September 10, 2018 (MLN): Punjab Agriculture Minister, Malik Nouman Ahmad Langrial stated that the agriculture department is encouraging drip irrigation under the on-going Punjab Irrigated-Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project.
Laying emphasis on the fact that water saving is a need of the hour, he added that in the future, wars will be fought over water. He further revealed that under a project worth Rs 67 billion, the department has installed drip and sprinkler irrigation system across the province, via subsidy.
In a statement, he said that Pakistan utilizes 93 percent of its water for agriculture and the remaining 7 percent is used for other purposes.
The Minister said that with this technology, farmers can save up to 60 percent of electricity and diesel costs, augmenting their per acre yield by 100 percent.
Punjab Agriculture Secretary, Wasif Khurshid appreciated the initiative in an earlier statement, saying that given the high efficiency of the system in conserving water, increasing per-acre yield and reducing cost of cultivation, there is a need to create awareness among farmers about drip irrigation system.
