Six rivers lose 1.88 MAF annually: Irrigation water in Punjab, NWFP
RAWALPINDI, April 18: At a time when the countrys agricultural production is being hampered by less availability of irrigation water, six rivers in the Barani areas of the Punjab and NWFP are losing 1.88 million acre feet (MAF) of water on annual basis, an official study says.
Merely, 0.22 MAF is currently being tapped across a total basin area of 22,307 square kilometres, comprising the rivers of Soan, Haro, Reshi, Bunha, Kahan and Kanshi, according to statistics compiled by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
However, the ADB has agreed to finance a community water storage and irrigated agriculture project, which has been proposed by the governments of Punjab and NWFP, to contribute to sustained long-term social and economic development and reduced drought vulnerability in Punjabs Potohar region and barani areas of NWFP.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $103.36 million. ADBs share in total project cost would amount to 72.6 per cent, while the government and beneficiary shares would amount to 25.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
With a vast untapped potential both provincial governments are pursuing small dam development with Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) financing.
However, while a commitment to small dam development at the level of the government is there, the programmes do not extend beyond securing funds from the PSDP and construction of dams, the ADB noted.
Though the absence of a productive section of the population that has sought its main source of livelihood off-farm due to the arid conditions of barani, agriculture has played a big role in holding back the anticipated benefits in agriculture from investment in the sub-sector, unarticulated policy, institutional dynamics and capacity compound to keep the potential of these small dams dormant, the study pointed out.
Devoid of participatory planning, involvement and inclusion of other stakeholders and direct beneficiaries, and in the absence of a dedicated irrigated agriculture advisory and support services with a well-thought out strategy to work as an initial catalyst, water remains unutilised for remunerative agriculture once the dam is built.
From a sample of 28 dams, 60 per cent of the dams were able to develop only 20 per cent to 40 per cent of their command area. On the rest of the dams, on an average, 87 per cent of the planned area could be developed.
Since 1961, a total of 41 small dams have been constructed in the rain-fed areas of the Potohar Plateau in the Punjab Province, 12 of which were financed through the ADB under the Small Dams Project during 1986 to 1993.
Nine dams are currently under different stages of construction. Out of the dams under construction, four are in Chakwal, three in Jhelum and one each in Rawalpindi and Attock.
Similarly, since 1962, 15 small dams have been built and are operational in the NWFP, five of them under ADB funding of the Drought Emergency Relief Assistance programme, and one exclusively for municipal water supplies in Karak.
In both provinces there is a marked contrast between the irrigated and non-irrigated/barani areas.
In Punjab, these barani areas mainly lie in the Potohar Plateau between the Indus and Jhelum rivers that covers an area of 2.2 million hectares of which one million hectares are under rain-fed agriculture.
There are around 2,600 villages having population of 4.2 million, and these people generally have far more limited opportunities for productive agriculture and the livelihoods it supports than the farmers in the irrigated areas.
In NWFP 800,000 hectares of cultivable land is not irrigated. Barani agriculture in the Punjab represents about 20 per cent of the cultivated area, whereas in NWFP this is about 59 per cent. Rains are very erratic and a major portion is received during the monsoon months in July-August.
Characteristics related to barani farming system are low cropping intensities and lower yields compared to irrigated agriculture due to mainly poor soil and water management, lack of access to services, modern inputs and production technologies, and a large number of unviable and below subsistence land holding sizes, the study said.
Both NWFP and the Punjab are pursuing a small dam development programme to harvest waters from river basins in their respective rain-fed areas. Similar to the Indus Basin canal systems, the small dams are mainly conceived to supply water to agriculture.
However, unlike the Indus Basin canal system where the water mostly originates in neighbouring countries or comes from snow melt in the Himalayas, water for the small dams in barani areas is harvested from relatively close proximity.
Through small dam projects the provinces ensure that runoff generated within catchments that lie in their territorial jurisdictions is not lost and is stored.
While a rationale for water resource development to meet the needs of a growing population and to support a growing economy clearly exists for barani areas, utilisation of small dams constructed in the past 40 years to add value to agriculture has not been adequate.
Assumptions about transfer to remunerative irrigated agriculture, with hitherto unavailable water provided through small dams, have not proven correct.
By and large farmers continue to practice rain-fed agriculture with conjunctive use of reservoir irrigation water rather than growing crops under an irrigation regime and commensurate cultural practices.
Barani farmers in both NWFP and Potohar generally produce subsistence crops (wheat), along with some cash crops and fodder.
A large proportion of their household income comes from off- farm sources.
In on-farm activities their primary concern is livestock which is mainly tended by women who do not migrate with the men for work and stay at home.
Six rivers lose 1.88 MAF annually: Irrigation water in Punjab, NWFP -DAWN - Top Stories; April 19, 2008
