National Idea Bank

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Problem Statement

Pakistan is at risk of running dry by 2025 since the water shortfall is expected to increase by 31%. Around 95% of Pakistan’s water is used in agriculture where conventional and outmoded agriculture practices disregard water conservation and its efficient use. Around 60% of water is lost during conveyance and application in the field due to outdated cultivation practices flooding the fields. Loss of water ultimately results in low crop yield.
Although agriculture is the largest sector of Pakistan’s economy, around 42.3% of its population is dependent on this sector. It also contributes to 19.3% of the GDP and it is a big source of foreign exchange earnings as well. Despite all these facts, productivity in the agriculture department is declining and affecting economic growth and generating food security concerns as well.
Pakistan’s agriculture can be characterized by small-scale farms having inefficient use of inputs and low productivity. We have been facing some other serious problems in the agriculture sector such as water scarcity, hike in input prices, the low acceptance level of our products internationally, and power shortage. Our farming community is being negatively affected by major factors like poor agricultural policies of the government, lack of consultancy, unavailability of quality inputs, and out-of-schedule irrigation patterns.