Khalid Wattoo

4 days ago | dawn.com | Chaudhary Mohammad Ashraff |Khalid Wattoo

Pakistan’s agriculture sector, which consumes over 90 per cent of the country’s available water, is becoming increasingly dependent on groundwater due to multiple factors, including declining river flows, erratic rainfall, expansion of water-intensive rice and sugarcane crops, increased cropping intensity, and more recently, the widespread adoption of solar-powered tubewells that offer minimal operating costs, which encourages indiscriminate pumping of groundwater.

2 weeks ago | asianews.network | Khalid Wattoo |Waqar Ahmad

April 29, 2025ISLAMABAD – In late March 2025, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released the country’s economic growth figures for the second quarter (October-December) of FY25. The data painted a worrying picture: the agriculture sector grew by just 1.1 per cent. The first quarter was even worse, barely registering a growth rate of 0.74pc (revised figure). That is a massive fall from FY24, when agriculture posted a robust 8.17pc and 5.82pc growth in Q1 and Q2, respectively.

2 weeks ago | dawn.com | Khalid Wattoo |Waqar Ahmad

In late March 2025, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released the country’s economic growth figures for the second quarter (October-December) of FY25. The data painted a worrying picture: the agriculture sector grew by just 1.1 per cent. The first quarter was even worse, barely registering a growth rate of 0.74pc (revised figure). That is a massive fall from FY24, when agriculture posted a robust 8.17pc and 5.82pc growth in Q1 and Q2, respectively.

1 month ago | dawn.com | Chaudhary Mohammad Ashraff |Khalid Wattoo

This wheat season has turned out even more punishing for farmers than the last. Buyers are scarce, and market prices have plunged to around Rs2,200-2,300 per maund — far below production costs and nearly half the support price announced for the two crops of 2023 and 2024. Even more concerning, Punjab’s harvest — accounting for nearly 75 per cent of national production — has yet to peak.

1 month ago | dawn.com | Chaudhary Mohammad Ashraff |Khalid Wattoo

Pakistan, home to over 250 million people, is edging close to a deeper water crisis. Climate change is tightening its grip, with rising temperatures, shrinking glaciers, and increasingly erratic rainfall. As a result, the water supply has become less reliable than ever. Hotter days mean higher evaporation, driving up demand for both drinking water and crop irrigation — which consumes over 90 per cent of the country’s available water.