Water management: US helps Pakistani farmers gain efficiency

Workshop educates growers on boosting yields through efficient water use.

ISLAMABAD:

The United States and Pakistan launched an annual workshop in collaboration on September 20, which focused on informing Pakistani farmers about irrigation methods that boost yields through efficient water use.

The US funded five demonstration land plots to show rural farmers the best ways to manage their water usage to increase their incomes. These plots were administered by the federal and provincial authorities and were in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, and Islamabad, with others planned in Sindh and Balochistan. The workshop brought together experts to assess the progress of the demonstration plots.

At the workshop’s launch, Todd Drennan, US Embassy Agricultural Counselor, said “Water management is extremely important for all farmers, including Pakistani farmers. By helping Pakistani farmers adopt new technologies, we are helping them reduce inefficient water use, reduce their cost of production, and increase their agricultural productivity simultaneously.”

This workshop marked the first year of a three-year project funded by the US government and implemented in collaboration with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2012.