ISLAMABAD: The country’s top business community has once again demanded the government to adopt serious strategy for building water reservoirs to meet the production of agriculture at par.
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Regional Standing Committee Chairman Ahmad Jawad, while talking to newsmen, said the mismanagement of water will have its biggest impact on Pakistan s agricultural sector.
According to the World Bank 43 percent of Pakistan’s employment is in the agricultural sector. This prosperous industry relies on the single largest contiguous irrigation system in the world.
“While this is an impressive feat Pakistan also fosters one of the lowest crop yields per unit of water in the world,” he said. “This is alarming because Pakistan uses a whooping 97 percent of its water resources on its agriculture industry.”
Jawad said the looming threat of water scarcity is an issue that is rarely talked about and it constitutes one of the biggest challenges.
With a projected population of 263 million in the year 2050 (United Nations 2012) Pakistan needs to put serious thought into how it will provide adequate water for agriculture industry and human consumption in the face of rapidly dwindling reserves.
FPCCI Standing Committee Chairman also mentioned that Pakistan s water issues are multi dimensional. He said there is no single all encompassing problem but instead multiple inter related problems and Pakistan needs to completely rethink its entire approach to its water resources.
