Hyderabad The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has handed over a network of advanced smart sensors installed in selected areas of Sanghar and Umerkot districts to the Sindh irrigation department to monitor groundwater levels.
According to a handout issued on Thursday, the modern system would provide continuous and reliable data on groundwater levels, helping improve water resource management and irrigation planning.
The network has been established under the project ‘Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management’ funded by the Green Climate Fund, with co-financing from the Government of Sindh.
Speaking on the occasion, the representative of FAO Ms. Emelda Berejena said the handover of the sensors was not merely a transfer of equipment, but also involved the transfer of responsibility, technical knowledge and institutional ownership to the relevant government departments.
She stressed the need for regular maintenance of the system, reliable data collection, effective data management and the use of information in planning and decision making to ensure its long term effectiveness.
She said groundwater was an important component of Sindh’s water resources and its effective monitoring and management had become increasingly important due to climate change, growing water demand and changes in water availability.
FAO International Water Expert Jiro Ariyama said regular monitoring of groundwater levels was crucial for the agriculture sector, as both high and low water levels could affect crop production.
He said rising groundwater levels could increase the risks of water logging and soil salinity, while declining levels could affect the availability of water for irrigation.
The provincial project director Dr. Khuda Bux Kalwar said the success of the project would not be measured merely by the number of sensors installed, but by how effectively the data generated by the system was used for better decision-making.
He said groundwater trend data could be combined with information on rainfall, irrigation, canal water availability and agricultural activities to support better water management.
Mir Waqar Hussain Talpur of the on-farm water management department said the installation of groundwater monitoring sensors in Sanghar and Umerkot was an important step towards improving water management and promoting climate-resilient agriculture amid growing pressure on water resources due to climate change.
Representatives of the Sindh irrigation department, on-farm water management, agriculture extension, planning and development department, Pakistan council of research in water resources, agriculture research centre, education department, district administration and other relevant institutions also attended the program.