‘Australian programme to boost agriculture, water management’

ISLAMABAD: Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Margaret Adamson and Federal Minister for Defence Production and Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain on Tuesday launched the Australian government’s $15 million Water Programme in Pakistan.

The programme aims at continuing longstanding bilateral collaboration on building capacity to improve water management and boost agricultural productivity in Pakistan. Adamson said that Australia has been supporting agricultural research in Pakistan since the 1980s.

“Our continued support through Australian expertise will help Pakistan build an innovation-based agriculture sector through targeted public investment, not only to boost agriculture profitability, but most importantly to ensure food security, she added.

Australia has more than 1,000 companies, which can provide advice and technologies in this critical sector. The Australian government’s Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is working with the federal and provincial agriculture and livestock departments, Pakistan Council for Water Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the university research institutions to address technical, social, economic and policy constraints, hindering growth in the agriculture sector, she said.

The water programme would also encourage advocacy by the Pakistan government, technical experts and civil society to advocate for effective water resource management and support the government's efforts towards the development of the National Water Commission and National Water Policy.

Cooperation in water management is a significant and increasing dimension of bilateral relationship, Adamson said. The water programme provides further opportunities to facilitate knowledge exchange between the two countries in this vitally important sector, she added.

The programme includes the Australian government's 12-year Indus Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP), which is mapping the current and future needs of the Indus Basin.

Australian scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) are working with the Pakistan’s Ministry of Water and Power to build the capacity of water managers in efficient water management.

It also includes three farm level projects implemented by Centre for International Agricultural Research to improve groundwater management in agriculture, she added.