Improving the Productivity of Pakistan's Irrigation: the Importance of Management Choices.

Pakistan is used as an illustration of the effect of water scarcity on the productivity of irrigated agriculture. Productivity is diminished by the accumulation of salts in the soil. Management alternatives to improve the situation are described. In many areas the only feasible solution is to gradually decrease the acreage of crops that require large amounts of water, such as sugarcane and rice. The productivity of irrigated agriculture is found to depend on the political will to make changes and set up a regulatory system to enforce new rules, as well as a significant attitudinal change on the part of the farmers involved.