THE increasing irrigation water scarcity in Sindh has made its conservation all the more important for agricultural development. Growers need to be encouraged to adopt techniques that would reduce water consumption and improve crop yield per acre.

Sprinkler and drip modes of irrigation are considered high-efficiency water- use systems. But growers’ accessibility to these systems is not easy.

Cost of capital investment and operational expenses are major problems facing the growers. The ratio of growers switching over to modern ways of farming from conventional one has been lacklustre so far in spite of government subsidy.

The farmers also suffer because of official red-tapism and cumbersome procedures. A grower has also to apply for the subsidy to the Director-General Agriculture Engineering office which runs the project, “Water Conservation and Productivity Enhancement through High Efficiency Irrigation System”.

The department has registered six pre-qualified companies. Their officials visit applicants’ agricultural lands and submit assessment report for installation of the equipments after soil test that is followed by a third party evaluation which is done by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (Nespak). Expenses worked out by the department are shared with growers. Not all farmers can afford the cost.

The cost per acre for equipment installation is Rs45,000 out of which Rs9,000 each is to be shared by Sindh government and the grower and the rest Rs27,000 is paid by the federal government.

Practically, the installation of these systems costs between Rs80,000-Rs100,000 per acre and according to experience of landowners like Haji Nadeem Shah from Matiari , it is between Rs110,000 and Rs120,000 per acre. “Another major hurdle is the operational cost for power supply to the system which is seriously affected by load shedding which has become a norm now,” he complains.

Growers agree that drip and sprinkle systems are the best for water conservation. But small growers don’t have easy access to them and the influentials are preferred since the project was initiated in Sindh. “I want to install the one systems in my land. But I am unable to get it. There is only one farm where such a system has been installed in our district,” laments Azizullah Memon in Tando Allahyar.

Secretary Agriculture Agha Jan Akhtar admits that the systems are expensive and that’s why growers are not showing interest in them. Growers want the entire cost of the project to be subsidised but it is not possible because of shortage of funds. Then there is the issue of acceptability by growers, as the agricultural practices are presently labour-intensive, he added.

The sprinkler system can be used for minimum 50 acres which costs Rs100,000 per acre and can irrigate crops to a maximum height of 18 feet. It suits row of crops more than orchards, for spacing between two trees. The system saves manual labour too. Expenditure on drip irrigation increases in row crops as emitters’ number increases to irrigate each plant. But almost each and every plant is directly targeted for required water supply.

Project Director of the system Noshad Jamali disclosed that the government was revising PC-I of the project. In the new PC-I farmer’s share would be reduced to just Rs5,000 and the overall subsidy would increase to Rs60,000.

So far 2,450 acres had been covered with these two high-efficiency systems in Sindh and by 2015, 72,000 acres would be brought under these system of irrigation,” he said.

Growers say they should not be asked to pay Rs9,000 per acre regardless of total investment cost. The systems should be made affordable. Farmers’ training, sales and service of equipment should be easily accessible to growers.

SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani says getting electricity connection should be less cumbersome and made affordable.

SAB general secretary Mehmood Nawaz Shah wants the firms to improve the maintenance work, without which, the sprinkle system does not work. His view is that the project should target 100,000 acres for the installation of the system in a stipulated period.

“Sprinkler system is very efficient as far as horticulture is concerned and payment to companies should be made by growers through cheques and not by officials to ensure transparency. Growers should be asked to pay only Rs9,000 per acre and not beyond that,” he said.

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