|
|
|
Shortage forces a rethink
SUGAR cane requires 80 to 90 acre-inches of water in Sindh and about 64 acre-inches of water in Punjab. Water is crucial to the crop, but it is a scarce resource. Moreover, sugarcane is a moderately salt-sensitive crop and its yield is severely affected when grown on problem soil with little irrigation.
Pakistan has suffered from a prolonged drought over the past 4 to 5 years, as rainfall has been erratic and scanty. Sugarcane is cultivated during March and April, crucial months for this process. The irrigation network in Pakistan diverts 106million acre-feet (MAF) of surface water. This system results in huge delivery losses, both in the canals and watercourses. The net water supply at farm gate, on an average, is 62MAF and the total irrigated area for sugarcane in Pakistan is little over one million hectares.
Most of this area is in the Indus basin. There is a shortage of water in the country due to changes in the ecological system. The surface-water flow during winter months are at only 18 per cent of the annual flow and because of this, sugarcane cultivation in Pakistan is largely confined to periods when there is high rainfall/river flows.
The irony is that the availability of water from reservoirs during cultivation is generally low that is mainly dependent on surface-water flows, which are the lowest during this period. This has led to the exploitation of subsurface irrigation water to meet shortages, especially in Punjab and Sindh.
Pakistan exploits about 48MAF of subsurface water aquifer. This is a huge cost in terms of investments in energy which is not compensated properly through output returns. This makes sugar cultivation a fragile and marginalized farming practice.
Theoretically, the crop requires to be watered 15 to 20 times, but in actual practice, the situation is different. Sugarcane requires 25/30 irrigation waters in a season. It requires at least one hour of watering over six acres of land after every 15 days. The crop needs irrigation throughout the year thrice a month and in summer (May to August), watering is required after every 10 to 15 days. During a field survey, farmers reported that a major water source is tube well. Currently, the groundwater level is at about 100 to 150ft, but that is not fit for agriculture and so farmers irrigate their fields with a blend of ground and canal water.
About 25 per cent of crop yield is reduced by the reduction of 16 inches of water. Tube well waters cause soil salinity, making it infertile. It was because of this that sugarcane cultivation during the last decade was a mere two per cent. Moreover, drastic changes have been observed in soil composition, owing to the presence of brackish water. Some of these changes include soil hardness and the presence white ash on its surface. Droughts have played their role in causing salinity, nutrient leaching and water logging, but the quality and quantity of sugarcane depends the amount of urea that is being given to the crop. Since groundwater requires additional doses of fertilizers, hence, the shortage of water adversely affects the environment of Pakistan.
Many farmers cannot install tube wells because of high costs. Not only this, but farmers also do not get water through canals, because officials want bribes for providing water. Farmers are also required to pay abiana (tax) regularly, despite the fact that the government has fixed water charges for landholding. This abiana is between 300-500 rupees per acre. According to our survey, farmers are getting poisonous water, even after installing tube wells.
Without tube wells, sugarcane irrigation is not possible. If a farmer was cultivating 110 acres few years ago, he cannot cultivate even 10 acres now, if he depends upon his share of canal water. Ultimately, farmers will turn towards wheat, because it requires only two or three waters in a season, while irrigating sugarcane throughout the year requires water two to three times a month. It is quite possible that there would be drastic changes in sugarcane cropping pattern areas, due to the water crisis. In fact, within the next couple of years, farmers will prefer to grow other crops instead of sugarcane. Farmers are reported to have shifted from sugarcane to short-term crops like maize or pulses and vegetables. This way, they can grow two crops in a single year, while sugarcane requires extra water and requires a lot of time (18 months) to mature. A few farmers in Sindh and NWFP said they would continue with sugarcane cultivation, even if there is a water crisis because the crop has a fixed price which has developed a sense of security among them.
Demand management through efficiency, productivity and pricing is the only alternative. Water conservation could add about 10-15 per cent to the total supply, by improving the efficiency of current irrigation systems, which is reported to be 40 per cent. It is because of water crisis that farmer preferences may change in the coming years. His social cost will be unbearable, causing unemployment, rural-urban migration and finally, poverty. Even if there is a change in the sugar policies of the world, it will be very difficult for Pakistan to benefit from them. Water conservation can be achieved by way of the alternate skip irrigation technique. In this, water is applied to sugarcane furrows, four feet apart, so that the first irrigation is supplied to odd rows, the second to even rows and again, the third to odd rows, and so on. About 30-40 per cent water and 20 per cent fertilizer may be saved through this practice. One hopes that such practices are implemented, in a bid to train farmers in Better Management Practices.
The writer
|
|
|
|
