WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR BARANI AREAS OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan with a Geographical area of 796,101 square kilometers possesses a large river like Indus, which alongwith its tributaries namely Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Kabul and Sutlej, forms one of the mightiest River System of the world. The River System comprises of 19 large river headworks, 45 independent irrigation Canal Systems measuring 64,000 kilometers, some 1.6 million kilometers of water courses and 94 large dams of height 15 meter and above including 3 super storage reservoirs. Water resources development (Surface & Groundwater Reservoir, Canal Network and Drainage System) plays a vital role in growing economy of the country. Agriculture, being the main source of crop production and necessity for the existence, directly depends upon the availability of appropriate quantity and quality of water in proper time. The fertility of land and production of crops is badly affected due to the unavailability of suitable water in arid area and standing of surplus water in the waterlogged area. Barani agriculture contributes about 10% of the total agricultural production of Pakistan and depends on rainfall for its water. Most of the rainfall occurs during monsoon season from July to September. In the context of crop production, barani lands have often been underestimated. However, bumper crops especially wheat, sorgum and barley have been produced in these areas, which reveal a high potential for crop production. Water is the only limiting factor for agriculture development in these areas. The occurrence of rainfall in the rain-fed areas is erratic and its spatial and temporal variation is high. Due to the uncertainty of rainfall, farmers normally use less input to reduce the risk of loss in the event of drought. Nevertheless, there is high potential for the development and management of water resources and therefore, adopting proper water resource development and management practices could increase crop yield. Paper discusses in detail various water resources development and management technologies at length which are being practiced in Barani (rain-fed, arid /semi-arid) areas of Pakistan.