Agriculture, in many ways, remains the most dominant activity in Pakistan. It provides a way of l... more Agriculture, in many ways, remains the most dominant activity in Pakistan. It provides a way of life to almost three-quarters of the country's population: over 55 percent of the labour force works directly in agriculture and about 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and over 35 percent of the export earnings were contributed by agriculture in 1984. That three-quarters of the population engaged in agriculture cannot produce adequate supply of food and fibre at reasonable prices for the one quarter working in other sectors indicates a low level of productivity in crop and livestock production. Agricultural growth in the past 35 years or so has been uneven in terms of both rates and commodity balances. Also, the benefits from growth have varied significantly across regions and between farm groups. Markets and public policy have not always provided the right economic incentives and environment for sustained and equitable growth.
The paper investigates the legitimacy of the popular view that the Green Revolution has led to a ... more The paper investigates the legitimacy of the popular view that the Green Revolution has led to a magnification of income inequality in rural Pakistan. The empirical evidence produced in this paper is sufficiently conclusive to show that the Green Revolution has actually been responsible for reduction of income disparity between small and large farms, between farm and non-farm rural classes and between well-to-do and poorer agricultural regions in Pakistan. The paper suggests that Green Revolution technologies should be encouraged in the interest of economic development.
This is a study of class formation and agrarian transition in Pakistan. The process of class diff... more This is a study of class formation and agrarian transition in Pakistan. The process of class differentiation under way is a manifestation of capitalist development. The agrarian transition in Pakistan is reflected by the disintegration of the peasant and feudal systems. The approach adopted in this paper demystifies the process of agricultural development in an underdeveloped country where, with the expansion of forces of production, the precapitalist relations of production are slowly dissolving. It should also help in discovering the mechanism by which agricultural surplus is extracted from direct producers and rural poverty is perpetuated.
This study is premised on the propo1ition that economic research on agriculture in Pakistan has c... more This study is premised on the propo1ition that economic research on agriculture in Pakistan has concentrated on narrow and technocratic aspects without reference to the structure of production relations among various and contending classes of farmers. The paper identifies three major and so far largely unexplored areas of agricultural research, viz. set of relationships among farm groups and their impact on agricultural production and income distribution, measurement and interpretation of participation by these groups in production activities in the private and public sectors, and the land tax system and its effect on issues of growth and equity.
Using the "unit output price" profit function, the study analyses the relative efficien... more Using the "unit output price" profit function, the study analyses the relative efficiency of (a) old versus new seeds, and (b) large versus small farms in the production of new varieties of wheat and rice in the Indus Basin of Pakistan. It is found that whereas farm .size has no effect on efficiency, high-yielding seeds are more efficient than seeds of old varieties. The study also finds that labour demand elasticities with respect to both land and capital are rather low.
This paper attempts to develop a small size macro-econometric model for Pakistan to analyze the e... more This paper attempts to develop a small size macro-econometric model for Pakistan to analyze the effects of monetary policy on key macro variables through forecasting and simulations. The model comprises of 17 equations, out of which 11 are behavioral equations while the rest are either identities or definitional equations. OLS method is used to estimate the behavioral equations by using annual data from FY73-FY06. The paper analyzes results of policy simulations to quantify the impact of shocks to various exogenous variables.
In Australia, recent drought conditions and climate change concerns have highlighted the need to ... more In Australia, recent drought conditions and climate change concerns have highlighted the need to manage water resources more sustainably especially in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB), which utilizes more than 70% of water for food production. Typically, improving water management in irrigated areas requires the analysis of real-time water demand to determine the options available to improve efficiencies in irrigation water’s distribution and use whilst enhancing its utility. Real-time water demand information in irrigated areas is a key for planning about sustainable use of irrigation water as it informs decision making. These activities are needed not only to improve water productivity, but also to increase the sustainability of irrigated agriculture by reducing irrigation water losses and the environmental footprint of irrigation activities. This paper presents an application of a holistic systematic approach of water accounting coupled with remote sensing and GIS technique at mult...
World population is increasing at a fast rate resulting in huge pressure on limited water resourc... more World population is increasing at a fast rate resulting in huge pressure on limited water resources. Just about 3% of the earth’s total water is freshwater that can be used for various applications including irrigation. Therefore, an efficient irrigation water management is crucial for the survival of human being. In our study area farmers need to order water based on their requirements. Once a request for water is made it typically takes about 7 days to get it at the farm gate from the upstream. Therefore, farmers need to estimate water requirement for the next 7 days in advance in order to get it at the farm gate on time. Currently there is no reliable tool available to the farmers of our study area for estimating future water requirement accurately. Hence, a water demand forecasting technique is crucial for the efficient use of available water. In this study we first prepare a data set containing information on suitable attributes obtained from three different sources namely mete...
Agriculture, in many ways, remains the most dominant activity in Pakistan. It provides a way of l... more Agriculture, in many ways, remains the most dominant activity in Pakistan. It provides a way of life to almost three-quarters of the country's population: over 55 percent of the labour force works directly in agriculture and about 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and over 35 percent of the export earnings were contributed by agriculture in 1984. That three-quarters of the population engaged in agriculture cannot produce adequate supply of food and fibre at reasonable prices for the one quarter working in other sectors indicates a low level of productivity in crop and livestock production. Agricultural growth in the past 35 years or so has been uneven in terms of both rates and commodity balances. Also, the benefits from growth have varied significantly across regions and between farm groups. Markets and public policy have not always provided the right economic incentives and environment for sustained and equitable growth.
The paper investigates the legitimacy of the popular view that the Green Revolution has led to a ... more The paper investigates the legitimacy of the popular view that the Green Revolution has led to a magnification of income inequality in rural Pakistan. The empirical evidence produced in this paper is sufficiently conclusive to show that the Green Revolution has actually been responsible for reduction of income disparity between small and large farms, between farm and non-farm rural classes and between well-to-do and poorer agricultural regions in Pakistan. The paper suggests that Green Revolution technologies should be encouraged in the interest of economic development.
This is a study of class formation and agrarian transition in Pakistan. The process of class diff... more This is a study of class formation and agrarian transition in Pakistan. The process of class differentiation under way is a manifestation of capitalist development. The agrarian transition in Pakistan is reflected by the disintegration of the peasant and feudal systems. The approach adopted in this paper demystifies the process of agricultural development in an underdeveloped country where, with the expansion of forces of production, the precapitalist relations of production are slowly dissolving. It should also help in discovering the mechanism by which agricultural surplus is extracted from direct producers and rural poverty is perpetuated.
This study is premised on the propo1ition that economic research on agriculture in Pakistan has c... more This study is premised on the propo1ition that economic research on agriculture in Pakistan has concentrated on narrow and technocratic aspects without reference to the structure of production relations among various and contending classes of farmers. The paper identifies three major and so far largely unexplored areas of agricultural research, viz. set of relationships among farm groups and their impact on agricultural production and income distribution, measurement and interpretation of participation by these groups in production activities in the private and public sectors, and the land tax system and its effect on issues of growth and equity.
Using the "unit output price" profit function, the study analyses the relative efficien... more Using the "unit output price" profit function, the study analyses the relative efficiency of (a) old versus new seeds, and (b) large versus small farms in the production of new varieties of wheat and rice in the Indus Basin of Pakistan. It is found that whereas farm .size has no effect on efficiency, high-yielding seeds are more efficient than seeds of old varieties. The study also finds that labour demand elasticities with respect to both land and capital are rather low.
This paper attempts to develop a small size macro-econometric model for Pakistan to analyze the e... more This paper attempts to develop a small size macro-econometric model for Pakistan to analyze the effects of monetary policy on key macro variables through forecasting and simulations. The model comprises of 17 equations, out of which 11 are behavioral equations while the rest are either identities or definitional equations. OLS method is used to estimate the behavioral equations by using annual data from FY73-FY06. The paper analyzes results of policy simulations to quantify the impact of shocks to various exogenous variables.
In Australia, recent drought conditions and climate change concerns have highlighted the need to ... more In Australia, recent drought conditions and climate change concerns have highlighted the need to manage water resources more sustainably especially in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB), which utilizes more than 70% of water for food production. Typically, improving water management in irrigated areas requires the analysis of real-time water demand to determine the options available to improve efficiencies in irrigation water’s distribution and use whilst enhancing its utility. Real-time water demand information in irrigated areas is a key for planning about sustainable use of irrigation water as it informs decision making. These activities are needed not only to improve water productivity, but also to increase the sustainability of irrigated agriculture by reducing irrigation water losses and the environmental footprint of irrigation activities. This paper presents an application of a holistic systematic approach of water accounting coupled with remote sensing and GIS technique at mult...
World population is increasing at a fast rate resulting in huge pressure on limited water resourc... more World population is increasing at a fast rate resulting in huge pressure on limited water resources. Just about 3% of the earth’s total water is freshwater that can be used for various applications including irrigation. Therefore, an efficient irrigation water management is crucial for the survival of human being. In our study area farmers need to order water based on their requirements. Once a request for water is made it typically takes about 7 days to get it at the farm gate from the upstream. Therefore, farmers need to estimate water requirement for the next 7 days in advance in order to get it at the farm gate on time. Currently there is no reliable tool available to the farmers of our study area for estimating future water requirement accurately. Hence, a water demand forecasting technique is crucial for the efficient use of available water. In this study we first prepare a data set containing information on suitable attributes obtained from three different sources namely mete...
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