Given Pakistan’s specific economic structure, the nature and scale of its industrial base, rural-urban population ratio, and prevailing literacy and skills levels of our workforce, it is clear beyond doubt that the country’s path to economic development and poverty reduction lies primarily through its agriculture sector. Yet, for many years, the government has pursued a piecemeal approach — short-term fixes — to the sector, lacking a holistic and long-term vision. The same fragmented thinking is evident in the 2025-26 budget.

In recent years, the government has increasingly shifted the responsibility for transforming agriculture to the private sector and market forces while declaring its own role as merely that of an enabler and facilitator. As a result, the agriculture sector appears to be operating on autopilot. It lacks clear direction and prioritisation, especially regarding strategic crops, productivity enhancement, technology adoption, and the efficient use of natural resources. The announced budget did not address these critical concerns and is a mere replica of the previous year’s budget.

However, a positive takeaway from the budget is that, although it offers no concrete measures for agricultural growth, the government has at least refrained from adding further burdens on farmers, particularly revising federal excise duty rates on fertilisers and pesticides. Such a move could have devastated the sector, which is already reeling from historic losses and negative growth across all major crops in 2024-25.

Another commendable initiative announced in........

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