Property rights in agriculture are monitored by land management institutions, which operate at the provincial level. The land records system is cumbersome and outdated (Box 5). A streamlining of the system is a pre-requisite for smooth functioning of the land market.

Xvo --- e g - -- :-: ::- ........... - - - Box S Land Manaiement andRecrd Sysemi -- : *¢~~~~ Provc;: Board ~~ s lvvo..<: ft-...n.-osd o. -bvenie (B 6iit6 **and** titling. of land, and also settlep-r-.l-.:andThe ch3aipr dispues. t th faner lvelthe ystem:i ad iitrdby **the** **_Patwarl._** hecin between the BoR and tho' :awrih become more complcat time The patwari mainins 12 differenL types of (hand-written) Lnmd ecs, **prrthre** _daN`y rsp:Irts,_ otis at la xd nt cgistes, nd uals a Rcd Book, which in principle isa 4etailed trstem **Mt** vests cornsiderable power in C Ptwar't vho must be appc ce timei apiceof land is to be transferred ora propctyright is required to ba-some eRtbi -s-ed ;:is pwr is clMrl SfOpeti _tR_ as **t.** Tsgg.he- n **mputcl itpn** e rd mcilt ainenance and ncr im ediate ace ss to **Ind** -records "a-d gricultaral at......oweyer, instittional deficiencies also preclude the operation of a norma **l** and mailce Mosthnporrnl ishe absnce o prmanenta tle deds tbihn . ... _... .. ...-S_ U t3 adonrhp _.._ ..o.biW **es " ...... ....** idcio aaar ujc 6d&a-~ **tobi** ogng tiland eror%viYns*hihwae The patwa-ri ualsoEa ieS --- -¢ra prnmary'data _Uf_ rop pTO UC souitc, but nis inultifanoisrtole ; ! - _f f ..............._ opens :data:-collectio _~~~~~~~~~~~~............_ **_._** a **n** d gatiering **_._** _._ **--** _'_ to agricultural strategy formulation poli~~~~~~yai~~d Verye d--fi..ul. --- _. R ^ g f R ff Rto t_ g _-. -.... R f_ . a ... irf~~~~~~~~~~~ -- -Environmental protection agencies, at both the federal and provincial level, still suffer from lack of trained manpower and have taken a long time to become functional. For example, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) was created in 1983, but met for the first time in 1993. Provincial environmental protection agencies have been active for some time. However, federal-provincial linkages are still very weak, and coordination among the provinces is nonexistent. Regulatory bodies, such as seed certification, quarantine, market monitoring, and quality control, are spread too thinly, and are not performing at the optimal level. For instance, a third successive poor cotton harvest in 1995 is blamed on widespread pesticide adulteration due to non-enforcement of quality regulations.

Nowhere, however, is the weakness and inadequacies in public sector institutions more evident than in the areas of research and extension. In fact, deficiencies in research and extension have been highlighted as a factor explaining lower productivity growth in Pakistan compared to India. Rosegrant and Evenson (1993) have shown that there was a dramatic decline in total factor productivity growth in agriculture in Pakistan after 1975 that did not occur in India. They argue that this can be explained by the level of investment in public research, extension, and literacy, which increased in India after 1975, while falling in Pakistan.

Research: There is a lack of funding in general for research and operational funds in particular. The effectiveness of research has declined because of lack of material support, effective planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the research program. Researchers lack the proper equipment and journals (notably foreign journals), leading to a very poor research environment. There is an apparent proliferation of research institutes (universities, PARC, NARC, provincial research and monocrop institutes), often with overlapping responsibility and duplication of research.

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