The prospects for bringing more area under cultivation are limited in near future as the country is experiencing scarcity of irrigation water, said the Planning Commission in its future strategy for agriculture.
"To feed the growing population and increase our export earnings, there is a need to increase productivity, bridge the yield gap between ordinary and progressive farmers, between national and international yields and between farmers in general and research stations," said the Planning Commission.
Pakistan will have to deal with the problems of soil degradation, irrigation water scarcity and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) requirements in the arena of international trade in agricultural commodities. Diversification of agriculture is needed to ensure optimal use of resources for achieving sustainable growth, and enhance production of high value agricultural commodities, said the strategy.
According to the Planning Commission, awareness about and adoption of new technologies by farmers has to be ensured by strengthening agricultural education, research and extension activities. The role of biotechnology in agriculture will have to be increased to raise agricultural productivity and competitiveness.
To comply with WTO requirements for our agricultural exports, animal and plant health inspection capacity has also to be upgraded. The main constraints faced in sustainable agricultural development include soil degradation, irrigation water scarcity, inadequate coverage of improved seeds and fertilisers, yield gap, and inefficient marketing system particularly of perishable commodities.
Recognising the role of agriculture sector in the economy, the government significantly enhanced PSDP allocations to this sector from Rs 785 million in 2002-03 to Rs 11,277 million in 2006-07 reflecting a 13 folds increase over a five years period.
During the same period, utilisation of funds increased from Rs 535 million to Rs 9,750 million, indicating a 17 folds increase. The extent of utilisation of PSDP funds also improved from 68 to 87 percent, said the Planning Commission.
As the country is facing water scarcity, the water resources need to be used efficiently and the resource conservation technologies (RCT's) need to be promoted vigorously. National Program for Improvement of Water Courses in Pakistan, which commenced in 2004 will continue.
Another mega project, "Water Conservation and Productivity Enhancement through High Efficiency Irrigation Systems" will also be launched. It envisages installation of high efficiency irrigation system on nearly 0.3 million acres and construction of 20,340 water storage tanks.
To save irrigation water, a development project, "National Project to Stimulate Adaptation of Permanent Raised Beds to Maize-Wheat and Cotton-Wheat Farming System in Pakistan" is in progress. It will not only save irrigation water but land preparation cost will be reduced significantly.
About 190 permanent raised bed machines are to be locally manufactured and would be made available to the farmers on subsidised rates to facilitate adoption of new technology.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.