ISLAMABAD: For Sindh Irrigated Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP), the World Bank has made approval of $187 million to support efficient management of scarce water resources and to augment adaptation under different climate change scenarios.
The credit financed from the International Development Association (IDA), it grant and low-interest arm, will be on standard IDA terms, with a maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of 5 years.
An estimated 40 to 50 per cent of the water that is delivered through community watercourse networks is lost. The main causes of these losses are seepage, spillage, and side leakage from the watercourse banks.
The project will help improve irrigation water management at tertiary and field levels in Sindh. In spite of extensive irrigation infrastructure, widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and availability of hybrid seeds in the market, agriculture productivity is low in Pakistan and especially in Sindh.
Rachid Benmessaoud, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, said, “Flood irrigation is commonly adopted by most farmers in Pakistan; and a significant amount (20 to 25 per cent) of irrigation water is lost during its field application. The project will help farmers in making every drop of water count toward improved yield.”
