The Punjab government has advised farmers to upgrade their water systems with the help of a World Bank-financed initiative to irrigate their crop fields effectively at lower costs. The upgrading is provided over a five-year period at a heavily subsidised cost under the Rs 68.672 billion Punjab Resilient and Inclusive Agriculture Transformation (PRIAT) project.

According to information available on the World Bank website, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved $200 million in financing to support Pakistan in transforming the agricultural sector by adopting climate-smart technologies to improve water use efficiency, build resilience to extreme weather events, and increase the incomes of small farmers.

The five-year (2022-27) project, according to an agriculture spokesman, will improve water courses, rebuild older water courses that have reached the end of their useful lives, install contemporary drip/sprinkler systems in rain-fed areas with solar systems to power them, and build ponds for water storage.

However, he noted that different schemes will have varied cost-sharing formulas, with a significant amount of costs, such as 70 - 80 percent, to be paid by the government and the remaining by the farmers. The spokesperson did not specifically state how much subsidy would be granted.

According to the spokesman, another large-scale national project for improving waterways is now in its second phase. When both of these major projects are finished, Pakistan's agriculture will be revitalised in both the irrigated and, most importantly, the rain-fed arid agriculture areas, increasing both national agriculture production and small farmers' financial standing.

Farmers are urged to stop by the offices of the assistant and deputy directors of water management for the years 2022–2023. They may also go to the website http//ofwm.agripunjab.gov.pk to learn more and take advantage of the service being provided by the ground-breaking project.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk