The barani (rain-fed) region accounts for about a fifth of the
cultivated area in Pakistan. It has the potential to significantly
increase crop production levels. Similarly, considerable scope exists in
this area for the development of forests, fruit and vegetable gardening,
pasture and stock rearing. Most of the natural resources are also found
in this tract. Its hilly areas possess a vast potential for tourism.
Besides, significant opportunities exist for irrigation and
hydroelectric power generation. An optimum utilisation of all this
potential, obviously, is employmentgenerating and income-augmenting.
Despite all such realisations this region as a whole, unfortunately, is
identified as the least attended to area in terms of provision of
socio-physical infrastructure, other development programmes and, even,
research work. This led to a deterioration of the employment situation
in the barani region as a whole. A poor information base and analysis
thereof on employment and manpower related variables is also the
consequence of such a treatment to this area. I This paper, using the
data of a field survey, tries to fill, though partly, the vacuum on
employment and related variables in the rural barani region. An attempt
is made here to record and analyse the labour force participation rates,
employment pattern (main economic activities) and
unemployment/underemployment levels prevailing in the rural baran; areas
of the provinces of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP).
