In 2025 and into early 2026 Pakistan went through a broad agricultural stress episode that hit crop prices and farmer incomes from several angles.
1. Production Declines and Crop Sector Contraction
The overall crop output in the 2024-25 agricultural year dropped sharply. Key crops like wheat, cotton, maize, sugarcane and rice saw production fall significantly.
2. Weather Shocks and Floods
Severe monsoon flooding during 2025 damaged millions of acres of farmland in prime agricultural regions.
3. Input Costs and Incomes
Prices for seeds, fertilizer, irrigation and fuel kept rising, raising the cost of farming. With reduced output and poor procurement prices, many farmers found it hard to cover their costs.
4. Wheat Price and Policy Issues
Wheat became a flashpoint. Government support prices and procurement failed to keep pace with production costs in 2025.
5. Potato Glut and Price Collapse
In 2025 and early 2026 a notable crisis hit potato growers. Acreage expanded sharply, far outstripping market demand. Farm-gate potato prices collapsed well below production cost.