KARACHI: Pakistan could improve the equity and efficiency of irrigation water distribution by using satellite data and mathematical optimization to align water allocations more closely with crop requirements, experts said at a workshop at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), which marked the completion of the third phase of a three-year project supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The workshop on Intelligent Decision Support for Irrigation Water Management showcased the Rotation Advisory Module (RAM), developed through collaboration between the LUMS team, the Punjab Irrigation Department (PID) and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with ADB support.
The project aims to modernize the operational rules governing irrigation water distribution by combining satellite-based estimates of Relative Water Deficit (RWD) with mathematical optimization to recommend allocations according to crop water requirements, while accounting for existing rotation priorities and operational constraints.
The initial pilot was conducted on a group of canals in the Balloki–Okara division before the module was extended to all the rotation channels of the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) system, which serves around 675,000 hectares of farmland in Punjab.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr S. A. Prathapar, Water Management Consultant to the ADB, said modernizing irrigation required more than investment in canals and physical infrastructure; it also meant updating the rules governing water allocation. “When we think about modernizing the irrigation system, we only think about building a canal. But we have to modernize the software behind it. The rules behind it. And that’s what this project is about,” he said.
Dr Prathapar explained that conventional delivery indicators could establish whether irrigation authorities had supplied the planned quantity of water but not necessarily whether crops had received enough to meet their requirements. Satellite-based estimates of water deficits could help address this gap by informing allocation recommendations for upcoming irrigation rotations.
Dr Abubakr Muhammad of LUMS said Pakistan’s irrigation network remained central to food security and livelihoods but faced mounting pressures from climate change, uncertainty over water availability and rising agricultural production costs, particularly energy. He said advances in satellite remote sensing, near-real-time monitoring and intelligent decision-support systems offered opportunities to provide irrigation managers with practical recommendations based on field- and canal-level water deficits.“These tools also allow us to be equitable, to be just, to be fair,” Dr Muhammad said, stressing that technological interventions must also account for social considerations, water governance and fairness in distribution.
Representing the ADB, Ryutaro Takaku-Bessho, Principal Water Resource Specialist highlighted the bank’s continued engagement in Pakistan’s agriculture and water sectors, including efforts to address climate vulnerability, strengthen food security and improve rural resilience.
“In addition to physical infrastructure, ADB is proud to support the current project, which targets the critical software of the sector, the operational rules that govern the government’s vast water networks,” he said.
The technical sessions examined the system’s key components. Waqas Karim Awan of FAO presented on estimating crop water requirements through satellite remote sensing, while Dr Hassan Jaleel of LUMS discussed the near-real-time Rotation Advisory Module. Dr Athar Ashraf presented on integrating RAM with the Punjab Irrigation Department’s Irrigation Decision Support System (IDSS), including its potential application in irrigation operations.
The workshop brought together senior officials from the Punjab Irrigation and Agriculture Departments, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), the Ministry of Water Resources, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).
Participants discussed pathways for wider adoption, including institutional arrangements, further validation, farmer engagement and the potential use of rainfall forecasts to make recommendations more responsive to changing field conditions.
The initiative seeks to complement Pakistan’s established canal infrastructure and water-sharing arrangements with data-driven recommendations. Its wider impact will depend on effective integration into departmental operations and adoption by irrigation managers, alongside continued attention to the institutional and social factors that shape water distribution.
