Productivity enhancement: Minfal to launch Rs 18 billion water conservation programme

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) will launch a programme for water conservation at the cost of Rs 18 billion for productivity enhancement through high efficiency irrigation system. The project envisages for high efficiency irrigation system, which are micro and sprinkler irrigation systems.
High value crop production especially the horticulture sector will be the main beneficiary of this intervention, sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday. Government attaches top priority to the development of water resources to maximise crop production.
This has been done through progressively increasing surface water supplies and conserving water using the latest technologies and protecting land and infrastructure from water logging, salinity, floods and soil erosion, they maintained.
They said the main objectives of the project are to overcome scarcity of water through augmentation and conservation by constructing medium and large dams, efficient utilisation of irrigation water and restoring the productivity of agricultural land through controlling water logging, salinity and floods.
They said about 8.12 million hectares of land falls in the category of culturable wasteland out of which 1.22 and 4.0 million hectares are in NWFP and Balochistan, respectively.
They said the federal government would facilitate the governments of NWFP and Balochistan by providing bulldozers (200 for Balochistan and 100 for NWFP, which would be hired out to the farmers on no profit-no loss basis.
They said around 219,375 hectares of culturable wasteland (NWFP 73,125 and Balochistan 146,250 hectares) would be reclaimed through the use of 300 bulldozers. This will enhance agricultural production in the NWFP and Balochistan provinces.
An integrated programme approach for water management has also been adopted. On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) projects have been implemented on community participation basis in all the four provinces, AJ&K and Federal Agencies, they added.
They said water conservation is being ensured under the President's programme for the improvement and lining of watercourses. This programme envisaged lining improvement of 87,000 watercourses at a cost of Rs 66 billion within 3-4 years.
The initiative will significantly improve water supply at the farm-gate through reduction in the seepage losses. During 2006-07, 18,390 watercourses have been lined and renovated against the target of 18,000 watercourses, the sources informed.