Open AccessAn Assessment of Warabandi (Irrigation Rotation) in Pakistan: A Preliminary Analysis
Author(s) -
Sarfraz Khan Qureshi,
Zakir Hussain,
. Zeb-Un-Nisa
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v33i4iipp.845-855
Subject(s) - indus , irrigation , agriculture , tributary , environmental science , water resource management , farm water , population , human settlement , yield (engineering) , water resources , geography , water conservation , agronomy , geology , paleontology , ecology , materials science , cartography , demography , archaeology , structural basin , sociology , metallurgy , biology
A significant feature of Pakistan's agriculture is that it isserved by the Indus irrigation system, which is one of the largestcontiguous irrigation systems in the world. The system comprises of theIndus River and its tributaries, three major storage reservoirs, 19barrages/headworks, 43 canals, and 12 link canals and 43 canals coveringabout 43,000 chaks or village settlements. The total length of the canalsystem is about 40,000 miles with over 80,000 water courses, fieldchannels ' and ditches running for another million miles. About 100--106million acre feet (MAP) of surface irrigation supplies are divertedannually into the canal system. Only 60 percent of this water reachesthe farmgate due mainly to low efficiency in the delivery of water. Thehistorical review of the area, production and yield trends shows thatagricultural production in the past has increased mainly due toexpansion in irrigated acreage while the contribution of changes inyields has been insignificant. In general, agricultural production canbe increased by either expanding the irrigated cropped area or byraising the crop yields. It is highly unlikely that Pakistan will beable to satisfy the food needs of the rapidly increasing populationthrough yield increases alone. This means that there ia a need toincrease the irrigated cropped area through additional water suppliesand by improving the efficiency of water use through using the waterresources in a scientific manner.