Last update: August 15, 2024

This page contains information about some of the data available in the FEWS NET Data Explorer (FDE) for Pakistan. This is not a comprehensive guide.

For information about using the filters and fields for specific domains in the FDE, see Choose a Data Domain.

Summary table

Country food security context

Statistical reporting units

The administrative hierarchy is generally used as the principal statistical reporting unit. 

• Admin 1: Province.

• Admin 2: Division. This level of the administrative hierarchy in Pakistan has not always been considered a permanent feature of the country’s structure of administration. It was abolished in 2000 but was re-instituted again in 2008 (2011 in Sindh).

• Admin 3: District.

• Other Admin units: Several other lower-level admin units exist below the district (tehsil and union council), but few food security-related databases of interest to FEWS NET provide data at that level. 

In 2024, there are 4 provinces:  Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. Islamabad, or the Federal Administrative Territory, is a separate federal administrative unit similar to a province (note that Islamabad’s agricultural production is reported by Punjab). 

There are also 2 Pakistan-administered territories: Azad (meaning “Free”) Kashmir and Jammu, and Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly the northern part of contested Kashmir). There is a long history of conflict over these territories and others held by India (also contested by China). In administrative functions, these territories operate similarly to provinces.

FEWS NET holds a detailed hierarchical description of the changes in shape and relationships of all admin 1, 2 and 3 units between 1982 and the present.  As of 2024, these are represented by 25 annual boundary sets, containing 177 districts.  Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa each have 42 districts, Balochistan 37, Sindh 30, Gilgit-Baltistan 15, Azad Kashmir and Jammu 10, and the Islamabad federal territory counting as 1 unit. 

• ~1990: The spelling of Baluchistan changed to Balochistan; Sind changed to Sindh.

• 2009: Northern Areas (former ISO code NA) was renamed Gilgit-Baltistan.

• 2010: North-West Frontier Province (former ISO code NW) was renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkwa.

• 2018: FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan, merged into Khyber Pakhtunkwa.

Crop data

Explore our crop data.

View our documentation on using the Crop Domain.

Crop estimate data sources

FEWS NET currently holds official sub-national (district-level) crop data estimates for all of Pakistan’s provinces and territories from the Source Organizations described below. The data are reasonably good in quality, with frequent differentiation between seasons, an average number of temporal gaps in district-level data, and no completely missing years. Updates are laborious, requiring visits to websites representing each province and at least two federal bodies. 

Some provinces have an official Crop Reporting Service (CRS) function attached to their provincial Department/Directorate of Agriculture office, and one of its main tasks is crop estimation and the dissemination of estimates. The best (most accurate, least delay) crop data are found at the province level, where season and production system (irrigated/rainfed) info is also given.

• The CRS of Punjab is the primary source of district-level crop statistics for Punjab province, and provides consistent, easy, deep (back through 1990) and low-latency web-based access to the province’s historic and current crop data. 

• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CRS provides access to district-level crop estimates for the last 8-10 years (there is a latency of several years for current data) via annual reports that may be downloaded and provincial-level data back to the 90s on a web page.  

• The Balochistan CRS has no presence on the web, and, according to news reports (e.g. https://loksujag.com/story/crop-reporting-staff-mobility-issues-balochistan-eng), is poorly funded, and is not effective in making or delivering crop estimates.  The province’s series of annual Development Statistics reports, which were first published in the 2012-13 timeframe, are an important source of district-level crop data.  Some recent annual versions (2020, 2021) of these reports, if published, have not been found.

• The Sindh Province Agriculture Department publishes a limited amount of crop data at: Agriculture | Sindh Bureau of Statistics but there appears to be no CRS office. As in Balochistan, the province’s annual Development Statistics reports, begun in the 2012-13 timeframe, are an important source of district-level crop data.  Recent annual versions of these reports, if published, have not been found. Sindh Government

• Although the website of the Gilgit-Baltistan territory https://gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk/ provides little crop data, that of the Azad Kashmir and Jammu territory does provide recent agricultural statistics in its statistical yearbooks https://pndajk.gov.pk/ajkboshome.php.

At the federal level, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) is an additional source of district- and provincial-level agricultural statistics for recent years (accessible on their website under Publications). They are not always the same as those posted by the provincial CRS. The source of the differences is not known. This Ministry is, however, often the best and only source available for some Balochistan and Sindh agricultural statistics.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics is no longer charged with producing crop statistics. It produced these statistics prior to 2011, and a key database of 1982-2009 district-level crop statistics is available for download on its website.

Crop statistic reporting units

Crop statistic reporting units are generally consistent with the official administrative boundary units described previously. Of greatest interest to FEWS NET for agricultural data is Admin 3 level, the district.  

Units of measure

All FEWS NET crop estimate data are converted to metric tons and hectares.

• Area is most often denominated in hectares, although it is not unusual for cotton and a few other crops to be calculated in acres. 

• Kilograms and tonnes are the most common measure of the amount/weight of crop production.

• Maunds, a unit of weight varying in different countries of Asia from 11.2 to 37.4 kilograms, is often provided as a measure of yield.

• Cotton production is almost always reported in bales, each bale weighing 170 kg. 

Crop production system

Approximately 50% of the estimates are identified as either irrigated production systems (PS) or rainfed systems. 

Year and season definition

The agricultural year runs from July through June. Normally, agricultural years are identified with a two-year pair (e.g. 2021-22) in which the first year contains Kharif (see definitions below) crop data, and the second contains Rabi crop data.  When only one year is given, it almost always refers to the second year of a two-year pair. 

Note that the season names and definitions given below are discussed here in reference to crops grown in them, and not solely to an annual season. The kharif and rabi seasons/crops are the primary growing seasons found in Pakistan. 

• Kharif season/crop: Also known as autumn/monsoon crop or monsoon season. Rains start in May/June. Crops are generally harvested from the third week of September to October. Kharif crops require good rainfall.

• Rabi season/crop: Also known as winter crops. Rabi crops are sown in the winter after the monsoon rains are over, and harvesting begins in April / May. Significant rain in the winter spoils rabi crops but can lead to a good kharif season.

• Other season/crop terms:  Note that the start and end dates shown below are illustrative, may vary by weeks between different provinces, and are influenced by the timing of any year’s weather.

Selected principal Pakistan crop names and their FEWS NET CPCv2 codes:

Open

Agricultural census dates

Pakistan carried out formal agricultural censuses in 1960, 1972, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010. Agricultural censuses are intended to be carried out in years ending with the digit “0”.

A Mouza (village-level) census was carried out in 2020 and collected a variety of socio-economic data (see the report here).  It was also intended to help define the frame of Mouzas for the next Agricultural Census, whose normal timing was disrupted by Covid-19.

Methodology

The provincial crop estimate methods described below, unless otherwise noted, are drawn from:

https://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/methodology-crop-estimate

• Punjab Estimates: “The 1st and 2nd Estimates of area sown under 12 major crops are arrived at through Sample Surveys undertaken by the Directorate of Crop Reporting Service, Punjab. The final estimates of area sown under all crops are based on complete enumeration (Girdawari) of all Mouzas carried out by Patwaris of Revenue Department twice a year.

  The information gathered by Patwaris is passed on by the Revenue Department to the Provincial Bureau of Statistics for preparation of computerized Jinswar statements. The acreage statistics included in the 1st and 2nd estimates are approved by the Secretary, Agriculture Department at his level.

  The final acreage estimates based on the Girdawari are approved by the Provincial Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board headed by the Chairman, Planning Board, Punjab”.
  See “Explanatory Notes on Agriculture”, pages 37-38, Punjab Development statistics, 2018, by the Punjab Bureau of Statistics, Planning and Development Department.

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimates: “The 1st  and 2nd  Estimates of area sown for all crops are arrived at sample survey method for the selected districts. However for unsettled districts area figures are based on subjective judgment of Crop reporting survey. The final estimates are based on Girdwari undertaken by the Revenue Patwari. These are, however, examined by a Sub-committee comprising of representatives from Revenue, Agriculture, Irrigation and Planning & Development Departments. The final area estimates are subsequently approved by the Provincial Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board. Preliminary yield estimates of crops are arrived at on the basis of grower's opinion surveys undertaken by the Crop Reporting staff of the Provincial Agriculture Department and later approved by Secretary, Agriculture Department. The final yield estimates of ten (10) crops are based on the results of crop cutting surveys using random sampling technical. The final estimates of remaining crops are compiled on the basis of grower's opinion survey conducted by the Crop Reporting Staff of the Provincial Agriculture Department. These final estimates of all crops are then examined by a Sub-Committee comprising of representatives from Provincial Revenue, Irrigation, Agriculture and Planning & Development Departments. These estimates are subsequently approved by the Provincial Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board”.

• Balochistan estimates: “The Agriculture Department collects and compiles the acreage statistics through their Extension staff on the basis of their personal judgment. The final estimates of area sown for all crops are approved by the Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board. In Balochistan, yield of all crops is fixed on the basis of subjective judgment of Extension staff of Provincial Agriculture Department”.

• Sindh estimates:  “In the Sindh, 1st estimate relates to area sown under all crops of area sown. The 2nd estimate which is final in case of area and preliminary in case of production in respect of wheat, cotton and rice is prepared on the basis of Sample Survey undertaken by the Statistical staff of Provincial Agricultural Extension. Final Estimate is the verification of 2nd Estimate. Area sown of wheat, cotton and rice is obtained by applying raising factors to the area surveyed at the district level. Provincial estimates are obtained by summing the district estimates. The area of other crops is obtained from the District Revenue Offices. The consolidated information is examined by a sub-committee comprising representatives of the Provincial Revenue, Agriculture, Irrigation and Bureau of Statistics Departments. The 1st and 2nd Estimates are approved by the Secretary, Agriculture. The Final Estimates are approved by the Provincial Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Dev), where Pakistan Bureau of Statistics is also representative.  Preliminary estimates of production for all major crops are based on subjective judgment of the Agricultural Extension Staff. For final estimates, crop-cutting surveys are conducted for wheat, cotton and rice. Production estimates for remaining major crops are based on subjective judgment of the Provincial Department and opinion survey conducted by Statistical Staff of Agricultural Extension. The final estimates are checked by a Sub-committee comprising of representatives from the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Revenue, Irrigation and Planning & Development. The preliminary estimates are cleared by Secretary, Agriculture Department and final by the Provincial Agriculture Statistics Coordination Board”.
  See “Development Statistics of Sindh, 2014”, pp 59-62, Sindh Bureau of Statistics, Planning and Development Department.

• No other methodological information is available for Pakistan’s 2 territories.