The agreement between the experts and provincial agricultural officials on factors responsible for low yield of wheat tells that there is need of not only devising a better water management system but the construction of new dams is also inevitable to avoid low harvests in the years to come. The future picture is sombre as Pakistan is among those 36 countries that are the most water-stressed countries. A recent study that Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has conducted warns the officials to take the needed action otherwise the country will run out of the water by 2025.
Poor water management, weak water infrastructure and poor implementation of projects along with climatic changes are the main hurdles to secure more and more water to satisfy country’s agricultural needs. While the natural process is not in anyone’s control, however, constructing water reservoirs and devising a better water management plan is for sure in state’s power.
The need is to give full attention to the issue of water shortage that the country is suffering from. Not only construction of new dams is required, which will resolve the crisis in the long run, but short-term plans are also of equal importance to avoid the negative impacts of water scarcity on different sectors. Innovative technologies such as direct seeding drip irrigation, micro irrigation, low-energy precision application sprinklers, recycling and treatment of wastewater can solve the problem of water scarcity in the agriculture sector.
Furthermore, it is the lack of more dams that Pakistan suffers losses of 14 billion in the form of water losses. According to experts, Pakistan wastes 35 million acre-feet water each year, as there is no mechanism to store this water. Until and unless provincial disputes are not resolved over large dams, the government needs to start building small dams. Local community-based small dams provide a simple, cheaper, reliable and manageable solution to water storage issues.