Barnai Area Development Programme: household income of beneficiaries will increase to $147-724 by 2016

Improved household income and health in four Barani area districts of Punjab province would increase household income of beneficiaries of Barnai Area Development Programme to $147 and $7,724 per annum by 2016, depending on land tenure and farm size.
According to project review report of Barnai Area Development Programme by Punjab Government, by 2013 the promgramme will convert 11,500 hectare of rain-fed agriculture to irrigated agriculture and will improve irrigation of 10,000 hectare on existing small dams.
Punjab Government hoped that 100 per cent increase in crop yields and 35 per cent increase in livestock production for 22,000 beneficiary farms. Also 65 metric ton increase in fish production in Barani Areas, increased access to domestic water (90 liters per capita per day) for 9,050 rural households, at least 3 per cent of the incremental stored water released in bulk to nearby rural towns, after completion of this project with the financial assistance of Asian Development Bank.
Punjab Government sources stated that Agriculture and livestock have been the traditional sources of revenue for people in Barani areas, still account for 40 per cent of their income in Punjab.
Improvement in livelihood for Barani residents, especially for a large majority of small landholders and tenants, will depend to a large extent on gains in agriculture and livestock productivity and growth in the local non-farm sector. Improvement in both on-farm and non-farm sectors is constrained by several factors common to rural areas of Pakistan.
Among the constraints are (i) impeded access to markets, inputs, and services due to inadequate or non-existent transportation infrastructure; (ii) lack of access to electricity, with negative consequences for the productive potential of both the agriculture and non-farm sectors; (iii) productivity constraints arising from the lack of access to and inadequate social services; (iv) lack of access to finance and business development services; and (v) poor access to agriculture and livestock advisory and support services.
The Government with external support is currently giving considerable emphasis and committing significant resources to address those constraints. The constraint that most significantly affects Barani areas and agricultural and livestock productivity is shortage of water.
With no or limited secure water sources, farming depends on rainfall, which is irregular in both annual and seasonal amounts as well as intensity in any given storm event. Farmers have developed farming systems with very low input requirements to keep the financial risk of crop failures manageable. This practice results in low productivity. The primary crops grown and their average yields are wheat (0.5 tons/ha [t/ha]), maize (0.7 t/ha), and groundnuts (0.4 t/ha).
In contrast, irrigated yields are as follows: wheat (3.1 t/ha), maize (1.7 t/ha), and groundnuts (1.5 t/ha). In addition to lower average yields, Barani areas are highly susceptible to prolonged drought and associated poverty shocks due to the absence of reliable surface or ground water sources. The most recent 2001-2003 drought had a devastating effect, especially on the more arid parts of Barani areas, and forced many families to migrate to urban areas, sell off productive assets, and face serious indebtedness.
The scarcity of reliable perennial water sources, including groundwater, also poses serious challenges to the provision of municipal water to the quickly growing rural communities and small towns in Barani areas. It constitutes a serious impediment to the sustainable development of local industrial and service activities, and represents a tremendous burden and loss of productive potential on families, mainly women, who may spend hours collecting water on daily basis.