Pakistan Agriculture Developments

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Managing water scarcity is a function of judicious use in agriculture — not demanding additional supplies

July 2, 2021
Ali Tauqeer Sheikh

The writer is an expert on climate change and development.

PAKISTAN’S water leadership has brought the country’s water security to the brink. Supply-side management has historically driven our water institutions. Primarily designed to distribute water, a resource that was once available in abundance, these institutions have continued to build one case after the other for higher water quantities, at no or very little cost to themselves, instead of finding ways of efficiently managing unbelievably large quantities they already have at their disposal in both Punjab and Sindh.

Water-related institutions have become bystanders in the face of long-term critical trends: they have closed their eyes to the changing crops and expansion of water-intensive cropping, growing urban and out-of-basin usage, and altered patterns of monsoons causing water variability. Also, agriculture has steadily moved from subsistence level to water-intensive commercial cropping, draining the country’s surface and sub-surface waters. The new agro-industries influence water decision-making at all levels. The result? Water prices are static like the fuel needle of a non-moving car.

With the Indus Waters Treaty, prestigious engineering marvels have become the key drivers of our water and nation-building policies. This fascination has dominated our water management approach. Instead of finding economic virtues in water saving and efficiency, we continue to invest in infrastructure that only help us imagine abundance. The Water Apportionment Accord (WAA) is a good example of living in this fantasy world.

The WAA laid the principles for water distribution of 114.35 MAF among the four provinces, a high-quantity figure that has never been available since 1991 when the accord was inked. This notional level is not possible unless new reservoirs are built upstream in Gilgit-Baltistan that is otherwise not a part of the accord. The undercurrent is the construction of at least one large dam for full implementation of the interprovincial agreement. In several ways, this ask is at the heart of the water conflict between Punjab and Sindh.

Managing water scarcity is a function of judicious use in the most wasteful sector — agriculture.

The WAA has left it to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) to figure out how to manage lesser quantities in various months for various crops. The WAA has, however, left two basic questions unaddressed: i) what if there was no agreement on the construction of new reservoirs, and ii) how the growing scarcity would be managed in the interim.

Real life is more complex: the WAA had not envisioned the prospect of a Seraiki province in southern Punjab and the political importance of providing water through the Taunsa-Panjnad canal during acute scarcity. Also, it was not envisioned that Punjab would lose most of its 9.3 MAF water to India from the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, leaving about 3 MAF — and that too mostly during the monsoons — to become even less flexible with Sindh in the Irsa meetings.

Irsa data shows that during 20 out of 29 years of the accord, the shortages in the Indus have fluctuated between 10 per cent and 28pc, while for the remaining nine years it was less than 9pc.

Simply put, an average 9pc water savings in agriculture of the two provinces would have given us almost a decade without any shortfall. Or, about 28pc less water application in two provinces could help us manage within the existing water budget, without any additional storage capacity. This line of thought alone can give the accord a lease of life for another 30 years. The message for Pakistan’s water leadership is simple: managing water scarcity is a function of judicious use in the most wasteful sector — agriculture — rather than shouting at each other for additional supplies.

A series of ad hoc decisions during the 2021 pre-monsoon scarcity reveal the bankruptcy of water decision-making that vacillated between hope and despair. Knowing that the shortfall had previously touched 28pc on several occasions, it was simplistic, if not naïve, to hope that the crisis could be averted with a 10pc reduction in supplies.

Later, the cuts were increased incrementally to 23pc and 32pc. The reservoirs were allowed to hit dead level knowing that refilling can jeopardise canal flows risking Kharif crops and halt energy production in Tarbela during the peak demand season. Instead of taking responsibility for poor policies, Irsa blamed continued low temperatures in Skardu, late rains in the upper reaches and climate change.

Concurrently, Irsa took several last-minute but important decisions that in future can serve as the basis for long-term scarcity management by the provinces. This includes facilitating early sowing of wheat in Sindh during April and disallowing rice cultivation in the areas between the Guddu and Sukkur barrages.

In fact, long-term scarcity management would require two additional steps. First, phasing out of paddy between the Sukkur and Kotri barrages; second, curtailing direct outlets downstream Guddu, particularly in the upper districts of Jacobabad and Sukkur on the one hand, and Khairpur and Naushahro Feroze on the other. Over-consumption there leaves precious little for the districts in the lower regions.

In the WAA’s lexicon, “record of actual average system” uses data for 1977-82 that forms the basis for Irsa to share shortfalls and surpluses. In 1991, it was the only data set available. New data sets have not been entertained.

The system failed with the first serious shortfall when, in 2000, the flows shrunk to 102.73 MAF. Sindh and Punjab started invoking different clauses of the accord to get additional supplies. Irsa created a three-tier formula for Punjab and Sindh, leaving KP and Balochistan out of this arrangement. In 20 years, Irsa has failed to convince Sindh. Going forward, it is clearly time for Irsa to break the stalemate and find some new basis for scarcity management. Oddly, Irsa still monitors surface water flows manually rather than using available telemetry technologies.

The accord is based only on the principle of historical usage for water distribution. Punjab and Sindh need to work together to create policy space by exploring such actions as i) economic efficiency in usage including water trade, ii) population size that relies on surface water supply, iii) special needs because of droughts, iv) environmental flows for the delta and creation of wetlands, and v) climate-induced variations in water flows.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021

 

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Agriculture and livestock: a way towards economic independence?

The fact is working for someone else can never be as rewarding as working for your own self

Suhaib Ayaz
July 02, 2021


Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statements asking people to invest in livestock farming and raise heifers and chickens have been mocked by the extremely hostile and bitter opposition. This has been a running joke in intellectual and journalistic circles without anyone actually commenting on the merits and demerits of the idea itself. This was expected since culturally, the idea that certain ways of making money, including agricultural and livestock farming, are less respectable than others, i.e. finding a corporate job or just about any job has been ingrained in our minds. Bus naukri chahiye. (We just need a job).

The ghost of our colonial past is still haunting us and one can’t help but wonder how long we will be the victims of it. Getting a university degree and sending out thousands of resumes is considered the ideal pathway for the youth. They end up getting stuck in the nine-to-five grind of entry-level jobs where their days typically start with packing their lunch, riding their motor-bike to the back alleys of II Chundrigardh Road, park near a dumpster, where they pull out a tight misaligned noose for their neck, also called a tie. They then spend the rest of their day in a cramped office on the 11th floor of a building located on a noisy street with a bleak outlook on life and hardly any motivation to get out of the rut. This is all they aspire to be, especially because of the promise of corporate jobs and steady income that comes with them. The fact is working for someone else can never be as rewarding as working for your own self.

Due to the stigma associated with agriculture and livestock farming and the alluring dreams of a steady income and being a “babu”, educated children of farmers prefer to move to cities and find other jobs rather than focusing on agriculture. This is one of the reasons why agriculture always lags. Examples of educated and driven individuals entering agriculture are very few. While I understand that not everyone has the capacity or acuity for being an entrepreneur, encouraging livestock farming amongst the masses and introducing proper policy has the potential to help alleviate poverty and lead to economic growth in Pakistan.

The percentage of people living under poverty in Pakistan is predicted to jump over 40% in the near future. In a densely populated country, that is poorly governed and ruled by incompetence, people are on their own to fix their wretched lives. Yet, they pay too much heed to empty slogans made at every regime change, such as the promise of creating millions of jobs. The whole nation wants to work for someone else, and when they are told they can turn their lives around by setting up businesses, not only does it disappoint the populace; it also triggers the already vitriolic intelligentsia.

As our population explodes, our absolute number of those living in extreme poverty also grows significantly. The diet in our country is severely deficient in both quality and quantity. Over the past couple of decades, poultry has been a great source of protein in the diet of Pakistanis at a reasonable and affordable rate. Yet, people come up with unique ways of discrediting and even labelling poultry as dangerous to health and spread fear on social media.

The poultry sector did try to counter those suspicions, which were based on ignorance to some extent. It is vital to educate the masses that livestock provides food security and transforms vegetation, crop residues, by-products of food processing and organic waste into human food of high nutritional value.

Small and household farms are where the state needs to focus as generally they produce more than half to three-quarters of total livestock production. In contrast, state-level policies have been mostly directed towards corporate or enterprise-level livestock farming. Livestock ownership is usually more prevalent and equitable than landholding.

Household-level flock/herd size is also smaller, however, it provides more income to rural households, either by ownership or through provision of employment as labour. Erratic weather in Pakistan causes mainstream agriculture to depend on weather conditions, and crop sizes vary drastically based of the same. Such vulnerability is not observed in livestock, which is not dependent on weather conditions nor does it have a set harvest season. It also enhances the productivity and income of regular farming households, adding stability and predictability in income.

If the current regime is serious in its efforts, one major step they can take is to engage women in household-level livestock farming. Women are traditionally more involved in livestock, from feeding, watering and milking the animals. Last year, under the EhsaasAmdan programme, the government announced that women will be given some animals to help them generate income for the poorest sectors of society.

The state also needs to ensure that women are trained and gain valuable experience in livestock farming to support their families better and be less reliant on male members of the family. In the absence of a male head, a family often faces significant poverty with no recourse when women are not empowered and trained to take the lead or have no expertise in the management of farming or livestock. Involving women actively in this sector will prove to be beneficial in the long run.

The promise of aikcrorenaukriyan (one million jobs) is just a pipe dream, and the nation just jumped blindly on the bandwagon which says a lot about our mindset. However, the prime minister’s request of small-scale livestock ownership should be looked into. Economic growth at a rapid rate is only possible when the poor participate in economic activities instead of only relying on handouts from the state.

The livestock sector must be stimulated and helped; household-level small-scale farmers should be given prime importance, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. As our population is shifting from rural to urban settings, this demographic change is creating a lot of demand for livestock products, which can be met by the semi-urban population.

The rural population living in proximity to big cities can benefit immensely from this increasing demand. The state needs to get out of conventional models and past approaches that almost always fail and factor in our population's leanings and specific quirks and how local markets behave and make policies that adapt to local conditions. Livestock farming is an excellent way of poverty reduction if done right, leading to sustainable economic growth.

 

[ghazi52]

Bernhard Schlagheck

@GermanyinPAK

Construction of several #biogas plants, undertaken by our project partner Mallot Sattian Development & Social Organization, is under way! The project will offer cheap & clean #renewable energy in rural Mallot Sattian. Very happy to be supporting green energy solutions..

 

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https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=210160720977386

 

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South Korea's Program for International Cooperation in Agriculture and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) have signed a technical cooperation agreement for projects' in potato seeds, chillies and production technology of major fodder crops in Pakistan

 

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Micro irrigation for sustainable agriculture

Dr Bashir Ahmad
July 4, 2021


The focus should be on orchard and vegetable production with drip irrigation close to the CPEC economic zones

Agro farm on drip stretching over 700 acres in Bahawalpur desert — Photo courtesy: Infiniti Farm

The dwindling water resources of Pakistan are under continuous pressure due to rapid population growth and climate change-induced risks. Meeting the increasing water demands is a challenge for the policy-makers, planners and researchers as well as the end users. In view of the looming water crisis, efficient and economical use of scarce water resources is an imperative.

Unfortunately, the efficiency of existing surface irrigation systems is less than 40 percent. Inadequate water storage, sedimentation of existing reservoirs, falling groundwater levels, low land and water productivity are some of the major challenges to water resources in the country.

The agriculture sector is amongst the largest water consumers globally. Around 93 percent of water is consumed by agriculture, 4 percent by industry and 3 percent by domestic users. The agriculture sector is often criticised for its low efficiency and excessive water losses. Due to increasing water demand in other sectors, particularly industry and domestic, it is very unlikely that more water resources will be made available for the agriculture sector in the future.

To meet the increasing food requirements, irrigated agriculture has to produce more with less water by adopting efficient micro-irrigation systems like drip, sprinkler and responsive methods. These irrigation methods need to be more-efficient, cost-effective, reliable and flexible.

The irrigation efficiency of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems is more than double the efficiency of traditional surface irrigation methods. However, their adoption is very low in Pakistan so far.

Keeping in view the current situation, accelerated and sustainable adoption of micro-irrigation, especially drip irrigation, is urgently needed.

Global overview of micro irrigation technologies

Drip and sprinkler irrigation systems have been developed and successfully adopted in various countries of the world, including the US, Australia, China, India, Turkey, Brazil and Israel. The last two have witnessed a quantum leap in the expansion of micro irrigation technology.

Israel and Uzbekistan have adopted this on 100 percent of their areas, whereas 57 percent, 56 percent and 37 percent areas of the US, Brazil and Australia, respectively, are under drip and sprinklers. The adoption of drip and sprinkler systems has reduced water use in irrigation by 27 percent in China and 35 percent in Australia.

In Asia, the most significant gains have been achieved in China and India, the world’s top two irrigators, where the area under micro-irrigation has expanded 88-fold and 111-fold, respectively, over the last two decades.

India now leads the world, with nearly 5 million hectares (about 13 million acres) under micro-irrigation methods. Contrarily, in Pakistan these technologies are still in their infancy with installations on only a fraction of irrigated area. The worldwide micro-irrigation adoption grew slowly but steadily. It was 1.08 million acres in 1981 and has now reached about 128 million acres (52 M ha), showing a nine-fold increase.
The last 15 years (2000-2015) have witnessed a quantum leap in the expansion of micro-irrigation technologies, both in the developed and developing countries.

The outcome in Pakistan

Despite multiple attempts to introduce and upscale micro irrigation systems in the country during the last three decades by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and its various partners, unfortunately, the outcome has not been satisfactory. The government of Pakistan has been providing huge subsidies to farmers for installation of micro-irrigation. However, with all efforts and subsidies, the adoption of micro-irrigation in Pakistan is not at a scale comparable with other countries of the world.

About 75,000 acres in the Punjab and 5,000 acres in Sindh have been brought under micro irrigation under current initiatives by provincial On-Farm Water Management Departments. Since micro-irrigation is highly successful in the world and significantly contributing to the economy of many countries, we need to assess the slow adoption in Pakistan.

Why do farmers prefer traditional irrigation practices? Is it due to lack of knowledge and non-availability of necessary services for modern irrigation technologies? One of the main limitations for its adoption and operation is high operational fuel cost. Farmers usually abandon these systems after 1-2 years of operation due to the high electricity cost.

Luckily, with the introduction of solar water pumping and its integration with micro-irrigation by the PARC, now micro-irrigation technology is taking off. There are success stories spreading over the landscape of Pakistan, where pioneering and progressive farmers have adopted the full micro-irrigation package. Private farms at Kallar Kahar have done wonders, turning the difficult terrain into productive agricultural land.

Another private farm stretching over 700 acres on drip irrigation system in the Cholistan desert is worth mentioning. There are good success stories of individual farmers who are rejuvenating sand dunes in Cholistan, Thal, rugged Balochistan and arid DG Khan through drip irrigation and are role models for farming communities.

Success stories of drip irrigation for orchard and vegetable production have happened mostly under provincial On-Farm Water Management Departments (OFWM) projects. Another PARC initiative of portable solar pumping is being widely adopted in Thal and kacha areas along the River Indus.

Progressive farmers are getting yields comparable to the developed countries but not good monetary returns. This is due to poor market linkages, lack of value chains and non-existence of follow-up of agronomic practices by public institutions. OFWM is providing effective advisory services on irrigation and water management but agronomic practices, crop varieties and plant protection knowledge of the farmers is weak and needs to be updated.

There is a dire need to properly document, publish and disseminate these success stories and inform the public to promote micro-irrigation across the country. This will dispel the myth that micro-irrigation does not fulfil the irrigation requirement.

Recommendations on way forward

Israel has succeeded in advancing irrigated agriculture on a wide scale on arid and semi-arid lands, with an intensive use of technology and capital and a firm state-led irrigation policy. For this to happen in Pakistan, there must be a clear roadmap and strategy which must have popular support across the board. The strategy and approach must be simple, consistent and holistic. Some of the main points may be:

Documentation and wider dissemination of success stories of drip irrigation for growing orchards in the desert under marginal land and water conditions.

Incentivising local manufacturing of micro-irrigation components to reduce price and make it affordable for small holder farmers. This will not only lower price, increase production but also create jobs.
Service companies should be made accountable for compliance of follow up on repair and maintenance for the stipulated period.

The federal government must facilitate research and development support for low-cost local fabrication of micro irrigation equipment and incentivise service provider companies.

The subsidy policy should be revised to favour small landholders. Influential but absentee farmers have been the major beneficiaries of public subsidies of micro-irrigation which now should be provided to small and on-site farmers.

Training of farmers in the use of new technology with advisory service on agronomic practices, crop varieties, diseases and post-harvest interventions will be important confidence building measures.

There must be proportionate public investment on canal-fed irrigation and micro irrigation sectors outside the Indus irrigation system. Canal-irrigated areas are a major beneficiary of national water resources free of cost on the one hand and prime beneficiary of public investments (irrigational infrastructure including dams, barrages, canals and headworks). Irrigated areas consume more than 95 percent of water and irrigation development budget whereas micro irrigation schemes outside canal irrigation areas get a fractional share.

On-Farm Water Management services may be segregated and separated for canal irrigation regime and Micro-Irrigation Department for rain-fed areas. This will make sense of rational fund allocations and performance competition.

Micro-irrigation should be granted an industry status. Integrated packages, including solar pumping, micro irrigation and green house tunnels for vegetable production can do wonders.

The government of Pakistan must set up a task force on micro irrigation like India did in 2003. It impressively supported adoption of this technology on more than 13 million acres.

Proper market access and value chain needs to be established to provide fair economic return to the farmers.

Micro irrigation, particularly drip irrigation, may be confined to horticultural crops, including fruits and vegetables and priority be given to desert, semi-desert and water scarce sandy areas, including the Potohar plateau and command areas of mini and small dams.

The focus should be on orchard and vegetable production with drip near the CPEC economic zones so that exports can be arranged easily.

The writer is Climate, Energy and Water Resources Institute (CEWRI) director at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC)

Micro irrigation for sustainable agriculture | Political Economy | thenews.com.pk

The focus should be on orchard and vegetable production with drip irrigation close to the CPEC economic zones

www.thenews.com.pk

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Horticulture- An unexplored avenue of growth

Osama Farooq

Agriculture is considered the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. According to Economic Survey 2019-20, agriculture contributes 19.3% to Pakistan’s GDP, absorbs 39% labor force and directly accounts for almost 20% of the country’s exports. The contribution of agriculture in the GDP of Pakistan has waned over the past six decades. In 1960, agriculture had 40% share in the country’s GDP, which has shrunk to 19.3% following decades of decline. Nevertheless, we cannot deny the importance of agriculture as 76% of the country's poor who live in rural areas have agriculture as their biggest source of employment. As per World Bank development indicators, 63% of all Pakistanis live in rural areas of Pakistan.

Since 1947, agriculture sector has received inconsistent attention. There have been times of great development however it can be argued that last two decades have been worse for the agriculture. A research conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reveals that the Total Factor Productivity, one of the most informative measures of agricultural productivity, has been negative over the past two decades. This shows that our growth is now reliant on inputs or increase in area under cultivation. Other countries have witnessed sustainable yield gains of multiple crops through balanced fertilizer application, genetic improvement, improved farming practices etc. but we are not exploiting any of that.

Agriculture Census 2010 noted that 78% of the farmers in Pakistan have landholdings of less than 7.5 acres. Wheat, cotton, maize, sugarcane and rice are the main crops grown by these farmers. These crops are labor intensive and mechanization plays a small role. This means that sowing of these traditional crops is of little competitive advantage for these subsistence farmers as compared to high value agriculture. Therefore, it is high time to capitalize on the opportunities offered by horticulture and it has to be given a central role in order to boost the agriculture growth.

The global horticulture trade has almost tripled since 2000 indicating that the demand for these items is increasing. As per a report of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, rising living standards and bourgeoning population will swell the demand for horticulture products by 70% over the next thirty years. Despite the fact that Pakistan produces a vast variety of fruits, vegetables and condiments, it has failed to harness the full potential of its horticulture.

Since the passage of 18th amendment, agriculture has become a provincial subject and the federal and provincial governments have struggled to come up with a coherent agriculture policy since then. Horticulture sector faces many challenges in Pakistan. Seed certification is a major challenge. Most vegetable seeds are imported in the country and the weak capacity of the federal seed certification agency has limited the options of the importers or the farmers to adopt new varieties. On paper, it takes two years of field trials for the importer or breeders to get the initial approval however practically it may take anywhere between three to five years before a new variety is introduced. The existing regulatory regime, slow to respond to market demand, is inefficient for the private sector service providers and limits their ability to introduce new cultivars in a short period of time.

Horticulture crops are at a greater risk of disease than agriculture and changing climatic conditions have exacerbated the problem. Having said that, introduction of safe and modern medicines is not an easy task in our country. Chlorpyrifos, Paraquat and many such chemicals which are banned in the developed countries such as Europe and North America continue to be sold in Pakistan resulting in the continuous production of unsafe horticulture produce.

Availability of credit to farmers in Pakistan is limited. The operating environment for a farmer is challenging, the linkages in the agriculture finance value chain are missing or frail or too rigid, the financial products are unsuited to farmers’ needs and banks have failed to come up with a viable model to financially include this large segment of active economic agents. In the absence of appropriate credit risk instruments, commercial banks are unwilling to take risk on the agriculture sector.

Financing this low income, high risk, poorly organized rural sector prone to environmental factors that are hard to predict and control has always been a huge challenge for the financial service providers. Thanks to technological innovations and digital financial services, it is now becoming feasible for lending institutions to serve the agriculture sector in the rural economy.

Digital Value Chain Financing (DVCF) are playing an instrumental role in financial inclusion of farmers in developing countries. These services offer an opportunity for the banks, development partners and enterprises engaged in the agriculture value chains to design and develop products and services which can increase the access to finance for these farmers. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) introduced specific guidelines for Horticulture financing in 2007 however the document failed to provide any real incentive or encouragement to the commercial banks to proactively look at the sector for lending.

According to the Labor Force Survey of 2017-18 conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, thirty-nine percent of the country’s labor force is engaged in agriculture. However, Pakistan has no large-scale farmer training programs.

Most of the farmers in Pakistan learn about agriculture from their elders, agriculture extension service workers and sales teams of inputs suppliers. There are approximately 18,000 agriculture extension workers employed by the agriculture extension department and in-puts supplier companies. If we compare this number with the total number of farmers, it is easy to conclude that it is impossible for these extension workers to train such a huge labor force. This creates a big gap in the skill set of farmers. The training needs assessments have also been missing.

The lack of training means that the difference of yields for that of a skilled and an unskilled farmer will continue to increase and so of the income. Horticulture is believed to be far more complex than grain cultivation. The lack of knowledge and skills are among the top reasons of low agricultural productivity in horticulture.

Post-harvest losses in horticulture value chains are reported to be in the range of 30% to 40% which is quite high. Poor transportation, low storage and low skill set of farmers are one of the main reasons for these post-harvest losses. These losses effect costs and make farmers uncompetitive. We need to train the labor to reduce such losses.

Pakistan needs to develop a coherent national policy for horticulture development that integrates the views of all the stakeholders, i.e. farmers, input service providers, agriculture traders and provincial and federal governments. Seed certification regime, swift approval of crop protection chemicals which are safe and development and adoption of horticulture produce quality standards are the main areas to be worked on. A growing and developed horticulture sector can create avenues of employment for the rural poor, enhance house hold income, provide people with quality fruits and vegetable and open opportunities for exports.

 

[ghazi52]

Cotton variety made with US help will benefit growers, hopes minister

The Newspaper's Reporter
July 15, 2021

Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam said two virus-resistant cotton accessions were also released as source of virus resistant in the US. — DawnNewsTV/File


ISLAMABAD: Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam on Wednesday said the Cotton Productivity Enhancement Programme (CPEP) helped Pakistan import more than 5,000 cotton accessions from the United States for screening against the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV).

Speaking at the project concluding ceremony, the minister said a new cotton variety known as “IR-NIBGE-II’ — developed under the project and approved by the Punjab Seed Council in January — will help to Pakistani cotton growers.

He said two virus-resistant cotton accessions were also released as source of virus resistant in the US by Dr Jodi Scheffler of USDA Agriculture Research Services (ARS). Mr Imam thanked the US government for its cooperation in cotton research for development, and hoped this cooperation will continue in the future.

The CPEP, a decade-long project jointly implemented by the US Department of Agriculture and ICARDA with the funding from US Agency for International Development (USAID), has been successfully completed.
CPEP helped bolster Pakistan’s cotton production and agricultural trade spanning over a decade of scientific breakthroughs in cotton breeding and developing new cotton seed resistant to virus.

Cotton is one of Pakistan’s most important crops, yet by the mid-1990s, the prevalence of the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) had seriously limited the production. The recently-concluded project resulted in the development of a laboratory diagnostic test to detect the virus and monitor its spread.

As part of the project, farmer field schools were held throughout the cotton growing season in smallholder farmer villages to train growers particularly women, on best management practices to increase crop yields. Researchers also developed new cotton seed that are resistant to CLCuV.

Dr Scheffler said the project enabled sharing of scientific knowledge between the United States and Pakistan with the support of key scientific organisations such as ICARDA and the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering.

It has also strengthened the livelihoods of smallholder cotton producers in Pakistan, and will protect the US cotton crop against potential outbreaks of CLCuV, the scientist said.

A major success achieved through the CPEP project is that Pakistani farmers now have access to seeds that are resistant to CLCuV with the promise of even more varieties available on the market once they receive government approval.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2021

 

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Jamshed Iqbal Cheema , Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for National Food Security , said the government will provide a subsidy of Rs. 28 billion on procurement of agricultural tools and provide equipment to modernize the local agriculture sector to enhance production per acre .

He said the list of agricultural tools has been increased from 12 items to 81 items، He further said the government has contributed half of the total amount on the purchase of agricultural tools which leads to crop production .

He said that as a result of the current government measures, all major crops production has seen a significant increase ، the country spends billions of dollars each year on importing food items . Doing what will now be reduced and will also help achieve sustainable economic growth .

 

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FAC issues fortnightly advisory: Cotton farmers asked to avoid irrigation in case of rain expectations

APP
17 Jul 2021

MULTAN: Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) has issued a set of guidelines to cotton farmers applicable till July 31 advising them to avoid applying water or do only light irrigation in the evening to the crop in case of rain expectations.

The fourth meeting of FAC chaired by Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan director Dr Zahid Mahmood held at CCRI advised the farmers to opt for cotton picking before rain to preserve quality in case 8-10 bolls were found to be open on each plant in the field, head of the technology transfer wing of CCRI Multan Sajid Mahmood said on Friday.

In case of emergence of white flowers at the top of plants, farmers should reduce water application duration.

Farmers whose crop has attained the height of 2.5 feet or above must refrain from hoeing by tractor or perform hoeing by such tools that do not hurt plants. Cotton sown for the purpose of obtaining seed should immediately undergo ginning after picking process and the lint so obtained should be dried.

Moreover, other plants in such fields should be removed to maintain purity of the seed. Farmers should analyze the germination strength of healthy cotton seed and those found to be having good germination strength should be dried up and packed in jute or cotton bags and placed at some well-ventilated place.

Plants’ food requirements increase with the boll formation process and shortage of water or fertilizers at this stage leave the boll size smaller, Sajid said, adding that at least a bag of Urea or Calcium Ammonium Nitrate or Ammonium Sulphate be applied per acre.

Moreover, mixture of 300 gram Zinc Sulphate, 200 gm Boric Acid, and 300 gram Magnesium Sulphate in 100 litres of water be sprayed per acre.

 

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Chinese, Pak experts launched books to promote climate-smart agriculture

Sat, 17 Jul 2021,


BEIJING, July 17 (APP): In a milestone move, Chinese, Pakistani and Turkish researchers on Saturday published two English monographs on climate-smart agriculture as the world is struggling to maintain and increase agriculture production against the backdrop of growing climate change.

The two publications, Sustainable Soil and Land Management and Climate Change and Climate Change and Plants, investigate the historical, current and future effects of climate change on plants and global agriculture production, and propose corresponding approaches and management strategies to mitigate the effects of high and low temperatures, drought and saline soils.

The work also contribute to climate-smart agriculture (CSA), which is an approach promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate.

The timing of the publications could not be better as global warming have taken a heavy toll on crop yields.

“Scientists have proved that grain yield of rice declines by 10% for each 1°C increase in nighttime minimum temperature in 2004. Even now, agricultural and natural ecosystems in many parts of the world are unable to adapt to rising temperatures and suffer devastating damage.” said Dr Wang Depeng, professor at the College of Life Science of Linyi University and co-editor of the two publications, in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net (CEN).

The two works can help to promote sustainable agriculture, in line with the second goal of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, according to Dr Wu Chao, associate research fellow at the Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and co-editor of the two publications.

“The publications can provide researchers, experts and policymakers with theoretical and practical know-how to explore the sustainable development of crops.” He added, “We’re working with Pakistani and Turkish researchers to further explore the avenues for sustainable agriculture production. And three other publications in this regard will come out this year.”

According to Prof Dr Wang, more such international collaboration and communication and collaboration in agricultural research are ongoing under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
“Scholars from the BRI countries have different research advantages in this field and we can work together to conduct research and make our share of contributions to ensuring global food security.”

 

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To farmers’ delight, rains provide surplus water


Ahmad Fraz Khan
July 24, 2021

LAHORE: As the second monsoon spell wears out and the third one enters the country next Monday, farmers and water planners have reason to rejoice: showers have eliminated water shortages, helped substantially fill both major dams and benefited the entire crop cycle (rice, sugarcane, and maize).


According to Met department officials, the country received 23 per cent more rain between July 1 and 23 than its historical average. During these three weeks, Punjab received 17pc more rain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 32pc, Gilgit-Baltistan 151pc, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 9pc, and Balochistan 49pc more rain. Sindh was the only unfortunate part that received 12pc less rain.


The two spells so far have ended water scarcity that had reached close to 30pc, but provinces are now getting 26pc more than their requirement. On Friday, Sindh was getting 160,000 cusecs, Punjab 135,000 cusecs, Balochistan 14,000 cusecs and KP 3,100 cusecs. According to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), the overall (April 1 to July 20) water shortage has come down to 12pc.

During these weeks, the Tarbela Lake rose by 57 feet; it stood at 1,431 feet on July 1 against 1,488 feet on Friday. Even more significantly, Mangla Lake jumped by 23 feet during the same period: from 1,153 feet to 1,176 feet. Both lakes, however, are still far behind their planned levels: Tarbela’s 35 feet and Mangla’s 60 feet. But Irsa considers this a much better position than what it was facing three weeks ago, and pins hopes on the next spell from Monday.

Planners pin hopes on next spell starting on Monday to fill dams even more

Khalid Idrees Rana of Irsa explains how the authority is caught between hope and despair. “The current situation is much better than what it was at the beginning of the month. On Friday, the authority had an inflow of 424,900 cusecs against the 312,000 cusecs it released in the system.

However, the situation is not as good as it was hoped for or predicted by the Meteorological authorities. They forecast a peak of 300,000 cusecs in both rivers Jhelum and Chenab during the spell that has just ended. But what we actually got was a peak of 150,000 cusecs in Jhelum and 139,000 cusecs in Chenab. For River Indus, it hoped for a 375,000 peak flow, whereas the river did not go beyond 288,000 cusecs. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the next spell,” he said, adding that the situation had eased a bit and a lot would depend on how the next spell, expected to start on Monday night, panned out.

With no signs of shortage and instead water available in surplus, farmers, especially in the upper parts of Punjab, are happy. All three major crops under various stages of their life cycle are expected to benefit from the rains.

“Those who have sown maize early (to be followed by wheat or potatoes) would certainly see their crop turning healthy with soil cooling down and showers supplementing water requirements,” says Raja Lutfullah, a grower in the suburbs of Gujranwala.

Water is always good for rice, but with the quantum that the current spell has provided (the district received over 310 millimetre rain) the farmers may not have to switch on their tubewells for another two to three weeks. Similarly, cane crop would not need tubewells for at least two weeks. All these are water guzzlers and have their ‘one watering’ taken care of.

“Since it was sporadic, the benefits have not been evenly distributed,” Abad Khan tells his side of the story. “We (in Chichawatni) did get a shower in the city, but not even a drop in the surroundings. This has been the case in many areas, where one part received a heavy shower, but it was completely dry beyond a kilometre. In an ideal situation, it should have rained widespread, benefitting all. However, that remains a wish for the last spell.”


Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2021

 

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Emanuel Guddu
In our Sindh Pakistan Badin considers the richest among rice producing districts like Thatta, Dadu, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, and Shikarpur. Pakistan is the world's 10th largest producer of rice.

 

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Looming food insecurity

https://nation.com.pk/Columnist/6246
Khalid Mahmood Rasool
July 30, 2021

Gone are the days when Pakistan was a self reliant food producing country. As an agricultural country, Pakistan now has to rely on continuous imports for food security. What went wrong with the agriculture sector culminating in this alarming situation? Leading economist Dr. Kaiser Bengali revealed in a research report that the Pakistan economy as well its agriculture sector remained in a constant state of stagnation during 25 years from 1990-2015.

According to his research, large crops of the agriculture sector grew at an average of 2.8 percent annually during these 25 years. If outlying years are set aside when the annual growth was above extraordinary, the average annual growth of large crops is reduced to mere one percent for the remaining years. Similarly, small crops grew at an average of 1.9 percent per annum during these 25 years; barring the outlying years, average growth decreased to a dismal 1.5 percent per annum. It’s worth mentioning that the population growth rate during this period remained well above two percent per annum.

How would food shortages impact vulnerable communities, say during the next 25 years? According to the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement, a nationwide survey conducted during 2019-20, more than 16 percent of the surveyed households experienced moderate or severe food shortages. In the ten districts of Balochistan and nine districts of Sindh surveyed, 26 percent faced severe food shortages. If statistics are decoded any further, it turned out that 19 percent of the households were in crisis while 7 percent of the households were in emergency.

Why has agriculture production been stagnant and didn’t keep pace with the increasing demand and population growth? The reasons are all the same old ones. The research institutions mandated to develop new high yielding varieties have done a pathetic job. A bulk of the budget is spent on salaries and many times it is spent on managing careers, perks and comforts. There is hardly any evidence of ground breaking development of seeds for cotton, wheat, sugarcane, rice, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

Indiscriminate use of pesticides has wiped out most friendly insects. The trend of mechanised farming has not flourished. An obsolete and skewed value chain has pushed the farmers to a disadvantageous position whereas middlemen are well in command thanks to their financial and trading muscles.

The conclusion is that all major stakeholders mandated to help grow the agriculture sector have ended up with this dismal outcome. Add the population growth and the massive trend of urbanisation and we have a perfect recipe of food insecurity. An ever weakening exchange parity and import dependency on food items for market stabilisation is adding fuel to the fire of existing food insecurity.

One wonders if basic and strategic issues like food security are a priority (forget any expectation of “high” priority) in political discourse except for this being used for political mudslinging. The clock is ticking; looming food insecurity is not far away. Urgent short and long-term measures are needed to escape the threat.