Constraints and opportunities for sustainable crop-production in rainfed areas of pothwar plateau [Pakistan]

The rainfed areas, commonly known as barani tract, accounts for about 25% of the total cropped area in the Punjab. The Pothwar plateau comprising 1.82 million hectare, is the largest contiguous block of rainfed areas in Punjab. Low and erratic rainfall, water-erosion hazard, inadequate depth of soil and poor soil fertility are the main limitations affecting the production-potential of these areas. To ensure that farmers readily adopt the agricultural technologies developed by the research-system, these should be based on real-life problems, appropriate to the natural and socio-economic environments in which farmers make decisions. The present study was undertaken in tehsils Fatehjang and Gujar Khan of Pothwar plateau, to broadly understand farmers' perceptions and approaches for rainwater- harvesting and soil fertility management. It was observed that farm size was relatively bigger in Fatehjang than Gujar Khan. About 86% and 63% of respondent s in Gujar Khan and Fatehjang cultivated their own lands. Nearly 40% of respondents in both the tehsils had their lands in 3 to 6 parcels, which hindered the farm-operation and soil and water conservation activities. The uses of fertilizers are sub-optimal and imbalanced. The soil fertility is going down. The rainwater-conservation practices are not being adopted, due to high cost of machinery and disinterest of farmers in agriculture. The farming is going to be come uneconomical. The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) was carried out and the results are discussed. Some recommendations have been proposed to control soil- erosion, moisture-stress and fertility-degradation and to sustain agricultural production in these areas.