Determinants of Sugarcane Productivity in Pakistan (1981-2011)

Abstract

The paper evaluates the impact of water availability, fertilizer consumption and credit disbursement on sugarcane productivity in Pakistan using time series data over the period 1981-2011. The data has been taken from Economic Survey of Pakistan, Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan and National Fertilizer Development Corporation (NFDC). The study estimates log-log model using ordinary least square method. For checking the stationarity of the time series data, Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test is used. The empirical findings reveal that the yield elasticities of water availability, fertilizer consumption and credit disbursement are 0.16, 0.14 and 0.04 respectively. It is recommended that water availability should be ensured by the government at the grass root level for higher sugarcane productivity. The farmers should be given support in consumption of fertilizer. Micro Agriculture credit should be given for sugarcane farmers for purchasing the inputs, technology and high yielding varieties.