Water shortage, loadshedding to have adverse impact on agriculture output

Water shortage coupled with long hours of loadshedding would have a major adverse impact on agriculture output making the country's revised growth target of 3.4 percent for the ongoing financial year 2009-10 difficult to achieve.
"The country's Growth Domestic Product (GDP) depends on farm output and in this context it is important to note that wheat forecast has been revised downward by 2 million tons due to water and power shortages," Chairman Pakistan Agri Forum Ibrahim Mughal said while talking to Business Recorder.
"The Ministry of Food and Agriculture had estimated 25 million tons of wheat for the ongoing financial year but actual wheat production will be 23 million tons due to the fact that all the major reservoirs of the country have reached dead level", Mughal said.
He added that in the event of a water shortage, farmers tend to meet their water needs through operating tube wells, which are also non-operative during long hours of loadshedding in the country. During 2009 growth rate was 2 percent attributed to negative growth in manufacturing sector. Recently the government revised GDP target upward by 0.1 percentage point - to 3.4 percent from the 3.3 percent target set in the budget.
"It is an over ambitious target in the current scenario of water and power shortages," experts maintained. Mughal said that other crops like sugar cane, sunflower, maize, cotton and rice would also be affected because sowing of cotton and rice may be effected due to continued water shortage and load shedding.
Growers are facing critical water shortages at a time when most of their Rabi crops, particularly wheat are just nearing harvest. Farmers fear that if the present situation continues and it does not rain soon, not only the Rabi crops will receive a serious hit but sowing of Kharif crops, like rice and cotton will be negatively affected.
"If our standing wheat crop does not get the last round of water, the growers will suffer huge financial losses," Mughal said. The projected 40 percent shortfall in water flows for ongoing Kharif season is bound to have a serious impact on crops and make growers suffer in economic terms.
"In fact overall 40 percent water shortage means there will be a 60 to 70 percent shortfall as far as crop cultivation is concerned because even during normal supply of water around eight to 10 percent shortfall is invariably reported, so, we will have to face the brunt of 60 to 70 percent shortage," he said.