Representative agricultural pathways and socioeconomic benefits of groundwater management interventions in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan Provinces, Pakistan

This report describes three cases of using Representative Agricultural Pathways (RAPs) to explore approaches for enhancing farmer livelihoods in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan. The cases were part of ACIAR Project LWR/2015/036 Improving Groundwater Management to enhance Agriculture and Farming Livelihoods in Pakistan. Agriculture plays an important role in global food security, and water is one of its key resources. Sustainable use of water resources is an important policy objective as set out in the National Water Policy (2018) and the Punjab Water Policy (2020). Formulation and implementation of surface and groundwater laws are linked with adoption of water conservation practices. Pakistan’s farming landscapes are complex and varied in terms of water availability, distribution, quality and quantity.
On-farm management practices, such as soil management, the use of fertilizer, laser levelling, irrigation methods and the selection of crops contribute in terms of water use efficiency, soil health improvement and water quality impacts. Identifying pathways to move on-farm management towards more sustainable water management is essential for the future of Pakistan.
RAPs are designed to extend global pathways to provide the detail needed for regional assessment of future agricultural systems. RAPs are formulated under the consideration of representative concentration pathways and shared socioeconomic pathways. “RAPs” are combinations of economic, technology and policy scenarios that represent a plausible range of possible futures.