Bestowed with vast tracts of land, hilly terrains, minerals, and longer coast makes Balochistan a vital appendage of the motherland with recent years witnessing the focus of respective governments to explore this potential.
Although the province encompasses over 40 percent of the total land area of the country, making its land agricultural friendly remains a dream of the local people for decades.
However, in recent years the projects like Gwadar Port, Economic Zones, roads infrastructure, and overall development of the province have risen hopes that days were not far off when the province will also be self-reliant to feed its populace.
Lesser precipitation of Balochistan in agricultural production as compared to other provinces had been a challenge as it lacked a mechanized irrigation system and its water resource could not be amply utilized.
Therefore, the Balochistan government has launched a number of projects in the irrigation sector to make the province self-sufficient in the production of various food grains and bring phenomenal changes in the livelihood and socio-economic condition of people.
“The government is well cognizant of the needs and dependency of people and launched multiple projects in agriculture and irrigation sectors to bring barren land under cultivation and make the province self-sufficient in the production of various food grains,” said
Balochistan Minister for Irrigation, Muhammad Khan Lehri.
“With the installation of the project in the irrigation sector, the province had been able to bring over 100,000 acres of barren land under cultivation to ensure food security for the rising population,” he stated.
He referred to the installation of green tunnels for enhancing the production of off-season vegetables and fruits through tunnel farming and said the provincial government has allocated a sizeable amount to develop an irrigation system for improving agricultural produce.
As almost 85 percent of the population in Balochistan lives in rural regions and relies mostly on agriculture and livestock as a source of income, the government has also constructed 878 water courses and 361 water storage tanks to resolve water issues.
It is hoped that the province will sooner experience a green revolution due to measures like tunnel farming, the Kachhi Canal, and the development of hundreds of small and check dams, waterways, and water storage tanks.
“Kachhi Canal project would fulfill long-standing demand of the people of Balochistan and have positive impacts on its economy,” Lehri said.—NNI
