The Impact of Agroecological Zones on Sustainable Agriculture: A Case Study of Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: This paper's objective is to estimate the Sustainable Agriculture Index (SAI) to quantify sustainable agriculture through net revenue per hectare of each crop. It examines how economic, social, and environmental indicators are interrelated with this SAI index. Another objective is to determine the most efficient crop under agroecological zones to obtain sustainable agriculture.

Research Gap: Few researchers have examined sustainable agriculture adopting economic, social, and environmental indicators in 10 agroecological zones, distributed across districts in Pakistan.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study will gauge SAI and will use the LSDV model to estimate the association between SAI and economic, social, and environmental indicators across 18 districts of three provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh.

The Main Findings: Results find wheat crop is somewhat sustainable to produce in Pakistan’s districts but some important social variables like Tapwater, and BHUBeds are insignificant with the wheat SAI index. Similarly, rice, cotton, sugarcane, and jawar crops are not sustainable to grow in any district.

Theoretical / Practical Implications of the Findings: The farmers should adapt to climate change and use organic manure, green manure, mulching, and cropping rotation. Floods and drought water-resistant seeds and enhanced water conservation and storage techniques are some of the good techniques to adopt in agroecological zones for sustainable farming.

Originality/Value: The research paper is based on the author's own original research and contributes towards policy choice in the agriculture sector and favours small farmers to support new farming with innovation and new technology.