Pakistan’s agriculture sector, which uses about 90 % of the country’s water, is increasing due to a number of factors. The sector is trying to increase the production of crops, improve the severity of crops, and re -claim the arid areas like Cholistan and increase the cultivation of land and meet the demand for growing population. They all rely on water in different degrees.
Climate change – increasing temperatures and repeated heat -visuals – is another factor. The year 2024 was the hottest in the record, while the 2010s were the hottest in history. Such rising temperatures have not only increased the water needs of all crops almost all crops but also increased the loss of water in irrigation channels.
The most dangerous thing is that water -related crops, especially rice and sugarcane, are particularly dominated by Pakistan’s manufactured crop samples. From 2011-12 to 2023-24, cultivation under rice (paddy) increased by 41 pcs, increased from 2.57 million to 3.63 meter hectares, while sugarcane acreage increased by 12pc, which from 1.06m The 1.18m hectare increased. Similarly, the cultivation of corn has also developed significantly during the same period.
The supply of water is decreasing due to the supply, reducing the flow of the river and reducing the capacity of storage due to the reserves. Already, the availability of water per capita has come down to a thousand cubic meters, and currently Pakistan has been classified as a water scarce.
Clearly, water -related crops, especially rice and sugarcane are dominated by Pakistan’s manufactured crop samples.
In complicating this challenge, the Pakistan National Drought Monitoring Center has issued a consultative warning of drought-like conditions, as most areas received less rainfall from September 2024 to January 2025 less than 40-52pc. Is
Due to all these factors, indiscriminate water pumping has led to the support of water -related crops, which is evidenced by the evidence of the groundwater in many districts. Water deteriorating crisis creates an important question: Is the time for basic policy and strategic adjustment to balance limited water resources with water -powered crop samples, especially when the climate Changes intensify tension?
Crop samples are usually a complex biography of a variety of factors. –
However, in recent years, climate change and market dynamics create uncertainty – to determine farmers’ profits – has taken a fundamental importance.
Extension of rice cultivation, in particular, short-term (90 days) Basmati varieties have been fueled through the influx of hybrid varieties and high production hybrid varieties. In addition, as an export commodity, rice prices have been relatively stable, and further encourage its cultivation.
In addition, these short -term varieties have enabled the farmers to increase the severity of crops in several districts to two to three crops and have also begun to cultivate two rice crops in a year. Although it has made Pakistan’s rice exports $ 2 billion to $ 4 billion in just a few years, it has put a lot of pressure on water resources.
In terms of sugarcane, profitable indicators (support) prices set by the annual government-until they are closed in 2024-25-has played a key role in expanding its area in the past few years.
In view of the decline of surface water, reduction of rainfall due to climate change, and aquifer of pressure groundwater, existing crop samples – under the influence of rice and sugarcane cultivation – are unstable. Therefore, some prompt policy and strategic adjustments are very important.
By promoting effective irrigation techniques, many countries have successfully reduced agricultural water consumption. However, Pakistan has struggled to achieve significant results in such efforts. In particular, water saving techniques in rice cultivation, such as ‘direct sowing of rice’ and ‘alternative wet and drying’, have failed to adopt widely.
Another possible solution is the crop zoning. In the selected districts of Punjab, rice cultivation can be imposed, while the farmers encourage low Delta Kharif crops to grow. There is already an example of such measures in Sindh, where farmers are forbidden to grow rice in some districts of the left bank of the Indus River, primarily to deal with water wood. However, such a policy decision requires extensive debate in the country to create consensus.
A better approach is to focus on market -driven solutions that enable the farmers to earn comparable income from alternative crops, but are less than agricultural inputs and problems. For example, sesame, with low water requirements and strong export capacity, offers a compulsive option with $ 414 million in-2023-24.
Progressive farmers are already receiving 15 buns in the production of 15 acres, controlling the sowing of seeds, controlling the mourning clothing and the application of balanced nutrients. It has enabled them to make more profit from cotton, rice and other kharif crops. With 376,000 hectares of sesame cultivation in 2023-24, if the government strengthens value China and promotes its price increase within the country, this area can expand this area.
Finally, a strategic change towards the cultivation of low -delta crops such as sesame, sunflower, peanuts, pulses, pulses, pulses, gourds, and millet is essential for the protection of low water resources for future generations.
In addition, this shift acts as a powerful tool for climate change by reducing the emission of methane and nitroside oxide, which is manufactured in large quantities from rice rice fields.
Khalid Watu is a farmer and development professional, and Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf is the former Director General of Punjab Agriculture Department (Form Water Management).
Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, published on February 10, 2025
