IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FRUITS AND CROPS PRODUCTION IN SOUTH PUNJAB: FARMER’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Pakistan is an agricultural economy. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan earns most of its capital through production of crops and fruits. Approximately 53% of Pakistan's total labor has been employed by this sector. Pakistan’s 22.67% of GDP comes from agriculture. According to World Bank 2020 report, 47.64% of total land is occupied by agriculture which was 47.9% back in 2018. This change in cropped land may be due to various reasons like land use in residential schemes or climate change. Punjab is the most important province, especially Southern Punjab, regarding agriculture. Punjab covers 69% of the total cropped area of Pakistan, thus providing crops like Wheat 75.5%, Rice 70.2%, Cotton 68.5%, Sugarcane 67.8%, similarly fruits like Mango 79.6%, Banana 5.8%, Citrus 96.5%, Guava 76.8% and Dates 8.1%. Wheat and rice are included in the daily diet of the world’s population. Rice is an essential staple of the world that influences the livelihood and economies of a country. According to Statistics 2023 report, Pakistan is 4th largest country in the world that exports rice, with a total of 3.8 million metric tons