Ahmed Khan Malik

The Balochistan government plans to put the agricultural tube wells on solar energy in the province in order to provide uninterrupted water supply to farmers. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti recently announced the solarization of the agricultural tube wells in the province.  “All resources are being utilized to ensure the timely completion of this project,” Shahid Baloch, Director of Policy in the Energy Department, told WealthPK.  He said that the CM took the initiative after realizing the severe difficulties faced by the farmers due to electric loadshedding. Highlighting the need to adopt alternative energy sources, he said that solar tube wells would go a long way in improving agriculture sector. He said that the provincial government was aware of its responsibility to remove hurdles facing farmers in the province. The Power Division and the provincial government of Balochistan will prepare a roadmap and strategy for putting tube wells on solar energy.

Under this plan, Shahid said 30,000 agricultural tube wells would be put on solar power to address the scarcity of irrigation water across the province. He said that the initiative was a significant shift towards sustainable energy solutions in the province. About the financial aspects of the initiative, he said that the federal government would contribute Rs40 billion while the provincial government would provide an additional Rs10 billion to this end. “All landowners will have their tube wells converted to solar energy,” he said. Mumtaz Khosa, Vice-Chairman of the Balochistan Growers Association, told WealthPK that Balochistan’s agriculture sector had a huge economic potential. “Many areas in the province are suitable for the growth of rewarding crops such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts and apricots, etc.” However, he said that, due to multiple factors, the true potential of agriculture was not being realised. “First, water scarcity is damaging agriculture in the province. Almost 81 per cent of the farmers complain about water scarcity in the province because of power loadshedding.” 

Mumtaz said that the government’s initiative would help farmers get an uninterrupted power supply for irrigation, which would help grow more crops and receive good yield.  He also pointed out that other challenges like the non-availability of good quality seeds, were impeding the agriculture sector’s growth. “Rural farmers, largely because of lack of awareness, use old and uncertified seeds for growing crops, leading to approximately 40% germination failure. This inflicts massive losses to both individual farmers and the provincial economy.” He noted that it was difficult for the farmers of Balochistan to have smooth and easy access to agriculture lending. “Farmers are unable to invest in agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and use of tractors. Large tracts of land in the province remain uncultivated.” Mumtaz said a lot was needed to be done to realize the full potential of the province’s agriculture sector.

Credit: INP-WealthPk