Better Management Practices (BMPs) for ‘Water Thirsty Crops’: ensuring sustainable sources of freshwater to support the livelihoods of poor communities in Pakistan
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. It also contributes substantially to Pakistan’s exports. Not only that 44.8% of country’s work force is employed in agriculture but 65.9% of the country’s population living in rural areas is linked with agriculture for their livelihood. Nearly Cotton is the most important cash crop contributing 1.9% to the GDP. Approximately 30 - 40% of cotton is used for domestic consumption and the remaining exported as raw cotton, yarn and garments. Sugarcane also plays a significant role in the country’s economy, accounting for 0.7% to the GDP.
WWF - Pakistan (WWF - P) has, therefore, initiated the Project “Better Management Practices (BMPs) for Water Thirsty Crops”to ensure sustainable sources of freshwater to support the livelihoods of poor communities in Pakistan.This Project will create a mechanism for increasing water availability and reducing pollution by decreasing the amount of water and pesticides used in sugarcane and cotton production. This will be achieved by developing and implementing appropriate ‘on farm’ BMPs in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur; working closely with research centres, target farmers and extension services. The project will work at the local and provincial level in the Faisalabad and Bahawalpur districts of Punjab as well as at the national and international level and will work extensively with new and existing contacts.
WWF - Pakistan will work closely with various stakeholders and local NGOs for the implementation of activities in Pakistan and will subcontract specific expertise from technical consultancies as needed. WWF - Pakistan will be responsible for the project operation. The WWF UK Global Policy unit together with the WWF – Int (GFP) will provide policy support and business engagement guidance to WWF - P throughout the course of the project, as well as mobilizing access to international information and expertise required for implementing the activities.
Achievements FY08:
Over the last three years, the project activities has established encouraging impacts in terms of less use of inputs and more benefits in term of better cost-benefit ratios. Now, more and more farmers are contacting WWF – P to show their willingness to apply BMPs on their land. Moreover, the project has also received encouraging support from Agriculture Research and Extension Departments, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Lahore Compost and local sugar mill for BMP implementation. Some of the key achievements are: more
Funded by the European Commission
This website has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of WWF – Pakistan and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.