Economic and Aesthetic Value of Vegetable in Pakistan

Nutrition:
Vegetables are rich and comparatively cheaper source of vitamins. Their consumption in plenty fair amount of protein.They also play key role in neutralizing the acids produced during digestion of pretentious and fatty foods and which help in movement of food in intestine. Some of the vegetables are good sources of carbohydrates vitamin A : carrot, tomato, leafy vegetables Vitamin B: peas, garlic and tomato Vitamin C : green chillies,Cole crops, leafy vegetables and radish leaves. Daily Requirement of Vegetables: ! " #$! g of green leafy vegetables, %! g of other vegetables and %! g of roots and tubers with other food.

Importance as Food:
&ood production is increasing. Then our economic is also strength 'f is essential to sustain increased production besides nutritional standard of people. 't can be increased by increasing production of vegetables which will help to solve food problem as yield of vegetable crops is ( to #) times more than cereals. Thus, vegetables play a vital role on food front as they are cheapest"sources of natural foods and can admirably supplement the main cereals of the country.

Importance to a grower:
*ature is in providing us"with all kinds of vegetable crops that can be grown in different seasons of the year in +akistan provinces. ,ifferent kinds of, vegetables provide leaf, stem, flower, fruit or seed for consumption. &armers can grow vegetable crops throughout the year for earning regular and steady income to meet the daily e-penditure. There are vegetables of very short duration that can be grown as rained and intercrops in either agronomical crops or vegetable crops. There .are vegetables which will improve soil and also provide fodder to catties. Thus farmer has wide choice to select suitable crop to ad/ust in his cropping pattern in given situation. Climate and soil conditions of this region are conducive to grow different vegetables.

mployment:
Since cultivation of vegetable crops involves intensive cultural operations starting from sowing to marketing, it provides more and regular employment opportunities in rural areas.

Industrial importance:
'ndustry as a commercial proposition largely depends on mainly allied enterprises like storage, processing marketing and maintenance and service enterprises to encourage vegetable growing. The value of vegetables as an important article of daily human diet has come to be recognized all over the world in recent years .Vegetables contribute vital Role to Improve our

cnomic:

#. They are rich sources of .+rotective. elements like minerals, salts, vitamins and other chemical substances, which the human body seeds to maintain good health and cheer. $. +er acre yield of vegetables is very high. 0. They are an important source of farm income. (. They have high aesthetic value. !. 1ore vegetable crops can be raised in one year. 2. 'mportance of vegetables in farmer.s economy. . Vegetables are important .source of farm income: %. Vegetables are sold at a higher rate than other crops. 't provides regular as well as good source of income in addition to the income from the agronomic crops. 3. 't provides regular work throughout the year to the year to the fanners and his family labours. #). +er acre yielded vegetables is very high: Vegetables give very high 4uantity of food per acre and they grow 4uickly. 't is found that vegetables give higher yields in comparison to other crop

!roduction for medicinal properties:

1any of the vegetable crops posses high medical value for curing certain diseases. &or instance, onion and garlic are found to possess antibacterial property 5Sharma et. al. #3 26. 1any solanaceous and cucurbitaceous vegetables are found to possess Vitamin ,.

Vegetable seed production:

Vegetables offer good value in terms of nutrients and therefore, less developed countries, especially South 7sian States have vegetable ,ietary habits. 8ence these poor countries grow and consume 1uch more vegetables for their main food re4uirements. +akistan has greater opportunities, being a centre for vegetable production 7nd can e-port fresh and canned vegetables in most of the 7sian countries to earn foreign e-change. 7t present, mostly the growers depends on imported seeds, but it is true that many /obs farm of labourers, could be created by growing vegetables for seed production, seed trade and e-port business may also increase, which reduce annual import costs on vegetable Seeds. ,ue to the fact that this sector has not been e-plored To earn more income through e-ports to other countries. &armers prefer to grow vegetables due to short plantation duration and it is Considered as the low delta crop. The vegetables can play great role in the economy of the country

!A"I#$A% &'R$IC()$(R D V )'!* %$ + ,!'R$ B'ARD 'nion *ar-eting !lan Bac-ground Information
+akistan is blessed with vast agricultural resources on account of its fertile land, well"irrigated plains, e-tremes of weather, and centuries old tradition of farming. 't is because of its central importance in the economy that the 9overnment has identified agriculture as one of the four ma/or drivers of growth. 7ccording to an estimate, the total value of agriculture crops at current factor cost is estimated at :s.!!).$2% billion, divided into ma/or crops. +akistan has uni4ue but unsophisticated network of up to si- or seven intermediaries between the primary source 5producer and growers6 and the end user. ;ecause of the presence of so many layers and the lack of ade4uate marketing infrastructure facilities, 0) to ()< of the perishable produce gets spoiled before reaching the ultimate consumer.

=nion is one of the main cash crops for the farmers as well as among the main e-portable horticulture commodities from the country. Therefore, development of onion crop will improve farm incomes and foreign e-change earnings $.) =nion +roduction

.orld 'nion !roduction

't is estimated that annually about !! million tons of onions are produced all over the world. 'n many parts of the world it is staple food of the people. China and 'ndia contribute almost half of world onion production. The world market for onion is e-panding with the increase in global population. The statistics reveal that e-porting countries are almost maintaining their share with of course some bad years due to bad crop.

!a-istan 'nion !roduction:

+akistan annually produces about #.! million tons of onion. Though sub/ected to annual variations, overall area and production of onions in +akistan have shown an increasing trend during the past ! years 5Table $6: Table $: 7rea and +roduction of =nions for the +eriod from #333>)) to $))0>)( in +akistan 7rea 5@)))A ha6 +roduction 5@)))A tons6 ?ear #333>)) #)3.% #2(%.) $)))>)# #)!.2 #!20.0 $))#>)$ #)0.% #0%!.) $))$>)0 #)%.) #($ .! $))0>)( #)3.) #((3.) 7verage 5#333"$))(6 #) .$ #(3(.! Sindh is the leading onion producing province in +akistan followed by ;alochistan, +un/ab and *B&+. +rovince"wise area and production of onion are presented in Table 0: =nion in +un/ab is mainly produced in Southern part comprising of Chanewal, Vehari, =kara, ,. 9. Chan, ;ahawalpur and :. ?. Chan districts. 9hotki, *ausherhro &eroze, *awabshah, Shikarpur, Sanghar, 1irpur Chas and 8yderabad are main onion producing district in Sindh. Similarly Swat and ,ir in

7rea 5))) 8a6 $!.! !#.( #).# $).) #) .)

+roduction5))) Tons6 $( . 2(2.# #3$.2 023.% #(!2.(

< Share # .) ((.( #0.$ $!.(

*B&+ and 1astung, kalat and Chagai are main onion producing districts in ;alochistan.

&arvest #easons of 'nion:

The agro"ecological diversity obtained in the country enables production of onions almost around the year. 8owever, production volumes greatly differ from crop to crop as follows: D Eune"Euly +un/ab F *B&+ +lains 5#0<6 D 7ugust"September *B&+ Gplands 5#2<6 D 7ugust"=ctober ;alochistan 5$2<6 D *ovember"1ay Sindh 5(!<6 't is apparent from the above that bulk of the onion crop is harvested from 7ugust thru to 1ay. The augmented supplies tend to keep prices in the domestic market low thereby offering an opportunity for e-port. Therefore, onion e-ports are mainly undertaken during this period, predominantly from Sindh crop. ,ue to limited shelf life and absence of suitable cold storage facilities in the country, onions can not be held over an e-tended period and have to be disposed in the domestic and international market as fresh harvest.

!rominent 'nion Varieties:

There are two commercially grown varieties i.e. +ulkara and :ed Sindh. 'n ;alochistan, Sariab :ed is also commercially grown. *ar-eting #ystem: =nion trade is in private hands. The 9overnmentAs role is confined to physical infrastructure development especially wholesale marketsFcommunication, market intelligence, market promotion and regulatory measures for smooth business operations.

conomic Value after /rowing at a #teady Rate in t0e )ast Decade In !a-istan Vegetable e1ports:
The vegetables have suffered volumetric year"on"year ,ecrease of ().(< in $)##"#$. The drop in vegetable e-ports is a conse4uence of natural disasters, unfair profiteering by middlemen and a change in supply and demand dynamics in the foreign markets. The significant drop in vegetable e-portsis mainly because the onion crop was destroyed by floods. The ma/or items e-ports of vegetables from +akistan is potato e-ported #$!,))) tonnes of +otato to :ussia in $)#)"##. The figure dropped to #!,))) tonnes in $)##" #$, a decrease of well over %%<. ;esides a change in supply side of the :ussian vegetable market, 7nother reason for +akistanAs low vegetable e-ports in $)##"#$ is an e-orbitant profit margin by middlemen and growers. +akistan has ma/ority of urban and rural population surviving on vegetables, Bhich is relishing food due to nutritive value such as vitamins, proteins, Calcium, +hosphorous, 'ron, water and mineral salts. etc. 'n its varying climatic conditions, the vegetables grown may vary from leafy to cole crops, root vegetables to bulb or tuber crops, flower vegetables to 'mmature fruit vegetables, which are grown in different parts of the country. The area under vegetable cultivation e-cluding potato and sweet potato but including onion, garlic, chillies was ).0%# million hectors 5about #.2 < of The total cropped area6, producing about (.)2 million tonnes of vegetables. There is increasing demand of vegetables from rural to urban areas due to ,omestic consumption directly in food either in raw

or cooked form. ;ut, vegetables have variety of uses in the preparation of pickles, chutney ketchup, soups, sauces, salads, etc. e-cept their edible usage for cooking purposes. The vegetable cultivation in +akistan is most probably done in different parts of the country. There is great variety of vegetables along with their edible parts such as roots, tubers, bulbs, :hizomes, leaves, flowers and immature pods, fruits and seeds. The low 4uality seed is one of the ma/or yields Constraints in vegetables grown in +akistan. The seed producing agencies and growers both suffer a lot due to timely production and availability =f vegetable seed in the market during season. 'n different parts of the country, vegetables are grown in Charif or summer and :abi or winter seasons of the year. :abi Vegetables 5, Seed.?ield6 Charif Vegetables 5Seed, ?ield6 =nion %)"#$) =kra $))"$() 9arlic 2))"%)) Chillies $()"0$) Cabbage 2))"%)) ;rin/al ()"2) Cauliflower#())"#2)) S4uash melon ("! Tomato !"#) ;itter gourd: ()"2) +eas $()"$%) Sponge gourd ()"2) :adish ()"2) :ound gourd ()"2) Carrot %)"#$) +umpkin ()"2) Turnip $()"$%) Cluster bean $))"$() Spinach #2)"$)) Cow peas $%)"())

!roblem in 1port of Vegetables in !a-istan

#. 'nade4uate air cargo space. $. 8igher air freight. 0. :estriction in the e-port. ,uring shortage of crop e-port is restricted.

Thus regular e-port is stopped. (. *on" availability suitable variety. !. 7bsence of cultivation of suitable crop varieties e-clusively for e-port is fresh for processing. 2. 'mproper packing of the produce. . Vegetables are packed oHin /ute 5undesirable6. %. Corrugated fiberboard bo-es are not of enough strength and damaged in transport. 3. Cold storage facilities at all air ports. #). in ade4uate handling space. ##. 'nade4uate research development back up. #$. *o e-port oriented research programmed are being taken up in vegetables. #0. Iuality of vegetables is not uniform. #(. Cost of vegetable washed in shorting and grading.

#uggestion for improvement in Vegetable 1port from !a-istan:

There is need for such policy so that 4uality crops at competitive price are available regularly in market. &ollowing are Suggestion: #Jong term and consistent e-port policy, 7void fre4uent change in policy. e-port

$. K-clusive production of different vegetable for different season in suitable packets be arranged t have regular supply throughout the year at competitive price without affecting domestic supply. 0. Knough 4uality control control measures should be made. (. :egular assessment for international market. !. Suitable diversification for e-port both in term of countries and commodities for increasing 4uality and value. 2. 'dentity suitable pocket for growing different vegetables. . ,evelop agro techni4ue and fro integrated nutrient, + and ,

management, organic farming etc. %. +roduction and distribution of 4uality seed in ade4uate 4ualities be arranged. 3. +re"cooling and cold storage facilities are increased. #). Ventilated and temperature controlled, storage and transport facilities are necessary. ##. +acking material. #$. K-port promotion programme be carried out in other countries to prove superiority of taste, flavor of 'ndian +roducts. :efernces: # 7kash tahir at wikipedia