Poor Policy, Governance Structure Main Impediments In Agriculture Development:Chairman PARC

Chairman Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Muhammad Ayub Chaudhry here on Thursday said that poor policy and governance structures prevailing in the country in past were major factors for low productivity in agriculture sector

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jul, 2019 ) :Chairman Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Muhammad Ayub Chaudhry here on Thursday said that poor policy and governance structures prevailing in the country in past were major factors for low productivity in agriculture sector.

He said that all the precious natural resources including water which was the major input for agriculture was also suffering from institutional deficiencies.

Addressing a workshop on "Participatory Irrigation Management to Support Productive and Sustainable Agriculture", organized by PARC in collaboration with University of South Australia, he said that as water scarcity intensifies due to an increasing population and impacts of climate variability, the importance of robust irrigation institutions was paramount.

The PRC was implementing a research project on "Efficient Participatory Irrigation to Support Productive and Sustainable Agriculture in South Asia" with Punjab and Sindh irrigation departments, which was funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

The project aims to improve the analytical skills and understanding of policy makers, irrigation officials and other stakeholders, specifically as they relate to participatory irrigation management.

The project was at its final stage of implementation.

The purpose of the workshop was to share the initial finding of the project with relevant stakeholders and policy makers Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, PARC further said that Australian Government has been supporting for sustainable socio-economic growth in Pakistan since long through Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

The regional project on "Efficient participatory irrigation institutions to support productive and sustainable agriculture in south Asia" was a step further to peak this collaboration, he added.

He also appreciated ACIAR to bring together partners from the whole Pakistan and Australia on the common subject of improving governance and coordination of various institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Lin Crase, Head of school of Economic, Adelaide University, Australia said that the need for improving irrigation management has been figuring high on the agenda of most national and international agencies in the past.

This was triggered by the declining irrigation performance despite sizeable investments on the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure.

The recently established Australian Water Partnership will be used to source Australian experienced industry personnel to participate in discussions about the practice of devolving decision making, he added.