Ambiguity in the implementation of ban on cultivation of paddy crop in areas on left bank of Indus River has got growers in lower region of Sindh in a fix. ─ Photo courtesy Ahsan Mahmood/File
HYDERABAD: Ambiguity in the implementation of ban on cultivation of paddy crop in areas on left bank of Indus River has got growers in lower region of Sindh in a fix as the ban, which was always meant only for Sukkur and Guddu barrage’s left bank canals, has been extended to Kotri Barrage this year.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced the ban in March which is enforced every year under the West Pakistan Rice (Restriction on Cultivation) Ordinance, 1959, to stop cultivation of paddy crop in left bank areas of Indus.
Farmers need to opt for latest irrigation technology
Growers body suggests Sindh should install telemetry system on all canals
PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
In order to develop an efficient irrigation system, the government should help farmers in Sindh to opt for latest technology.
“When the environment changes, the first area to get affected is the agriculture sector, which in Pakistan uses 90% of water,” said Aamer Hayat Bhandara, Co-Founder of Agriculture Republic - a small farmer support network for finding innovative policy and practical solutions to national food security and climate change challenges.
Out of that 90% water, 80% was used by five major crops in Pakistan which included wheat, rice, cotton, maize and sugarcane, he said.
As parts of Pakistan ban water-guzzling paddy, one farmer has a solution
Both India and its western neighbour regularly forbid rice cultivation to conserve water and prevent land degradation. Representational image. | Mohsin Raza / Reuters
The season for sowing paddy is about to kick off in Sindh. But the province in southeast Pakistan has banned rice cultivation in 10 districts on the left bank of the Indus river.
This ban is announced every year at the end of April or early May to limit the waterlogging, salinity and drought-like conditions caused by successive rice farming. By some accounts, rice cultivation has been banned in these areas for over 90 years. Similarly, the Indian government bans paddy cultivation in “dark zones” to help water aquifers.