Experts demand steps to conserve water

Agriculturalists, water experts and social reformers have asked for taking initiatives to conserve water in lower areas of Sindh, promote urban agriculture and cultivate crops through drip irrigation over 50% of Sindh’s uncultivated agricultural land.

They said this while speaking at a consultation seminar titled “Food-Water Nexus: Connecting the Dots”, hosted by the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) in collaboration with the Research and Development Foundation (RDF) and Welthungerhilfe (WHH) at SAU Tandojam on Thursday.

“Even in developed countries, vertical planting and food preservation are practiced, while in China, everyone grows vegetables for their needs in their homes. We should promote this trend to reduce food insecurity,” progressive farmer and Sindh Abadgar Board leader Syed Nadeem Shah said.

He expressed concerns that green lands were being converted into colonies and housing schemes, which boded ill for the country.

“No significant development has been made in agricultural production for the last 30 years, so we have to promote technologies related to urban agriculture and more efficient use of water,” SAU Vice Chancellor Dr Fateh Marri said.

He stressed that modern agricultural technology must be accessible to common peasants in the future on account of growing population and water shortage.

“In Sindh, 1,300 litres of water are consumed for producing one kilogramme of wheat and 2,500 litres for paddy because farmers have not yet accepted the drip irrigation system,” SAU Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering Dr Altaf Siyal said.

He said that the release of sewage into the Indus River was polluting and degrading the water being consumed by people, growers and livestock.

SIDA General Manager Transition Ghulam Mustafa Ujjan said that after the 18th amendment, students should be involved in various research projects to formulate water and agricultural policies.

He stressed that all stakeholders including public and private institutions and even farmers should work together on promoting agricultural produce with less water.

Moreover, RDF Executive Director Ashfaq Ahmed Soomro, WHH Programme Manager Sarwan Baloch, Dr Dilip Kumar and others emphasised the need for using water efficiently and conserving rainwater to cultivate barren lands.

They said that farmers must be imparted training in modern agriculture and technologies for better and more returns. They predicted that population of the world might reach 9.2 billion by 2050 and pose the threat of food insecurity.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2023.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.