Water storage

According to media reports, investment in water storage and course maintenance is estimated to generate $1 billion from a million acres of agricultural land in Pakistan. This was stated by renowned economists and analysts at a forum where the need to secure supply under the Indus Waters Treaty and from River Kabul was discussed. According to the forum’s findings, reservoirs can currently store only 10 percent of inflows as compared to global average of 40 percent, with the country’s storage capacity standing at 30 days rather than 120 days that are minimally required. In addition, the country’s canal efficiency is just 33 percent as opposed to the global average of 90 percent.

Improved water storage could boost agriculture and preserve the increasingly scarce resources. There is a need for a shift in focus and incentives from surplus wheat and sugar to cotton, fruits and vegetables, and oil-seed cultivation. The country needs to construct more dams to increase its water storage capacity and boost agricultural production. This will reduce reliance on imports and save the precious foreign exchange. In addition, it will ensure that the current account deficit does not lead to the erosion of foreign exchange reserves.

Khan Faraz

Peshawar