Pakistan - Agricultural machinery, tractors

The value for Agricultural machinery, tractors in Pakistan was 439,741 as of 2006. As the graph below shows, over the past 45 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 439,741 in 2006 and a minimum value of 5,500 in 1961.

Definition: Agricultural machinery refers to the number of wheel and crawler tractors (excluding garden tractors) in use in agriculture at the end of the calendar year specified or during the first quarter of the following year.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.

See also:

Year Value
1961 5,500
1962 6,000
1963 6,500
1964 7,000
1965 7,388
1966 9,733
1967 12,500
1968 15,500
1969 18,909
1970 21,000
1971 24,000
1972 30,513
1973 30,165
1974 33,000
1975 35,714
1976 48,600
1977 61,500
1978 74,500
1979 87,400
1980 97,373
1981 112,000
1982 122,004
1983 139,652
1984 157,300
1985 156,633
1986 178,400
1987 200,000
1988 222,000
1989 244,000
1990 265,728
1991 271,903
1992 283,300
1993 268,080
1994 252,861
1995 304,992
1996 320,417
1997 331,000
1998 342,000
1999 352,600
2000 326,595
2001 338,884
2002 351,173
2003 363,462
2004 401,663
2005 420,702
2006 439,741

Development Relevance: Agricultural land covers more than one-third of the world's land area. In many industrialized countries, agricultural land is subject to zoning regulations. In the context of zoning, agricultural land (or more properly agriculturally zoned land) refers to plots that may be used for agricultural activities, regardless of the physical type or quality of land. A substantial contribution to agriculture in the last century has been the escalation from manual and stock-animal farm work to gas-powered farm equipment. Globally, steel plows, mowers, mechanical reapers, seed drills, and threshers contributed to the development of mechanized agriculture, tractors enabled the farmer to sow and harvest large agricultural lands with less manpower. In modern times, powered machinery such as tractors, has replaced many jobs formerly carried out by men or animals such as oxen, horses and mules. FAO estimates that most farmers in developing countries experience a greater annual expenditure on farm power inputs than on fertilizer, seeds or agrochemicals. Agriculture is still a major sector in many economies, and agricultural activities provide developing countries with food and revenue. But agricultural activities also can degrade natural resources as poor farming practices cause soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. There is no single correct mix of inputs to the agricultural land, as it is dependent on local climate, land quality, and economic development; appropriate levels and application rates vary by country and over time and depend on the type of crops, the climate and soils, and the production process used.

Limitations and Exceptions: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through annual questionnaires. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. The data collected from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: A tractor provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanized. The most common use of the term "tractor" is for the vehicles used on farms. The farm tractor is used for pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers, for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing, planting, and similar tasks. Planting, tending and harvesting a crop requires both a significant amount of power and a suitable range of tools and equipment. Mechanization of farming has allowed an increase to the area that can be planted and has contributed towards increased yields, mainly due to the precision with which the farming tasks can be accomplished.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Agricultural production