Pakistan’s sugar sector has faced intense criticism from various quarters over the past few decades. Among various concerns, the expanding acreage under sugarcane—a highly water-intensive crop—stands out as a critical issue, particularly at a time when the country’s water resources are under severe stress.
As Pakistan’s fifth-largest crop by area, sugarcane is cultivated on roughly 1.22 million hectares. Yet, its water productivity remains considerably lower than that of comparable countries, primarily due to two factors—low crop yields and inefficient irrigation practices.
According to the data for 2024 of the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Statistical Database), Pakistan’s average yield of sugarcane is 70.6 tonnes per hectare, below India’s 79 tonnes and the global average of 72.5 tonnes. Compounding these low yields is widespread reliance on obsolete irrigation methods. Consequently, Pakistan consumes approximately 2,200–2,500 litres of water to produce one kilogram of sugar, compared with around 1,800 litres in India and a global average of 1,780 litres.
Therefore, Pakistan needs a water-efficient and sustainable sugar sector, especially as river flows become increasingly erratic and groundwater aquifers are under mounting pressure. The situation has worsened with the widespread adoption of solar-powered tube wells, which has driven indiscriminate groundwater pumping.
To improve water-use efficiency, one option is to adopt high-efficiency irrigation systems (HEIS), particularly drip irrigation. However, it is unfortunate that less than 1 per cent of Pakistan’s total irrigated area is under HEIS, compared with 38pc in Turkey, 24pc in Iran, and 22.6pc in India.
Recognising this challenge, Punjab’s Agriculture Department, through its On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) wing, initiated a subsurface drip irrigation trial on a four-acre demonstration and research farm in Bahawalpur in 2024. The results were encouraging with yields exceeding 167 tonnes per hectare (1,700 maunds per acre)—around 30pc higher than those from conventionally furrow-irrigated plots on the same farm.
Building on these results, the OFWM partnered with a local sugar mill during the 2025 planting season to launch a pilot initiative under the World Bank-funded Punjab Resilient and Inclusive Agriculture Transformation (PRIAT) project. Subsurface drip irrigation was installed across 17 sites in Bahawalpur district for 44 hectares.
Unlike surface drip irrigation, subsurface drip irrigation involves burying drip lines beneath the ground to deliver water directly to the root zone. This allows farmers to continue routine field operations using conventional tractor-driven implements, without disturbing the irrigation system. The technology is particularly suitable for sugarcane, which has a 12-month growing cycle and can be ratooned for another two to three years. An added advantage is its relatively higher water-use efficiency.
The OFWM provided grants to 17 small farmers under a 75:25 cost-sharing arrangement. A distinctive feature of this model was its partnership with the private sector. To ease farmers’ financial burden and encourage adoption, the collaborating sugar mill offered interest-free loans, repayable over three years.
Muhammad Touqeerul Haq, a farmer from tehsil Yazman, district Bahawalpur, says that groundwater in his village is brackish, leaving farmers entirely dependent on canal water, which is often insufficient to meet their irrigation needs. The OFWM has provided him with a grant to install subsurface drip irrigation on his 5.8-acre sugarcane field. According to him, the system has addressed the water shortage issue on his farm. His crop is performing better this year, and he expects yields to increase by 50pc.
Raja Rub Nawaz, another grant recipient from tehsil Bahawalpur, highlights that subsurface drip irrigation makes fertiliser application easier and more precise.
“It also saves time and labour while reducing the fertiliser wastage commonly associated with traditional furrow irrigation.” He adds that his drip-irrigated sugarcane performs considerably better than the crop in his conventionally irrigated fields, offering a useful basis for comparison.
Waqas Ashraf, deputy director (OFWM) of Bahawalpur district, explains that small farmers tend to resist change and are generally risk-averse because of their limited financial resources. Consequently, they are reluctant to adopt new technologies unless the government provides grants or other financial assistance to help reduce their risks.
He adds that the encouraging results achieved by current grant recipients, particularly the substantial water savings, have generated considerable interest among other sugarcane growers, many of whom are now approaching the OFWM for grants under the next cycle.
Pakistan has very limited fiscal space. Unfortunately, public investment has heavily prioritised road infrastructure at the expense of agriculture and water sectors. With per capita water availability declining, the country is edging closer to a water crisis. It is, therefore, imperative to improve water-use efficiency and conserve water through better irrigation practices, wider adoption of the HEIS, and groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting to arrest the continued depletion of aquifers. Moreover, sugar millers bear a corporate social responsibility to incentivise water-efficient sugarcane farming and to invest in initiatives that help farmers adopt modern irrigation technologies.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 26th, 2026
