Your search found 4 records
1 Arshad, M.; Ahmad, R. N.; Hanjra, M. A. 2012. Modeling crop water requirement in the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan for enhancing food security. In Gorawala, P.; Mandhatri, S. (Eds.). Agricultural Research Updates. Vol.4. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers. pp.181-194.
Water resources ; Land resources ; Crops ; Cropping systems ; Water requirements ; Water scarcity ; River Basins ; Developing countries ; Food security ; Irrigation water ; Irrigation systems ; Models ; Climatic data / Pakistan / Upper Indus Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046054)
(0.33 MB)
Agricultural irrigation in the developing countries utilizes a huge quantity of diverted water. The scarcity of water is negatively linked to food security. Irrigation has been vital to food security and sustainable livelihoods, especially in the developing countries. The plains of Indus Basin of Pakistan are well suited for agriculture and can be productive at the level of potential yields. For the purpose of meeting food requirements of increasing population, the quantification of crop water requirement is essential for ensuring efficient use of available water. The estimation of crop water requirement is also important for setting benchmarks in designing irrigation scheduling and acreage decisions. To estimate the irrigation water requirements in the upper Indus Basin, the agriculture zones of Punjab including rice-wheat, mixed crop and cotton-wheat zone were selected. To calculate the crop water requirements, CROPWAT model was used employing local climatic data of the respective zones. In the rice-wheat zone, wheat, being a major crop of winter (Rabi) season, demands highest amount of water during the month of March followed by April and February. During summer (Kharif) season, sugarcane and rice are the major crops of the area. The both being high delta crops require more water than the Rabi crops. The major crops of the mixed crop zone are wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane. The results indicate that the highest crop water requirement for Rabi season is in the month of April while the same is highest in July for the Kharif season. For the cotton-wheat zone, the major crops are wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane. Cotton being the main crop of the zone requires a major share of water followed by wheat, rice and sugarcane. The result show that highest crop water requirement of the area during winter is again in April while July is the month of highest crop water requirement during summer season. In general, the crop water requirements have a spike during the summer season irrespective of the cropping zone. This puts huge pressure on the irrigation system due to higher water scarcity during the summer season. We conclude that crop water requirement mainly depend on the type of crops and cropped area under each crop. This implies that, changing the crop-mix and switching to low water requiring and drought resistance crop varieties can reduce crop water requirements and optimize food production through more efficient allocation and use of available water resources and thus make a sterling contribution towards achieving food security in Pakistan.
2 Ahmad, R. N.; Arshad, M.; Hanjra, M. A. 2013. Water conservation interventions in Pakistan agriculture for achieving food security: synthesis and new evidence. In Ali, H. (Ed.). Irrigation management, technologies and environmental impact. New York, NY, USA:Nova Science Publishers. pp.129-157.
Water management ; Water conservation ; Water saving ; Technology ; Water productivity ; Watercourses ; Water shortage ; Agricultural production ; Food security ; Irrigation water ; Irrigated sites ; Irrigation systems ; Surface irrigation ; Furrow irrigation ; Drip irrigation ; Land leveling ; Tillage ; Farming systems ; Cropping patterns ; Intercropping ; Policy / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046057)
(0.37 MB)
Conserving water, preserving land can make a sterling contribution towards achieving food security in Pakistan. Water competition among agriculture and other sectors is intensifying the need to conserve irrigation water through productivity enhancing interventions for boosting food production and supporting rural livelihoods. Water conservation interventions are everywhere, yet social and economic incentives are lacking for their adoption and up scaling for revitalizing irrigation, and to support socioeconomic transformation and uplift the standard of living across South Asian countries – where bulk of the world’s irrigation is concentrated and holds huge importance for food security and peace in the region. There is also a need to understand the impacts of these interventions and economic incentives in terms of enhancement in productivity, crop output, input use, economic returns, gender empowerment and social equity effects for various crop-mix, farm-size and social classes which condition and mediate the technology adoption decisions. Such comprehensive analysis of water conservation investments is yet to be done. This chapter presents a synthesis of water conservation interventions with emphasis on the Indus Basin where bulk of Pakistan agriculture is concentrated. The interventions include: watercourse improvement program; laser land leveling; bed and furrow irrigation/bed planting; raised bed technology; permanent raised beds; reduced or zero tillage; drip/irrigation; and sprinkler system. Synthesis and new evidence is drawn from a number of resource conservation projects and interventions implemented at farmer fields in a number of settings across the Basin. Data shows that these interventions conserve water and other inputs, boost crop yield and output, and improve food security and livelihoods of the farmers. In particular, new evidence shows that bed furrow planting system improves crop yield for wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton and offers practical opportunities for producing “more crop per drop” and contributing towards achieving food security in Pakistan.
3 Saeed, U.; Arshad, M.; Hayat, S.; Morelli, T. L.; Nawaz, M. A. 2022. Analysis of provisioning ecosystem services and perceptions of climate change for indigenous communities in the western Himalayan Gurez Valley, Pakistan. Ecosystem Services, 56:101453. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101453]
Ecosystem services ; Climate change ; Indigenous peoples ; Communities ; Valleys ; Economic value ; Crops ; Livestock ; Biodiversity ; Landscape ; Policies ; Households / Pakistan / Western Himalayan Gurez Valley
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051285)
(1.50 MB)
Climate change is a significant threat to people living in mountainous regions. It is essential to understand how montane communities currently depend especially on the provisioning ecosystem services (ES) and the ways in which climate change will impact these services, so that people can develop relevant adaptation strategies. The ES in the Gurez Valley, in the Western Himalayas of Pakistan, provide a unique opportunity to explore these questions. This understudied area is increasingly exposed not only to climate change but also to the overexploitation of resources. Hence, this study aimed to (a) identify and value provisioning ES in the region; (b) delineate indigenous communities’ reliance on ES based on valuation; and (c) measure the perceptions of indigenous communities of the impact of climate change on the ES in Gurez Valley. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to classify the provisioning ES by using the ‘Common International Classification on Ecosystem Services’ (CICES) table and applying the ‘Total Economic Valuation (TEV)’ Framework. Results indicate that the indigenous communities are highly dependent on ES, worth 6730 ± 520 USD/Household (HH)/yr, and perceive climate change as a looming threat to water, crops, and rearing livestock ESS in the Gurez Valley. The total economic value of the provisioning ES is 3.1 times higher than a household’s average income. Medicinal plant collection is a significant source of revenue in the Valley for some households, i.e., worth 766 ± 134.8 USD/HH/yr. The benefits of the sustainable use of ES and of climate change adaptation and mitigation, are culturally, economically, and ecologically substantial for the Western Himalayans.
4 Sattar, J.; Qamar, M. U.; Kisekka, I.; Arshad, M.; Anwar-ul-Haq, M. 2024. Artificial intelligence (AI) inspired an innovative approach for real-time flow measurements – water distributions at outlets, in Punjab province Pakistan. Water Policy, 26(5):558-576. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2024.265]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052872)
https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/26/5/558/1427145/026050558.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052872.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052872.pdf
(0.68 MB) (692 KB)
Accurate water metering is essential for effective water management, especially for measured and equitable distribution of canal flows, most imperative in Pakistan. The inflows distributed through outlets must adhere to pre-designated levels, defined by Punjab Irrigation Department from head to tail. With recent channels lining, the outlets sanctioned flow are found changed requiring adjustments. Furthermore, there is lack of reliable mechanisms for continuous flow regulations, resulting in unmanaged distributions. The focus of the reported work was on precise and real-time discharge monitoring at outlets using a newly developed device utilizing Artificial Intelligence. During validation training, strong agreement was observed, and all evaluation parameters supported the device accuracy for measurements. In detailed studies of canal operations, the sanctioned discharges of individual outlets along selected distributaries were found significantly inequitable. Out of 162 outlets, 42 were suspended for being unmanaged, with tail users receiving = 50% of their fair intakes. Additionally, there were instances of massive irrational supplies exceeding 200% of allocated discharges. The developed device has potential to accurately measure real-time discharges for managed distributions. Conclusively, the challenging task of fair and equity-based discharge allocations, in conjunction with Warabandi system, necessitates the reevaluation of the allocated flow quantity at each outlet.
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