Sultan Khan, 72, is a small scale farmer. He has been cultivating groundnut crops for many years, because it is the sole crop that fulfils his financial needs. This year, he cultivated the crop over three acres of land and got 20 maunds (one maund is the equivalent of 40 kilograms) in yield.

According to Punjab agriculture department officials, the recommended seed variety of the groundnut should give a yield of 40 maunds from one acre, and yet production of the crop in the Potohar region averages 10 to 12 maunds per acre.

“This year groundnut production has been lower, so it is difficult for me to meet the expenses I bore during plough, cultivation and harvesting,” Mr Khan explained.

The groundnut, also known as the peanut, is the sole cash crop of the Potohar region, which consists of the Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock districts.

In Pakistan, the groundnut is cultivated annually on approximately 93,000 hectare acres and averages 86,000 tons in production. According to the agriculture department, however, annual production could reach 367,000 tons.

85 per cent of groundnut cultivation happens in Punjab, and within Punjab, the Potohar region contributes 86 per cent of the province’s total groundnut production. However, the area’s groundnut farmers have been largely dissatisfied with groundnut production, as it has not brought substantial change to their economic condition.

“The only benefit of the groundnut is that, at least, farmers could meet their agricultural expenses,” Mr Khan said.

But after last year’s torrential rainfall, crops have yet to be harvested, and this year many of Chakwal’s farmers chose not to cultivate the groundnut at all.

“The crop was badly damaged last year, and this year many farmers didn’t cultivate it because they feared it would be damaged by rains just like it was last year,” Asim Sikandar Mughal, the president of the Chakwal grain market traders union, said.

He added that groundnut production in Chakwal fell by 50 per cent this year, even though the district is considered the centre of groundnut production in the region.

“Every year the grain market is filled with heaps and bags of groundnuts in November and December, but this year the supply hardly remained for 20 days,” he said.

The list of problems affecting ground nut production is a long one.

“The government seems least concerned towards the agriculture sector, particular towards the Potohar region, where the plight of farmers is more miserable because the region depends totally on rain water,” Kissan Etihad (farmers’ union) president Chaudhry Tamseel Akhtar said. For a bumper yield, proper selection and land preparation are required, along with seed of recommended quality, fertilizer, the removal of weeds and the protection of the crop from porcupines and wild boars.

According to Mr Akhtar: “The quantity of recommended seed does not meet farmers’ requirements, so only a small majority of farmers actually use recommended seeds. And the overwhelming majority of farmers cannot afford to use fertilizers because of the high prices.”

He said that farmers also do not receive a good price for the crop in the market. “The average price of groundnut is Rs2,500 to Rs4,000 per 40 kilograms this year. The price can be increased if the government takes some urgent steps,” said Chaudhry Ali Javed, a trader at the grain market. “The import of groundnuts from India decreases the price of our product.”

The groundnut is an oilseed crop, which contains 50 per cent edible oil – this is more than sunflower (40 per cent) and the soya bean (20 per cent) and is the same as the sesame crop.

But despite the fact that the groundnut is an excellent source of edible oil, little is being done in Pakistan to make the most of this domestic product. Even though the groundnut contains 50 per cent edible oil of fine quality, Pakistan spends nearly Rs200 billion on importing edible oil ever year, the second largest amount spent on the import of any commodity (after petroleum).

The state also does not seem interested in establishing oil extraction plants in the country, in which groundnut oil could be extracted.

“The problem for groundnut growers is that there is no alternative market for the product in the country. Oil extraction plants could be an alternative market,” Mr Akhtar said. “The government should establish such plants in the Chakwal district – it’s the centre of the Potohar region,” he added.

In Pakistan, the groundnuts are mainly consumed as edible items.

However, Dr Tariq Mehmood, the director of the Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) Chakwal, told Dawn that: “the future of the groundnut crop in the country is promising.”

“We have introduced a new variety of seed, which would not only be ready for harvest in four months instead of six, but would also yield higher production than that of previous varieties,” he said.

Experts have emphasized the need for an alternative market for groundnuts, and have also urged that measures be undertaken to make recommended seeds available to all farmers. They have also called for lowered fertilizer and diesel prices for farmers, and have said that farmers need to be made aware of modern agricultural methods.

Pakistan is currently the seventh largest producer of the groundnut in the world, and there potential for improvement in its position, if the state gives the crop its due attention.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2015