ABSTRACT
WHICH POLICY INSTRUMENTS FOR MANAGING THE IRRIGATION SECTOR IN PAKISTAN? Irrigation sector policy in Pakistan M. MONTGINOUL Irrigation Division, Cemagref, Montpellier, France P. STROSSER International Irrigation Management Institute, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract The prevalent recognition of poor irrigation system performance in Pakistan has recently generated passionate debates on potential solutions to improve this performance. Drastic changes, such as decentralization and development of water markets, have been proposed. And implementation of some of these changes is already under way. Surprisingly, many facets of the new policies are still unclear and need to be spelt out before further implementation of any change. The present paper investigates the potential for water pricing, quota and water markets to address current policy objectives and constraints of the irrigation system in Pakistan. The analysis highlights the need to combine policy interventions that consider issues related to both the demand for, and supply of, water. Keywords: irrigation sector policy, Pakistan, quota, water markets, water pricing
1 Introduction Agriculture plays a major role in the economy of Pakistan and provides job opportunities for more than 55 percent of the labour force, counts for 26 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, and contributes to 80 percent of the total export earnings of the country. With a ratio of irrigated area over non-irrigated area equal to 4, irrigation is central to most of the agricultural sector policies in Pakistan and is vital for meeting demands for food products, raw material for industrial processing and exports.
