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New Delhi, Mar 5: The agriculture activities in Pakistan would be largely affected by melting of the glaciers in Himalayas, former agriculture minister of Pakistan Amir Mohammad on Wednesday said.
Out of 19.72 million hectares of cultivable land, more than 12 million hectares are irrigated through canal system. The Indus and its tributaries, which are considered as the lifeline of Pakistan's agriculture, feeds most of the canal system in the country.
Rest of the cultivable land is irrigated through tube wells (2.9 million hectares) and other sources (0.3 million hectares). "Melting of glaciers have already started affecting the water flow into Indus river system. If we do not adopt prudent water conservation methods, it will seriously affect the agricultural yields," Amir Mohammad told FE. He said any change in water availability in the Indus River would have an impact of more than 60% of the Pakistan's 150 million people, who depended on agriculture for their sustenance. Despite wide coverage of irrigation facilities, average per hectare yield is around 2.3 tonne. "With sound water management technique and technological support, the yield could be increased to more than 6 tonne per acre," he said.
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