By Abdul Ghani

The Punjab government has proposed a GBP300,000 climate-resilient agriculture project for the Cholistan and Thal desert regions, according to a document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The project, titled “AgriAdapt: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Resilient Farming in Cholistan Desert Zone and Sandy Desert Zone (Thal)”, has been included in the Pakistan Climate Prosperity Plan.

The proposed initiative will focus on building agricultural climate resilience through nature-based and ecosystem-based adaptation measures, promoting resilient crops, strengthening digital agricultural advisory services and early warning systems, and improving market linkages and institutional capacity.

The project is proposed to be implemented on a pilot basis over 12 months, with an indicative budget of GBP300,000.

Under the proposed implementation framework, the first two months will be devoted to zone and site selection, farmer and stakeholder baseline assessments, and crop planning.

During the third to eighth months, field demonstrations will be established alongside the introduction of digital advisory services, early warning systems and farmer training programs.

The sixth to tenth months will focus on developing market and crop insurance linkages, while the final two months will be dedicated to outcome validation, institutional adoption and preparation of a scale-up plan.

A major component of the initiative will involve establishing zone-specific resilient crop and nature-based solution demonstration sites to identify farming practices suitable for the harsh climatic conditions of Cholistan and Thal.

The project also envisages the development of climate-informed digital advisory systems and community-level early warning services to help farmers make timely decisions regarding crop planning and agricultural operations.

Another important feature will be the promotion of market and value-chain linkages, including value-added agricultural production, to improve economic opportunities for farming communities.

The initiative will also explore inclusive crop insurance and financial resilience linkages to help farmers better manage climate-related agricultural risks.

According to the document, the Government of Punjab's Planning and Development, Agriculture and Environment departments will serve as lead government partners.

The Agriculture Department will act as the implementing partner, while the Annual Development Programme Coordination (ADPC) mechanism is identified for technical support.

Farmers and farmer groups will participate in field demonstrations and adoption of climate-resilient practices, while private-sector actors will support market access, value chains and agricultural processing.

Civil society and community organisations, along with research institutions, will contribute to outreach, evidence generation and technical assistance.

The proposed project is particularly significant for Cholistan and Thal, where agricultural communities face difficult production conditions due to water scarcity, climatic variability and environmental stress.

By integrating climate adaptation with agricultural extension, digital information services, crop insurance and market development, the initiative seeks to establish a framework that could subsequently be replicated in other climate-vulnerable agricultural zones.

The inclusion of an institutional adoption and scale-up phase indicates that the pilot is intended to generate practical evidence for potential expansion beyond the initially selected demonstration sites.

Credit: INP-WealthPk