By Azeem Ahmed Khan

Punjab’s acreage pattern for five major crops shows a strong wheat base across the province, while rice, cotton, sugarcane and maize remain concentrated in specific divisions, offering a clear roadmap for targeted farm planning, processing investment and market development.

The Agricultural Census 2024 Report, available with Wealth Pakistan, shows that while wheat remains the province’s dominant staple crop, clear regional clusters have emerged for other major crops, with rice concentrated in Gujranwala, cotton in Bahawalpur, sugarcane in Faisalabad and maize in Multan.

The census shows that the province has 20.65 million acres under wheat, making it the largest crop by area among the five major crops grown in the province. Rice covers 6.67 million acres, followed by cotton at 3.83 million acres, maize at 2.15 million acres and sugarcane at 1.85 million acres.

Wheat remains Punjab’s most widely grown crop, spread across all major divisions. Dera Ghazi Khan accounts for the largest share with 3.45 million acres, or 16.7% of the provincial wheat area. Sargodha follows with 2.91 million acres, or 14.1%, while Bahawalpur has 2.87 million acres, or 13.9%. Gujranwala also has a sizeable wheat base of 2.65 million acres, equal to 12.9% of Punjab’s wheat area.

Rice is more concentrated, with Gujranwala emerging as the leading division. The division has 2.16 million acres under rice, accounting for 32.3% of the provincial rice area. Lahore follows with 1.11 million acres, or 16.7%, while Faisalabad and Sahiwal account for 0.81 million acres and 0.80 million acres, respectively.

Cotton remains heavily concentrated in southern Punjab. Bahawalpur alone accounts for 1.84 million acres, or 47.9% of Punjab’s cotton area. Dera Ghazi Khan contributes 0.85 million acres, or 22.1%, while Multan has 0.83 million acres, or 21.5%. Together, these three divisions form the core of Punjab’s cotton belt.

Sugarcane is led by Faisalabad, which has 0.55 million acres under the crop, making up 29.6% of the provincial sugarcane area. Bahawalpur follows with 0.45 million acres, or 24.0%, while Dera Ghazi Khan accounts for 0.35 million acres, or 19.1%. Sargodha also has a notable share of 0.32 million acres, or 17.1%.

Maize shows a strong concentration in Multan and Sahiwal. Multan has the largest maize area at 0.82 million acres, accounting for 37.9% of Punjab’s total maize area. Sahiwal follows with 0.57 million acres, or 26.5%. Bahawalpur and Faisalabad also contribute 0.23 million acres and 0.22 million acres, respectively.

Credit: INP-WealthPk