Pakistan

Research Priorities

Mango and citrus marketing and production systems

The horticulture sector in Pakistan is significant, both domestically and for export production; however, both mango and citrus experience major losses due to poor harvesting practices, packing and transportation. Key issues are inadequate orchard and irrigation/drainage management, and major diseases. Australia has strengths in mangoes and citrus that span the production system and supply chain, in particular the use of a systems approach and integration of end users in the planning, execution and evaluation of the research. The ASLP will capitalise on this by linking the Australian and Pakistan research teams with the agribusiness sector and introducing participatory activities with farmers.

Dairy

Dairy is the largest livestock sector in Pakistan, with demand for milk and milk products growing at about 8% per year. Despite good genetic potential among animals, production is low due to poor nutrition, mismanagement, failure to control diseases and lack of proper marketing. This is compounded by a fragmented research effort and weak extension support services. The ASLP will support initiatives of the Pakistan Government to stimulate the dairy sector. The program will integrate activities and concentrate on mechanisms to increase individual animal production, principally through nutrition. The issues likely to be considered in this approach include social, economic and biophysical analysis of farming systems, development of seasonal feeding options, the introduction and evaluation of forages, and feed conservation strategies.

Land and water resources

Irrigated land supplies more than 90% of agricultural production in Pakistan. The main canal system and its secondary canals are managed at a provincial level by central irrigation agencies. Increasing competition for water by non-agricultural users will put additional strain on the systems, and there are uncertainties about future water supplies as a result of climate change. The cluster of projects in this subprogram is expected to have substantial linkages with the horticulture and dairy sectors, while improving the overall performance of the irrigation sector in Pakistan.

Policy, capacity building and social sciences

The 2009 scoping mission for APARDS identified enabling policy capacity and short-term training and capacity development opportunities as constraints to agricultural and rural development in Pakistan. Two components of the ASLP have been specifically designed to address these constraints. Social science R&D will provide valuable insights into the dynamics of poverty and gender inequality in Pakistan, as well as a better understanding of the drivers of, and barriers to, adoption of new technologies within these groups. The outputs of this work will provide valuable underpinning for the development of adoption strategies in the dairying and horticulture projects.