Boosting agriculture

Reservoirs will help produce hydro-electricity, a relatively inexpensive source of power

In Pakistan, the government has been providing subsidies to farmers on agricultural inputs since the early 1960s to boost food production. For the ongoing financial year, the federal government has announced a subsidy of Rs37 billion for famers on fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, especially in view of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. Subsidy on financial assistance for setting up tube-wells for agricultural purposes and on electricity consumption by such irrigation devices will also likely be provided.

The subsidy package aims at boosting per hectare yield of major crops such as wheat and cotton. Efforts are also being made to provide high-yield variety of seeds to famers at subsidised rates. The government also plans to improve the canal system. More efforts are to be made for water conservation. Now most of the rainwater goes to waste as it flows into the sea, so big and small dams have been planned to be built. The Diamir-Bhasha dam is one of the significant components of the strategy aimed at overcoming water storage. The authorities have been stressing the need for building big and small dams in the country like China. Reservoirs will not only boost availability of water but will help produce hydro-electricity, a relatively inexpensive source of power. The government is making all efforts to improve the canal system and also to persuade farmers on the need for adopting efficient management of water.

In Pakistan, the per hectare yield of major crops like wheat, cotton, rice and sugar cane is much below that of China, the US, France and other developed countries. Per hectare yield of cotton is 2.5 tons in Pakistan, which is 52 per cent of what it is in China. Pakistan produces 3.1 tons of wheat per hectare while France gets a yield of 8.1 tons. Egypt’s per hectare yield of sugar cane is more than 63 per cent higher than Pakistan’s. These facts make a strong case for increasing crop yields in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2020.

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