Additional Secretary Agriculture (Planning) Ubaid Ullah has said that latest irrigation system can help the growers to timely provide water and fertilizer to its crop according to the need while in conventional method it is not possible. This is why the provincial government is working to attract growers towards adoption of drip irrigation system so as to ensure food security while mitigating the challenges posed by the issues like climate change and water scarcity.

He was speaking to a delegation of the World Bank while briefing them about progress on Punjab Irrigated-Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (PIPIP) being run with the cooperation of the World Bank. The Bank's team consists of agriculture, economic, rural and social experts. The team was briefed on all aspects of the project.

Director General Agriculture (Irrigation) Malik Muhammad Akram was also present on this occasion. The team also visited different cities including Chakwal, Toba Tek Singh and Bhakkar to review the projects being run under this project in these areas.

World Bank team said that drip irrigation is the future of Pakistan's agriculture. The team said that rapidly increasing population and shortage of water can become a serious threat to Pakistan in future. To meet these challenges, the team said Pakistan would need to take maximum per acre yield by using minimum water.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019