LAHORE IMRAN ADNAN Both federal and provincial governments are running parallel projects related to agriculture and

livestock considering its significance that the sector provides employment to 45 per cent population and generates raw materials for industry. But governments at every level are constantly ignoring the water scarcity issue that was worsening every year. Official figures, released in the Economic Survey of Pakistan, indicate that availability of the irrigation water is constantly declining since the last ten years. Referring to numbers of Indus River System Authority (IRSA), Economic Survey reveals that on average actual water surface is dropping by 9.95 per cent every year since last decade. Figures point out that during the current fiscal year (2010-11), the availability of water as a basic input for kharif 2010 (for the crops such as rice, sugarcane and cotton) has been 20 per cent less than the normal supplies and 21 per cent less than last year s kharif season. While the water availability during rabi season (for major crop such as wheat), is, however, estimated at 34.6 MAF, which is five per cent lower than the normal availability, and 38 per cent more than last year s Rabi crop. Agriculture and irrigation experts believe that through agriculture Pakistan cannot only assure its food security but also reap the benefits of rising food prices in the international markets. However, they argue that the situation in the agriculture sector would be not much different from the industry without electricity. They ueged governments to focus of water management and better farming practices. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman Ibrahim Mughal underscored that government machinery had eaten away billion of rupees during the last decade, but no development was witnessed in the field of irrigation. He said all state institutes, including Ministry of Water and Power, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and irrigation departments, were responsible for water crisis in the country. He estimated that if the government did not pay heed to the water scarcity issue the country would not have a single drop of water available for irrigation or drinking. However, former Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamat Ali Shah believes that the water situation is not out of control yet. The country would have water available for irrigation for next couple of decades. Shah said that there was no doubt that water levels were dropping around the globe owing to climate change, population bust and mismanagement. He said that though there was no

immediate threat for Pakistan, but the government had to address the water shortage issue on priority. Former Federal Minister for Industries and Production Jahangir Khan Tareen underlined that water shortage would be the worst crisis in the history of the country, which was heading fast towards Pakistan. He estimated that every year farmers were wasting some 30 million acre feet (MAF) of water owing to poor farming practices and lack of research and development in irrigation and agriculture. However, all agriculture and irrigation experts have consensus among them that with better management neither water shortage issue can be resolved nor the agriculture growth can be sustainable, but the government machinery is not willing to give due weightage to the water issue in economic policies.

Actual surface water availability (Million Acre Feet) Period Kharif Rabi Average system usage 67.1 36.4 2003-04 65.9 31.5 2004-05 59.1 23.1 2005-06 70.8 30.1 2006-07 63.1 31.2 2007-08 70.8 27.9 2008-09 66.9 24.9 2009-10 67.3 25.0 2010-11 53.4 34.6 Source: Indus River System Authority (IRSA)

Total 103.5 97.4 82.2 100.9 94.3 98.7 91.8 92.3 88.0

%age Change -5.9 -20.6 -2.5 -8.9 -4.6 -11.3 -10.8 -15.0