“Rain water was not enough for the traditional ways of cultivation of crop on this land and to earn livelihood for the family. So, I obtained the drip irrigation system from a loan offered by the Thar Rural Development Organisation, and this has brought a lot of change in my life,” said Mahavji.

While cultivation of crops with this technology, so far, is restricted to few areas In Sindh, the growers speak high of its efficacy in terms of water conservation, per acre yield and cut in cultivation costs.

Officials in the Sindh agriculture department say that the government has taken steps to introduce drip and sprinkle irrigation in many areas, mostly in the water-stressed areas of the province.

In April, 2007, the provincial agriculture department launched a Rs208 million scheme to promote drip irrigation. At a demonstration field of drip irrigation in Kety Khero, Naushehro Feroze district, provincial agriculture secretary, Mahkumuddin Qadri, announced that sprinkler and drip irrigation equipment would be provided to growers with 80 per cent subsidy.

According to the secretary, the sprinkle/drip irrigation helps save substantial quantity of water, saves cost of electricity and diesel up to 60 per cent and augments per acre yield by 100 per cent.

“The growers were reluctant to shift to drip irrigation because of its exorbitant cost which they could not afford. At that time, for one acre the installation cost was above Rs70,000 excluding cost of maintenance and repair,” said Abdul Majeed Nizamani, president Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB).

In 2007, the federal government announced to launch a separate Rs12,000 million mega sprinkle and drip irrigation project, with nearly Rs3,500 million earmarked for Sindh. But, nothing was later heard about it.

Recognising the importance of drip/sprinkle systems particularly in the desert and rain-fed areas, President Asif Ali Zardari advised the Sindh government on August 15 to promote this technology on a fast tract basis.

He asked the relevant departments to undertake feasibility for introducing drip irrigation in the province's five districts Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah), Sukkur, Shikarpur and Khairpur, an official in the provincial agriculture department said.

The feasibility studies are being carried out by the provincial agriculture and irrigation departments and the system will be installed mainly to bring new land under cultivation.

Water experts say that a large quantity of irrigation water could be conserved if this system is installed and used efficiently. By conserving sufficient quantity of irrigation water through this technology, new areas can be brought under cultivation such as Kachho in southern district of Dadu and Tharparkar district, remarked Dr Sono Khangarani, a drip irrigation and water resource development expert.

He says the system helps deliver water directly to the root zone of plants through pipe network with capillaries along the pipeline at regular intervals for dissemination of water and nutrients to the plant root zone.

“Apart from it, drip irrigation helps move salts away from the root zone and carries fertiliser directly to the plant root zone with precise amounts and timing of the fertiliser application. This means less concentration of salt around the roots of a plant and efficient application of fertiliser,” he explained.

SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani believes that the government should plan awareness among growers about drip irrigation to boost farm production.