SUGARCANE is among the most water-intensive crops. Agriculture experts estimate that producing one kilogramme of sugar may consume nearly 1,500 to 2,000 litres of water. In a water-stressed country like Pakistan, such extravagant use of precious water resources is nothing short of alarming. Pakistan’s rivers, reservoirs and underground aquifers are already under severe stress due to climate change, erratic rainfall and poor water management. Yet, sugarcane continues to occupy millions of acres, often in regions unsuitable for such thirsty cultivation.

The tragedy becomes even deeper when one compares the economic returns of sugarcane with alternative crops. Cotton, wheat, rice, pulses and oilseeds are strategically vital for food security, exports and industrial sustainability. Cotton, in particular, has historically been the backbone of Pakistan’s textile industry. However, as sugarcane acreage expanded aggressively over the years, cotton cultiva- tion steadily shrank.

The consequences are now painfully visible. Pakistan, once among the world’s major cotton producers, has increasingly become dependent on imported cotton. This is not merely an agricultural im-balance; it is a strategic economic failure. Valuable foreign exchange is spent on importing bales of raw cotton, while domestic fertile land remains tied up with water-hungry sugarcane.

Equally disturbing is the economics of sugar itself. Despite enormous subsidies, preferential policies, water consumption, soft financing and periodic government interventions, locally produced sugar often remains more expensive than imported sugar. In effect, the nation bears a double burden: first through subsidised pro-duction, and, second, through inflated consumer prices. The ordinary citizen pays more, while national resources continue to drain.

The sugar sector’s political economy has also hugely contributed to this distortion. Successive governments have found them-selves unable or unwilling to rationalise sugarcane cultivation because of the influence wielded by powerful stakeholders and associated business interests.

Consequently, policy decisions that should be guided primarily by national interest and agricultural sustainability often become hostage to short-term political considerations.

Meanwhile, groundwater tables continue to fall. Canal systems remain overstretched. Farmers cultivating less water-intensive crops struggle for support and pricing stability. The country imports edible oil, cotton and even food items that could otherwise be cultivated more efficiently on the same lands that are currently devoted to sugarcane.

Pakistan urgently requires a compre-hensive crop rationalisation policy based on water economics, export potential, food security and environmental sustainability. Water-intensive crops must gradually be shifted towards regions naturally suited for them, while incentives should encourage farmers to return towards cotton, oilseeds, pulses and other strategically essential crops.

Modern irrigation methods, including drip and sprinkler systems, must replace archaic flood irrigation practices that waste colossal volumes of water every year. Above all, agricultural policy must be liberated from vested interests. Unless corrective measures are undertaken with sincerity, future generations may inherit not only a weakened national economy, but also a chronic and irreversible water crisis.

Shahid M. Murtaza
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026