The participants of the seminar on ‘Irrigation Reforms: Issues and Options’ have emphasized the need of managing the world’s largest irrigation system network of Pakistan through modern method of irrigation management with farmers’ participation to make it sustainable, transparent and cost effective.
The day-long seminar was organised by Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jamshoro on Thursday evening which was presided over by the Vice Chancellor Dr Abdul Qadir Mughal and addressed among others by Dr Fateh Muhammad Mari, Zahid Bhurgari, Major (r) Umer Farooq, Dr Bakhshal Lashari, Nazeer Essani and Dr Muhammad Saffar Mirjat.
The speakers also underlined the need of strengthening and expansion of the irrigation system in Sindh so that it could meet the requirements of food security, employement and economic growth.
In his remarks, Dr AQ Mughal said water is crucial which is used by every living being on earth and resulting in the conflicting demands of water across regions and farmers as well as across irrigation, households and industrial sectors. “There is the need that we must use water prudently so that we meet the requirements of growing population”, he said and that university’s scientists and researchers should work on water productivity, revise the crop water requirements, develop draught resistance varieties and strengthen their linkage with actual field in order to conduct problem oriented research.
He said we need to continuously revise the curriculum to produce better graduates to serve the community.
Dr Yelli Dedja from Food Agriculture Organization shared success of irrigation reforms from various countries of the world including Vietnam, Laos, India, Romania, Albania, Australia, USA and France.