Abstract
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of Pakistan. It provides food grain to 207 million population and plays a key role in the manufacturing and export sector of the economy. The province of Punjab accounts for 50 percent population and 26 percent of the area located in the upper Indus River plain of Pakistan. It is the food basket and backbone of the agro-economy of Pakistan. Its share in the total cultivated area and cropped area of Pakistan are 55 percent and 72 percent respectively. About 82 percent of wheat, 67 percent rice, 69 percent cotton and 68 percent sugarcane of area under cultivation pertain to Punjab. Therefore issues of food security and declining agriculture growth in Pakistan largely depend upon the agriculture performance of Punjab. This paper evaluates the importance of Punjab in the crops production of country. Statistical techniques of the Crop Diversification Index (CDI) and the Crop Concentration Index(CCI) are used to compute cropping patterns and cropping regions in Punjab. The breakpoint method is used to delineate regions of major crops grown in Punjab. Weaver and Thomas's statistical models are used to quantify crops combination regions in the province.
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