Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version. If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options. Impacts of the Chashma Right Bank Canal on Land Use and Cropping Pattern in D. I. Khan District (Pakistan)Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org Citation: 9th International Drainage Symposium held jointly with CIGR and CSBE/SCGAB Proceedings, 13-16 June 2010 IDS-CSBE-100093.(doi:10.13031/2013.32119)Authors: Atta-Ur Rahman, Amir Nawaz Khan Keywords: Land use, Cropping Pattern, Impacts This paper attempts to determine the ex post impact of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) on the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. CRBC commands 250,000 ha and spread over two provinces. The CRBC project was completed in three stages. Stage I was commissioned in 1987-1988, whereas stage II and III in 1989 and 2001, respectively. CRBC brought radical changes in the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. For this study, three variables were selected including land use, cropping pattern and land values. To determine these changes at micro-level, five sample villages were randomly selected, four from within the CRBC command area and one off the command area. The analysis found that after commissioning of CRBC, prime cultivable land was brought under non-agricultural use. The area under net sown was also enhanced. The dry farming crops were replaced by water intensive cash crops, which in effect caused the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity, particularly in stage I. Likewise, the land values increased considerably. This study is a sort of ex post evaluation of CRBC and provides policy guidelines for decision makers not to repeat the weaknesses of Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project. The guidelines will be valuable for the proposed Chashma Right Bank 1st Lift Irrigation Project (Download PDF) (Export to EndNotes)
|