In a time when there are heated debates on water scarcity between policy makers in power corridors all the way to vendors on the streets, less attention has been paid to efficient use of water in a sector which consumes nearly 93 per cent of this resource and that, too, with low productivity.
In Pakistan, 43 percent of the national labour force is dependent on the agriculture sector. However, in terms of water productivity the agriculture sector in Pakistan performs lower than many Asian countries. Four major crops - rice, wheat, sugarcane and cotton - consume about 80 percent of available water, while their contribution to the economy is about five percent to the GDP, around $14 billion per year, reveals a World Bank report.
Pakistan has remained an agriculture based economy since the beginning. The World Bank report says contribution of agriculture to the GDP was 45 percent in 1960. Over the decades this ratio dropped drastically to 20 percent of the GDP.
Basharat Saeed, a water resource specialist at the World Bank, believes it is time for Pakistan to face some harsh realities. “How much are we getting from growing four main crops at the expense of 80 percent water consumption? In terms of water productivity output, Pakistan is the 8th worst country in the world. We are not using water efficiently,” Saeed said. “We must look for alternatives, such as how to achieve the same amount of yield with less water consumption.”
Saeed said many countries were no longer growing rice using flood irrigation, and yet they still managed to sustain crop production using two to three times less water. He said, “We can increase crop production by replacing wheat and rice with high value crops, which will raise a farmer’s income and national economic output.”
Hassan Fayyaz Sipra, scientific officer at Center for Climate Research and Development of COMSATS University in Islamabad, said farmers do not receive all of the available water. He said much of it was lost in the irrigation system. “This loss can be overcome by lining canals and managing them better,” he said.
Sipra said farmers should be encouraged to move away from what they believe are traditional crops. “Until 1970s, sugarcane was not grown in Pakistan and now it appears so vital to the agriculture sector. So there is no reason that farmers can’t move away to alternative crops for better yields and profits.”
Sipra urged the government to provide subsidies to farmers for drip irrigation and seeds for alternative crops.
“Urban and industrial use of water in Pakistan is much lower than the agriculture sector,” said Sipra. “In the coming years nearly half of the population will be living in urban centres and the economy will gradually shift towards manufacturing.”
“This will be an enormous challenge for the country. It demands a proper strategy which must be devised as soon as possible,” Sipra said. “We urgently need a debate on how to manage our water resources in the future.”
Flood Commission of Pakistan Chairman Ahmad Kamal highlighted the need for new technologies for better water management.
“We are the only country who uses 92 to 93 percent of available water for agriculture,” said Kamal. “This means that our farmers are dependent on traditional methods for water usage.”
He said China used 62 percent of its water for agriculture and modern technologies had been deployed to ensure efficient use.
Kamal said it was time to focus on water resource management, installation of solar tubewells, desalination plants and laser land levelling. He said that with the adoption of these technologies, water usage could be reduced drastically. Besides introducing new technologies, he believed farmers needed training and education on modern methods of farming. He said four irrigation research institutes had been established for this purpose.
An official of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) said saving even one percent of water would have a huge impact.
He said the government was working on introduction of new technologies in agriculture for water management. “There are also social aspects to the issue. Changing attitudes is not that simple, it is a process,” he said. He said farmers should be shown how smart irrigation could help them. “There are various programmes that have been devised for this purpose,” he said.
The writer is a freelance journalist
In Pakistan, 43 percent of the national labour force is dependent on the agriculture sector. However, in terms of water productivity the agriculture sector in Pakistan performs lower than many Asian countries. Four major crops - rice, wheat, sugarcane and cotton - consume about 80 percent of available water, while their contribution to the economy is about five percent to the GDP, around $14 billion per year, reveals a World Bank report.
Pakistan has remained an agriculture based economy since the beginning. The World Bank report says contribution of agriculture to the GDP was 45 percent in 1960. Over the decades this ratio dropped drastically to 20 percent of the GDP.
Basharat Saeed, a water resource specialist at the World Bank, believes it is time for Pakistan to face some harsh realities. “How much are we getting from growing four main crops at the expense of 80 percent water consumption? In terms of water productivity output, Pakistan is the 8th worst country in the world. We are not using water efficiently,” Saeed said. “We must look for alternatives, such as how to achieve the same amount of yield with less water consumption.”
The World Bank report says contribution of agriculture to the GDP was 45 percent in 1960. Over the decades this ratio dropped drastically to 20 percent of the GDP
Saeed said many countries were no longer growing rice using flood irrigation, and yet they still managed to sustain crop production using two to three times less water. He said, “We can increase crop production by replacing wheat and rice with high value crops, which will raise a farmer’s income and national economic output.”
Hassan Fayyaz Sipra, scientific officer at Center for Climate Research and Development of COMSATS University in Islamabad, said farmers do not receive all of the available water. He said much of it was lost in the irrigation system. “This loss can be overcome by lining canals and managing them better,” he said.
Sipra said farmers should be encouraged to move away from what they believe are traditional crops. “Until 1970s, sugarcane was not grown in Pakistan and now it appears so vital to the agriculture sector. So there is no reason that farmers can’t move away to alternative crops for better yields and profits.”
Sipra urged the government to provide subsidies to farmers for drip irrigation and seeds for alternative crops.
“Urban and industrial use of water in Pakistan is much lower than the agriculture sector,” said Sipra. “In the coming years nearly half of the population will be living in urban centres and the economy will gradually shift towards manufacturing.”
“This will be an enormous challenge for the country. It demands a proper strategy which must be devised as soon as possible,” Sipra said. “We urgently need a debate on how to manage our water resources in the future.”
Flood Commission of Pakistan Chairman Ahmad Kamal highlighted the need for new technologies for better water management.
“We are the only country who uses 92 to 93 percent of available water for agriculture,” said Kamal. “This means that our farmers are dependent on traditional methods for water usage.”
He said China used 62 percent of its water for agriculture and modern technologies had been deployed to ensure efficient use.
Kamal said it was time to focus on water resource management, installation of solar tubewells, desalination plants and laser land levelling. He said that with the adoption of these technologies, water usage could be reduced drastically. Besides introducing new technologies, he believed farmers needed training and education on modern methods of farming. He said four irrigation research institutes had been established for this purpose.
An official of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) said saving even one percent of water would have a huge impact.
He said the government was working on introduction of new technologies in agriculture for water management. “There are also social aspects to the issue. Changing attitudes is not that simple, it is a process,” he said. He said farmers should be shown how smart irrigation could help them. “There are various programmes that have been devised for this purpose,” he said.
The writer is a freelance journalist