ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Australia and Pakistan will collaborate in the field of agricultural research. In this connection, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has been signed for cooperation in the field of wheat-maize production system adopting raised bed technology.

According to a statement issued here on Saturday, the Parc chairman, Dr Badaruddin Soomro, and ACIAR representatives, Dr Tony Fischer, signed the agreement.

Under the MoU, initially, experimental trials will be started in NWFP through collaborative project to be operated by the Centre of Excellence (CE), the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) of the National Agricultural Research Centre (Narc), Islamabad and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization of Australia.

It is to be noted that in Pakistan more than 6.8 million hectares are waterlogged and saline lands. The cheapest solution to cure these lands is the Permanent Raised Bed technology that has already been tested in Australia successfully and is being transferred to Pakistan, which would help reclaim and improve the socio-economic condition of the people of Pakistan where problem of water-logging and salinity exists.

Dr Soomro, during signing the MoU, said wherever the farmers had utilized the modern agricultural techniques the quality and quantity of production had invariably gone up tremendously. He said research was going on after the appearance of water logging and salinity in the country.

He said in spite of lot of efforts made by the experts for reclamation of soils, the problems of water-logging and salinity has not yet been tackled effectively. Dr Soomro said that Parc played the pioneering role in strengthening research on saline agriculture in the country. He said Parc and PCIAR's collaborative efforts would help increase economic returns to the farmers by improving the productivity of existing salt-affected lands.

The eminent scientist of the Narc, Dr Zahid Hussain, who heads the WRRI, said the country had different climatic soil conditions in general but these conditions were quite compatible to Australian conditions. "Therefore, I am sure that success of the technology is quite possible."

He said in Western Australia, farmers were getting yield increases between 30 to 50% on waterlogged soils under crop such as cereal and canola as compared to conventional plantation. "In Multan, farmers are using raised bed technology for the last 20 years." He added that by adopting this technology farmers in Multan had increased water use efficiency in 200 acres to almost 100 per cent and yield increase up to 50 per cent.

"Therefore, I believe that permanent raised bed technology would give good impact to enable the farmers of the country to get production out of the lands which are not productive since for the last about 20 years," he added. He said by using this technology unproductive lands could be made productive, which would not only help to alleviate poverty but also help to improve the economy of the country. Dr Zahid said soil condition in root zone was the primary concern to improve productivity. "f we can improve soil infiltration and water use efficiency I think we can reap the benefit of the technology to full extent on broadly speaking for salinity and water-logging control."

Dr Tony Fisher said in Australia the problems of salinity and water use efficiency were emerging in the irrigated lands. He further said this technology was basically started in rain-fed areas, where there are excessive winter rains, which creates high water tables effecting the main export earning crops like wheat, canola, chickpea etc.

In Pakistan, this technology will improve water use efficiency resulting in water table control and less wastage of good quality water to the aquifer. So the more areas can be irrigated with the similar water input, he added.