Pakistan: Agri sector faces acute shortage of water

ISLAMABAD: Rising petroleum prices would affect the agriculture sector of the country as farmers are dependent on fuel to operate their tube-wells for getting water, which is the basic need for irrigation and growth of crops.

“Due to inadequate canal system, the farmers are dependent on electric and diesel run tube-wells for irrigation but price escalation of oil would have negative impact on their production”, Kisan Bachao Tehreek Secretary General Ahmed Noor advocate said.


He was of the view that POL price hike and loadshedding would also affect the crops of rice, one of the major crops of the country.

He said abundant water is a pre-requisite for sowing and growth of rice crop, but growers are finding it hard to properly irrigate their paddies through tube-well, due to rising prices and shortage of diesel and continued loadshedding.

He claimed that millions of acres of agriculture land are turning barren due to water shortage.