Punjab's cropping intensity hits 168%

July 09, 2026 (MLN):  Punjab recorded the highest cropping intensity of any province in Pakistan's 7th Agricultural Census 2024, at 168%, well above the national average of 157% and sharply ahead of Balochistan, which posted the lowest reading at 121%, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data show.

Cropping intensity, a measure of how many crop cycles a given piece of land supports in a year, expressed as the ratio of total cropped area to net sown area, offers a proxy for how intensively farmland is being used across regions.

Sindh recorded the second-highest cropping intensity nationally at 162%, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 145%.

The census data also breaks intensity down by tenure type, showing owner-cum-tenant farms nationally posted the highest cropping intensity at 165%, ahead of tenant farms (163%) and owner-operated farms (155%).

This suggests mixed-tenure arrangements may be associated with more intensive land use, potentially reflecting risk-sharing incentives between landowners and cultivators.

Land use intensity, a related but distinct measure of how much of a farm's cultivable area is actually put to use, told a broadly similar story: Punjab again led at 98%, against a national average of 95%, while Balochistan trailed at 89%.

Sindh's land use intensity stood at 92%, the second-lowest among Pakistan's provinces despite the province's comparatively high cropping intensity, an apparent divergence that may reflect Sindh farmers extracting more crop cycles from a smaller effectively-utilised land base.

Punjab's dual lead in both cultivated-area efficiency (98% of cultivated area under net sown crops) and cropping intensity underscores its position as Pakistan's primary agricultural engine, a status also reflected in the province's 52% share of national farm area and 61% share of Kharif cropped area, per the provincial press release accompanying the census.

Balochistan's comparatively low readings across both metrics, PBS data suggest, point to a larger share of farmland left fallow or under-cultivated.

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