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Jamote pledges all help for research in salinity, waterlogging problems

ISLAMABAD: The Government would provide all the necessary support to the scientists to take their research findings to the farming communities in all the provinces especially where salinity and waterlogging problems are severe in order to overcome food shortage in the country.

This was stated by Federal Minister Food, Agriculture and livestock Dr Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote on the occasion of international seminar on "Prospects for saline agriculture" here on Monday.

President, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar inaugurated the seminar.

"Pakistan's agriculture is presently facing problems of food shortages especially in wheat and edible oils. The country is importing food items worth two billion US dollars per annum which include wheat, edible oil, tea, dry milk, betel leaves, betel nuts, etc. The productivity of all the major crops is low compared to many developing countries in the world," he observed.

He maintained that the low agricultural productivity in the country is mainly due to the shortage of canal water supplies and poor quality of groundwater.

"The inefficient irrigation system had caused waterlogging and salinity in around 35 percent area of the Indus Basin. The use of marginal to brackish quality groundwater further aggravated the problem of salinity due to secondary salinisation and sodification," he added.

The minister said in areas where soils and groundwater are either saline or sodic and canal water is not available, the traditional farming is not possible.

"Thus these areas are suitable for some alternative approaches, where salt-affected lands can be utilised for economic production of salt-tolerant crops, fuel wood, forages, grasses etc.

The minister called for developing strategies for production practices and resource management in order to make this alternate approach as economically and ecologically viable.

Lauding the role of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council the minister said it was the pioneering agency in initiating the Saline Agriculture research in the country in collaboration with Universities, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Provincial Agricultural Research Institutions and other partners.

"The major limitation for the large-scale transfer of saline agriculture technology to the farming community is the lack of appropriate institutional mechanisms within the set-up of the provincial framework. Once the right institutional set-up is available the technology transfer process will take place as per requirement of the country," he added.

He said, it is the right time to initiate development project in line with the concept of the Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARPs), where an area approach was used to combat waterlogging and salinity.

"This area approach on the basis of canal commands would help to combat waterlogging and salinity on sustainable basis. The integration of crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry would make this approach not only economically viable but also ecologically sustainable" Dr Jamote added.

"The integration of aquaculture with crop and livestock would certainly add to control waterlogging, whereas integration of forests and forage with crops and livestock would help to control soil salinisation. The integration of land use system would also help to take care the issues of land degradation," he added. However, he said in this integration process the sustainability will come from the integration of water harvesting from rainfall and runoff resources.

"The water harvested from rainfall and runoff resources would provide source of freshwater for critical interventions like raising of nursery and maintaining the soil salt-balance due to the continued use of brackish groundwater," Dr Jamote said. APP