- Livestock, fisheries, and forestry growth highlight agriculture’s role in economic resilience and sustainability
The Government of Pakistan announced that the Pakistan’s agriculture sector continues to play a pivotal role in economic resilience and rural livelihood, contributing 23.5 percent to GDP and employing over 37 percent of the labour force. Despite climatic challenges during the current year, the agriculture sector has shown resilience, especially through sustained growth in livestock. In FY 2025, the sector registered growth of 0.56 percent, primarily led by a 4.72 percent rise in livestock, despite diverse challenges. Other major contributing sub-sectors include fisheries and forestry, which grew by 1.42 percent and 3.03 percent, respectively.
| Pakistan: Agriculture Growth (%) (Base = 2015-16) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 (R) | 2024-25 (P) |
| Agriculture | 3.91 | 3.52 | 4.21 | 2.24 | 6.40 | 0.56 |
| 1.Crops | 6.32 | 5.83 | 8.22 | -1.17 | 10.85 | -6.82 |
| i) Important Crops | 5.24 | 5.82 | 5.50 | 0.45 | 17.09 | -13.49 |
| ii) Other Crops | 9.21 | 7.95 | 11.90 | -1.39 | 0.07 | 4.78 |
| iii) Cotton Ginning | -4.06 | -13.08 | 9.22 | -22.84 | 47.23 | -19.03 |
| 2.Livestock | 2.80 | 2.38 | 2.25 | 3.70 | 4.38 | 4.72 |
| 3.Forestry | 3.36 | 3.35 | 0.70 | 17.40 | -0.89 | 3.03 |
| 4.Fisheries | 0.63 | 0.73 | 0.35 | 0.60 | 0.79 | 1.42 |
As a result of weather-related adverse challenges, the crop sub-sector witnessed negative growth (-6.82 percent). Similarly, important crops’ growth plummeted to -13.49 percent from 17.09 percent last year. However, better performance in other crops, with a growth of 4.78 percent, partially offset the decline in important crops, which highlighting the potential for diversification within the crop sector. The government also recorded that the cotton ginning also faced significant challenges during FY 2025, resulting in a decline of 19.03 percent.
Overall, the agriculture sector in FY 2025 showed a combination of resilience and challenges across its sub-sectors. The growth trend emphasizes the sector’s enduring significance, while also highlighting the urgent need for modernization, climate adaptation, knowledge enhancement, and productivity improvements to sustain its contribution to economic growth and social well-being. The government continues to emphasize agriculture modernization through mechanization, enhanced water management, promotion of certified seeds and fertilizer availability.
Additional measures like solarization of tubewells and expansion of credit facilities, have also been taken to boost agricultural productivity. Targeted investments under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) reaffirm agriculture’s strategic significance in economic planning. However, recurring climatic anomalies, rising input costs, a limited agriculture knowledge base and structural inefficiencies remain major risks, highlighting the urgent need for climate adaptive practices, strategy continuity, and new targeted interventions to ensure food security, sustainable rural development and agricultural self-reliance.
Furthermore, agriculture in South Asia is shaped by a shared agro-climatic context, but countries vary in crop priorities because of policy choices, market demands and natural resource endowments. A comparison of agriculture contribution in total GDP of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh reveals interesting insights. Pakistan’s agriculture share in GDP increased from 21.9 percent in 2019–20 to 24.03 percent in 2023– 24, reflecting the sector’s growing importance in the economy. This trend explains agriculture’s resilience and its role in supporting economic growth. Moving forward, balanced growth across agriculture, industry, and services will be key to building a more diverse and sustainable economy. India’s agriculture share in GDP has shown volatility in last five years. It has fallen to 16.0 percent in 2023-24 from 18.7 percent in 2019- 20.
Consistent decline in agriculture share shows that other sectors have expanded speedily as compare to the agriculture sector. Growth in the industrial and services sector may widen rural-urban disparities if agricultural productivity and per capita income are not enhanced. Bangladesh has seen a gradual decline in agriculture’s GDP share, from 12.0 percent in 2019-20 to 11.2 percent in 2023-24. This trend highlights successful structural transformation, with the economy increasingly driven by the industrial, particularly textile and service sectors. Though agriculture remains important for employment and food security, its reduced share suggests greater productivity and urbanization-led growth. Falling share shows positive structural change, but requires policy focus on rural livelihoods to avoid marginalization of smallholder farmers and food insecurity.
The Government of Pakistan also recorded that during FY 2025, consistent with the historical trend, Pakistan’s agriculture sector registered a growth of 0.56 percent. Although it is below the historical average but notable given the challenging climatic conditions. The sector’s growth was largely supported by 4.72 percent growth in livestock, 1.42 percent expansion in the Fisheries and 3.03 percent growth in forestry. The crop sub-sector, which historically stayed the principal growth driver, faced headwinds during FY 2025. It recorded a contraction of 6.82 percent, largely because of the fall in important crops by 13.49 percent and in cotton ginning by 19.03 percent. Other crops, however, registered a positive growth of 4.78 percent, which highlights potential for diversification. In the previous year, crop growth had been exceptionally strong at 10.85 percent. This was followed by a decline of 1.17 percent during FY2023, illustrating the cyclical nature of the sector and its inherent capacity to rebound when conditions are favourable.