Sindh plans to cultivate low-water crops amid worsening water shortage

In response to the water scarcity crisis in Sindh, authorities are considering a strategic shift towards cultivating crops that require less water. As part of this initiative, they have approved more than 20 seed varieties for an experimental yield, aiming to optimise water usage and enhance agricultural resilience in the province.

Phase 2 of the 36th meeting of the Provincial Seed Council was conducted under the chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar.

During the meeting, after reviewing the characteristics of the 22 latest seeds, the attendees approved their cultivation.

According to the report, the approved seeds include pulses, rice, mango, cotton, corn, and mustard, all of which are expected to require less irrigation.

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It added these crops will be cultivated for the year under the recent approval. 

On the occasion, Sardar Muhammad Bukhsh stressed the need for transformation in the conventional agriculture sector due to climate change and sharply increasing global temperatures.

He shared the statistics, depicting that Sindh crop production had surpassed Punjab that year and it could be materialised with the assistance of modern techniques used by farmers and agriculture department.

Sardar Mehar Bux stated that despite the intense impacts of climate change, the Sindh province showcased significant performance in the agriculture sector and also vowed to address the impacts of widely changing weather conditions.