‘Mechanized irrigation corporate farming to help propel agri output’
By Tariq Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD—Mechanized irrigation system and corporate farming would help propel agricultural productivity besides realizing the long-term ambitious goals of achieving food self sufficiency in this sector.
Agriculture sector-mainstay of the economy has been accorded top priority in the major policy initiatives taken by the government, said sources at the Agriculture Ministry. The Federal government under the patronage of the President has already provided Rs 120 billion to all provinces with the help of World Bank for lining of canals and water courses and using concrete parabolic to save valuable water from seepage, added the sources.
In line with the policy carved out for the agri-sector, the Sindhn government has awarded a project to Dewan Group for providing state of the art mechanized irrigation system for water conservation and productivity enhancement. An accord is expected to be inked shortly between the Sindh government and Dewan Group.
The project has been awarded after open biding in which 15 companies participated.Dewan Group is pioneer in bringing and setting up various modernized industrial projects in the country the largest polyester project Dewan Sulman Fiber. Mechanized irrigation technologies application will greatly help and lead the country on the path of achieving food self sufficiency, observed the sources.
With the application of mechanized irrigation systems and the development of corporate farming projects, Pakistan will not only achieve self reliance but will also reposition itself to export food to Middle East and South East Asian Countries. The Dewan Group also participated in a mega event sponsored by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) for introducing high efficiency irrigation systems for water conservation and productivity enhancement this year. It is worth mentioning, the government has allocated over Rs 18 billion under subsidiary programme for five years to facilitate farmers adopting latest irrigation systems and techniques.
They informed Pakistan has the world’s largest canal irrigation network which irrigate about 36 million acres land to produce all major and minor crops including wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, maize and pulses to meet domestic consumption as well as to export. There are about 1,700,00 water courses with a total length of about 1.6 million kilo meters which distribute water with 44 canal system spread over 56073 kilometers, they added.