Irrigation:
The artificial
application of water to the soil through various systems of tubes, pumps and
sprays is known as irrigation.
AgricultureisanimportantsectorofPakistan’seconomyasitisconsideredasthebackboneofPakistan's
economicstructure.Pakistanreliesheavilyonitsproductioni.e.crops.Pakistan’spopulationisdirectlysupportedbythissector.Agriculture
contributes26%toitsGDP.Our
countryholdsoneofthelargestirrigationsystemswhichheavilysupportproductioninPakistan.Inordertoimproveproductioninour
country,theresourcesmustbefullyutilizedmainlylandandwater,butthisalterationmainlydependsuponbiglandholdersbecause40%ofthearablelandhasbeenownedbythemhencetheycontrolmostoftheirrigationsystemthusstoppinganyrapidandfrequentagriculturalreforms.
Onemustconcludethatagriculture
sectorplaysacentralroleandoutofthetotalpopulation,42.3%peoplehasbeenabsorbedbythesector.This
sectorisakeysourceofforeignexchangeearnings.Withpassageoftime,populationisincreasingdaybydaythusdemandinggovernmenttotakesuitablemeasuresforbetterannualproductioninthecountry.Theperformanceduring2017-2018showedaremarkablegrowthof3.8%.Thiswasdonewiththehelpofsupportivegovernmentpolicies,availabilityofbettercertifiedseeds,pesticidesetc.Thecropsectorrecordedagrowthrateof3.83%ascompared0.91%inthelastyear.Agriculturaldevelopmentalsoraisesthecontributionforindustrialdevelopment.
DifferentwaysofirrigationinPakistan:
Irrigation system of
Pakistan have multiple components for example Rivers, canals barrages, head
work’s, dams and tube wells (on smaller scale).
· Rivers:
There are five main rivers of Pakistan.
· Indus River:
Indus River is longest
and largest river of Pakisran. Indus receives water of five rivers of Punjab i.
The Jhelum ii. Chenab, iii. Ravi,iv.
Beas and v. Sutlej. After recieving water of these river The Indus River
becomes largest river of Pakistan.
· Dams:
Dam is a barrier to hold water and forming a reservoir to generate electricity or as a water supply.Travels dam is main which is constructed on Indus river.
· Barrages:
A barrage is an
artificial barrier on a river to prevent flooding , aid irrigation or to
generate electricity.There areabout 16 barrages among which six barrages are on the Indus river: i.Guddu
Barrage, ii.Sukkur Barrage, iii.Kotri Barrage, iv. Taunsa Barrage, v.Chashma
Barrage and vi.Jinnah Barrage.
· Cannals:
A cannal is an artificial waterway constructed to convey water for
irrigation.Thereare about 12 linked and 45 normal cannals in Pakistan.
Issuesfacedbythefarmersof Pakistan:
i. Lack of water:
Due to several reasons farmer use insufficient amount of water for there crops.
ii. Lack of modernization:
Former uses primitive cultivation methods such as traditional-plough methods etc in mostly areas. There is a very little use modern equipment.
iii.Dependence on traditional crops:
Many farmers depend on traditional crops such as wheat, rice and cotton. And they don't follow nation-wide agricultural plan.
iv. Poor Storage Facilities:
In rural areas due to poor storage facilities farmers usually have no other option than selling their products immediately at low market price.
v. Transportation Problems:
Lack of cheap and efficient transportation is a big problem seen by Pakistani farmers, small farmers still rely on bullock carts for transportation of their produces. Due to farmers can not sell there products in central markets so they sell there products in local markets at low price.
vi. High Interest Rates:
Most farmers take agricultural debt from local businessmen for cultivation in the forms of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers.
vii. Government Schemes:
Mostly big/wealthy landlords take benefits from government schemes while small farmers cannot get sufficient benefits from these schemes.
