Pakistan agriculture production may face severe setback in years to come as the threat of water scarcity continues to looms large. The promotion of cost-effective efficient irrigation system and water storage capacity at the farm level can help fight the challenge.
It was echoed at the seminar titled "re-imaging cost recovery in Pakistan's Indus Basin Irrigation System", arranged by Institute of Agri and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while Dr Andrew Bell, Research Fellow, IFPRI, USA was the guest of honour on the occasion.
Dr Andrew Bell said that Pakistan was having one of the largest gravity-fed irrigation systems in the world. He said the country was suffering from lack of resources and low cost recovery. He said that surface water is more reliable and according to a survey in Punjab, a large number of farmers consider surface water more appropriate. He also coined the idea of developing a scale-able irrigation system with the consent of farming community so that the rational usage of water can be ensured for the irrigation purpose. He also said that pumping of groundwater for irrigation is causing the salinity in the land. UAF Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said it is prerequisite to make efficient use of natural as per modern trend by adopting latest techniques.
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