ISLAMABAD: The agriculture sector grew by 2.89 per cent in FY2025-26, nearly doubling last year’s 1.53 per cent expansion, as stronger wheat, sugarcane and rice production helped the farm economy withstand the impact of devastating floods and emerge more resilient than expected.
Contributing 23.4 per cent to GDP and employing over 33.1 per cent of the labour force, the sector’s performance was largely driven by a 3.75 per cent growth in livestock, alongside 1.66 per cent increase in fisheries and a 2.02 per cent rise in forestry.
Government support measures and lower-than-feared flood damage enabled the crop sector to return to growth, posting a 1.44 per cent expansion compared with a contraction of 1.01 per cent in the previous year, the Economic Survey 2025-26 said.
The recovery was largely driven by improved output from key crops. Combined production of major crops, including cotton, rice, sugarcane, maize and wheat, rose by 0.65 per cent over the previous year, with gains in sugarcane, wheat and rice more than offsetting declines in cotton and maize.
Cotton and maize, however, remained under pressure, with production declining by 0.5pc to 7.05 million bales and 2.7 per cent to 8.79 million tonnes, respectively.Sugarcane emerged as the top performer, recording growth of 6.2 per cent as production climbed to 89.45 million tonnes from 84.24 million tonnes a year earlier. Wheat output increased 4.3 per cent to 29.61 million tonnes, while rice production rose 2.8 per cent to 9.99 million tonnes.
Other crops grew by 2.43 per cent, supported by a sharp increase in pulses production of 31.4 per cent, while vegetables and fruits expanded by 12.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
Livestock, the largest component of agriculture, remained a key growth driver, expanding by 3.75 per cent compared with 2.95 per cent last year.
