Farmers’ Characteristics, Crop Diversification and Agricultural Constraints affecting Crop Cultivation in Sindh province of Pakistan: An Empirical Evidence

Abstract

This paper investigates various factors affecting crop cultivation both in negative and positive ways in the Sindh province of Pakistan. To undertake our analysis, we conducted face-to-face face interviews with farmers using a pre-tested questionnaire and both judgment and simple random sampling methods in the two districts, namely Hyderabad and Matiari, of Sindh province. Our multiple linear regression results capture the influence of various factors; including farmers’ characteristics (e.g. their age, education, and tenancy) and crop diversification (or crop varieties) in addition to main agricultural constraints, such as water scarcity, barren and salinized land, lack of financial resources, discouraging crop cultivation in the province. In the light of our results, we proposed several suggestions for the decision-makers involved in agricultural policymaking, specifically in the Sindh province of Pakistan.