KP to launch programme to improve water use efficiency

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will launch a programme to improve water use efficiency aimed at paving the path of agricultural self-sufficiency of the province.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting here on Friday on better management, conservation and efficient use of water resources in the province. Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur chaired the meeting, said a handout.

Minister for Agriculture Muhammad Sajjad, Secretary Irrigation Muhammad Tahir Orakzai, officials from Agriculture and Public Health Engineering and International Water Management Institute attended the meeting.

The UK government-funded Water Resource Accountability Programme (WRAP) will be launched in KP.It is aimed at providing technical assistance to the provincial government in managing, preserving and utilizing the available water resources more efficiently and judiciously.

Under the programme, International Water Management Institute will extend technical assistance to the provincial government in six different interventions including; Water Accounting and Productivity Assessment Tools, Early Drought Warning System, Water Resource Management Information System, Irrigation Demand Management, Water Allocation System and Capacity Building and Analytical Support.Initially, this programme would be launched as a pilot project in two districts — Charsadda and Mansehra — and later, would be replicated in the other districts across the province.

The chief minister said the water conservation and its judicious use was the need of the hour, as it had become more relevant in line with the climate change impacts. He said that the provincial government would welcome the technical support of the International Water Management Institute in this regard.