ISLAMABAD (APP): Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Khair Muhammad Junejo has said that farmers should adopt new techniques of water management to overcome growing shortage of irrigation water.The water shortage is affecting the entire region and ministers of the neighbouring countries had expressed concern over the gravity of the water situation which is posing serious threats to the agriculture production.
While talking to APP here today he said the neighbouring states are taking measures to shift the existing irrigation system to methods of higher efficiency.
In our case, he said, it would be a shift from flood irrigation n to furrow bed and drip irrigation system.
"We are at very initial stage and to attain high efficiency in the agriculture sector the farmers should have proper education and adequate knowledge to improve their yields" he added.
He said earnest efforts should be made to develop and disseminate technologies for management of agriculture drainage water on scientific basis.
There is a dire need to adopt suitable cost effective technologies for utilizing agricultural drainage water to shorten the water scarcity in agriculture sector and more land can also be brought under cultivation by using the drainage water for enhancing the agricultural production.
Agriculture Minister said the government has asked provinces to follow on farm and water management programme to save water for irrigation of the crops.
Besides, provinces have also been directed to provide necessary assistance to the farmers in checking the quality of land and setting up of tube-wells in the sweet water areas so that problem of water shortage may be overcome and availability of irrigation water may be ensured in the badly affected areas.
On farm management programme for improvement of water courses on cost sharing basis and furrow bed irrigation techniques are essential to improve the water situation.
Besides farm designing and planning the emphasis is being laid on precision land levelling by using laser technology to improve agriculture productivity.
The irrigation sector plays a dominant role in the agricultural economy of Pakistan by irrigating 78% of total agricultural land, contributing more than 90% in the value of agriculture.
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