Land Inequality by Mode of Irrigation in Pakistan, 1990-2000 (NATURAL RESOURCES Management) (Report‪)‬

The aim of this study is to estimate the magnitude of inequality in land distribution by mode of irrigation in two agriculture census periods, 1990 and 2000. It also analyses relative equity performance in cultivated irrigated area as compare to the total cultivated area. Theil's indices of inequality illustrate that there exist considerable levels of inequality in the distribution of all land variables in all areas evidently increasing over the two agriculture census periods. There is a significant level of increase in inequality in the cultivated area irrigated by canal except in the NWFP, whereas inequality in the irrigated area by tubewell has increased in all provinces in 2000. The equity index for irrigated area by canal has gone up, indicating that the distribution inequity is increasing in Pakistan. In Sindh, the picture is not encouraging for irrigated area by tubewell, as the distribution inequity has increased in the two periods. Relative equity performance for the irrigated area by canal and tubewell has worsened in Balochistan. The present highly skewed land distribution provides to large farms disproportionately large shares of incremental benefits from irrigation development. JEL classification: D63. Q24, O13, RI4