level
The sampled farmers in both the villages were generally found lacking in
technical knowledge regarding crop production and livestock rearing, it thus clearly
services through modern method. Majority of the farmers complained about the non
investment made at small dams in the form of improved irrigation network, not only
the share of high value crops in the cropping pattern should improve, but also some in
traditional crops may also have to be introduced. This requires an enlightened and
66
imaginative extension service. Extension stall should be able to motivate farmers to
bring about desired changes in cropping pattern and adopt recommended farming
practices.
67
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72
Annex-1
Deep Ploughing No - 1 - 1
Ploughing No 4 3 2 2
Ploughing &Planking No 2 3 1 2
Drill No - 1 - -
Labor(Additional) Day 40 40 - 40
Interculture Day - - 79 60
73
(Ha) (Ha)
Deep Ploughing No - 1 - 1
Ploughing No 4 3 2 2
Ploughing & No 2 3 1 2
Planking
Drill No - 1 - -
P Kg - - - -
Labor(Additional) Day 40 40 - 40
Harvesting Day 60 60 60 60
Threshing Day - - - -
Interculture Day - - 40 40
74
Particulars Unit Vegetables
Ploughing No 4
Manure 40 kg 12.2.-14.8
Seed Kg 5-6
Fertilizer N Kg 110.5-182
P Kg 70-120.2
Labor(Additional) Day 40
Harvesting Day 40
Interculture Day 40
75
Annex-2
Yield of Crops
Thinning 40 kg - - - 60.64
Sorgham Groundnut
Yield of Vegetables
GRAIN/Produce 40 kg 169-210
76
Annex-3
Enterprises Prices
Wheat 800
Maize 600
Sorghum 60
Berseem 90
Potato 600
Onion 1000
Carrot 300
Cauliflower 420
Tauri 400
Okra 450
Tomatoes 500
Melon 120
Garlic 600
Brangil 450
77