CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT OF IRRIGATION SECTOR OF PUNJAB (PAKISTAN) AND ITS IMPACT ON INCOME OF WHEAT GROWERS

Agricultural economy of Pakistan is dependent heavily on the availability of irrigation water especially the surface irrigation water. Punjab, which is the main stake of the agriculture sector, has 80 percent of its total area wholly or partially dependent on the availability of surface irrigation water. Although Pakistan has one of the largest irrigation systems of the world, yet irrigated agriculture is facing huge problems due to increasing pressure of population on the water resources. Thus over the time, surface water supplies have become unreliable and unable to cope with increasing demand. Keeping in view the gravity of the problem, the World Bank and the Government of Pakistan agreed to initialize the institutional reforms in irrigation sector of the country. The process was given a legal shape in 1997. Pilot area project which was implemented in the LCC (East) canal command area in Punjab was finally given the rights of irrigation management by the end of year 2005. The present study was conducted to analyze the impact of these reforms on income of the wheat growers in the province of Punjab.