Agriculture: Crop sector — from boom to bust

In late March 2025, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released the country’s economic growth figures for the second quarter (October-December) of FY25. The data painted a worrying picture: the agriculture sector grew by just 1.1 per cent. The first quarter was even worse, barely registering a growth rate of 0.74pc (revised figure). That is a massive fall from FY24, when agriculture posted a robust 8.17pc and 5.82pc growth in Q1 and Q2, respectively. Interestingly, in Q2FY25, the livestock subsector, which accounts for nearly 60pc of the agriculture sector, grew by an impressive 6.51pc — the highest for any quarter over the last 10 years. This performance appears somewhat surprising, as neither the government nor the private sector undertook any significant intervention.