Stating that water is a vital necessity of life does not do big enough words to describe its importance in agriculture, and when the core of a country’s economic strength, like Pakistan, depends on farming, then it becomes inevitable to have an effective irrigation system in place. This post will look at the irrigation system of Pakistan, how it functions, the challenges facing it, and the best types of irrigation systems today. We will also examine the role of a pump of water in increasing the productivity of farming activities and thus farming as a whole.
Why Irrigation Matters in Pakistan
Being an agricultural country, most of the products, such as wheat, rice, cotton, and sugarcane, are greatly affected by water availability in Pakistan. Due to low rainfall and water scarcity in most areas, a good irrigation system is not only useful but also vital.
Irrigation in the country is perhaps one of the largest in the world in the sense of the fact that it covers over 18,000,000 hectares of the country’s land. It assists millions of farming communities and plays a great role in providing food to a huge population.
Main Sources of Irrigation Water
The irrigation water resources in Pakistan can be categorized into two major sources of water supply.
- Water source—mainly from the Indus River and its water flowing into it from different tributary sources.
- In areas where canal water does not reach, groundwater is extracted through a water pump.
This is so because the population is growing and the demand for food also increases; hence, the farmers use both sources for proper and adequate timeliness of irrigation.
Components of Pakistan’s Irrigation Network
The irrigation system of Pakistan is a network comprising officers and staff. They are responsible for laying out the scheme and managing the various sections of the system, heading the departments, and ensuring that it is maintained properly.
- Dams and reservoirs (such as Tarbela and Mangla)
- Canals (main, branch, distributary)
- Watercourses
- Field channels
Everything contributes to moving water from the rivers to the fields. There are more than 60,000 km of canals in the country—that’s longer than all the country roads in some countries!
Challenges in the Irrigation Sector
Although this irrigation network is large, it is far from perfect. These are a few of the main challenges:
- Most of the water is lost through OLD and BROKEN canals.
- Fresh water is wasted through flood irrigation, a method that states such as Saudi Arabia still use despite the scarcity of water in their territory.
- A certain level of salinity and waterlogging in some areas.
- An attempt to extract the depleting groundwater deeper at a higher cost to fetch it with a simple pump of water.
These problems contribute to reduced yield of crops, an increase in water bills, and damage to long-term soils and the water table.
Best Irrigation Systems Used Today
Slowly, modern and more efficient systems are being embraced to ameliorate these challenges. Below are the most effective irrigation systems that are in force or proposed in Pakistan:
1. Drip Irrigation
It is a good water-saving irrigation system. It drips the water drop by drop right to the roots of the plants. It does not waste water and will work nicely in a water-scarce area.
2. Sprinkler Irrigation
In this system, water is sprinkled over crops in a similar way to rain. It is good for irregular land and can be relocated conveniently. Although it is more expensive in the beginning, it conserves a lot of water in the long run.
3. Laser Land Leveling
This doesn’t take water but will make it flow uniformly across the field. A perfectly leveled field leads to the wastage of less water, and crops grow better.
Role of Water Pumps in Irrigation
It is a machine that is used in drawing water or transferring water from one location to another. In many regions where canal water is scarce or inconsistent, these pumps are a source of hope for the farmers.
- There is a variety of pumps for water used in Pakistan, and these are:
- It is worth explaining that various water-lifting technologies can be differentiated according to the type of force that moves the fluid, whether it is through positive displacement or centripetal force, or centrifugal pumps for lifting surface water.
- Dip tube well pumps for going into the subterranean water. Sources of water available on the Earth
- Off-grid farming using solar water pumps
Due to high costs of electricity and power rationing, some farmers are starting to adopt solar-powered pumps in the rural areas.
Conclusion
Pakistan has a fairly developed irrigation system that plays an important role in food security and the overall economy of the state. However, it needs urgent improvements. Using the best irrigation systems and an effective tool such as it, farmers will be able to have better yields and save water, therefore cutting down costs.
If properly utilized, an irrigation system means a source of water supply for human consumption and turning Pakistan into an agricultural producing country of the region.
