In some misguided attempt at glossing over grim realities, the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25 report features the word ‘resilience’ multiple times when describing the performance of several major sectors.

The unfortunate truth is quickly revealed upon a closer look at the apparent distress the country has had to pull through over the past year, with major crops declining by 13.5 per cent, GDP reaching only 2.68pc — well below its intended target of 3.56pc — and a 1.5pc contraction in large-scale manufacturing (LSM). Resilient indeed.

Beginning with agriculture, though the overall sectors posited a 0.56pc increase in growth, this was largely due to a 4.72pc growth in the livestock sector, which amounts to 63.6pc of agriculture. Meanwhile, major crops including wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize, and cotton were hard hit by a medley of troubles, especially water shortages, that dissuaded farmers from tackling water-intensive crops like rice.

Moreover, agricultural inputs on the whole proved to be much too expensive in FY25 — despite their generally poor quality (especially in terms of pesticides and seeds) and global reduction in input costs — further straining farmer incomes as prices of fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, and tractors doubled over the past three years. The uptick in other subsectors, including livestock, fisheries........

© Dawn Business