The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) recently arranged a trip for a group of journalists on a day-long capacity-building media exposure field visit to Chakwal – a district in the Potohar region of Punjab.
The purpose of the visit was to inform the participants about the significance, benefits, and positive impacts of the IWMI’s interventions under the UK Aid-funded Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) Program: Climate Resilient Solutions for Improving Water Governance (CRS-IWaG) in this region.
During the visit, IWMI Deputy Country Representative Muhammad Jehanzeb Cheema gave a detailed briefing on the various interventions in the drought-hit district to improve water use efficiency, water governance, agricultural productivity, and adequate water resource management.
On the occasion, he told the journalists that this rain-fed region has no canal water, and the underground water table was 300 meters deep. This region has rain-fed agricultural land with limited water access for crops and livestock. Jehanzeb Cheema said that the automated soil moisture sensor was a cost-effective, and user-friendly intervention that can help farmers learn when to irrigate crops and orchards.
IWMI has installed over 20 automated soil moisture sensors at various places in the district – located 270 kilometers from Lahore – to help farmers schedule irrigation when required, he said, adding that they hope that this technology would be used by other farmers as well as they see its benefits.
The official also briefed the media team regarding the Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) sensors installed in the region in collaboration with the Punjab Irrigation Department and the Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). This year, there was not enough seasonal rainfall in the Potohar region, which increased the drought situation.
From September 1, 2024, to January 15, 2025, Punjab received 42 percent less rainfall than usual, the IWMI deputy country representative said. The visiting media team then proceeded to the country’s fourth eddy covariance (EC) flux tower, which IWMI installed in the Barani Agricultural Research Institute. The flux tower, which will inform research by the CGIAR Initiative on Nexus Gains, is designed to collect accurate data on water usage, carbon emissions, and energy fluxes from irrigated agricultural landscapes.
In addition, IWMI Pakistan has installed three flux towers in irrigated landscape areas in Okara, Faisalabad, and Rahim Yar Khan. Representatives from the Barani Agricultural Research Institute and other relevant departments also provided valuable information to the visiting media. The participants appreciated the initiative, saying the visit enhanced their understanding of the importance of water governance, data-driven solutions for water security and how climate affects the water sector.
