Tending orchards in Thar desert — without flowing water

[ghazi52]

Tending orchards in Thar desert — without flowing water


A farmer is using clay pitchers to irrigate his orchard and crops, using 70 per cent less water than conventional methods.

Akhtar Hafeez


Most of the inhabitants of the Thar desert can grow crops only after a downpour has transformed the arid land into lush greenery. But Allahrakhio Khoso, a 60-year-old farmer, does not need to wait for rain.

In the city of Nagarparkar, in the shadow of the Karoonjhar mountains, Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality by using matkas or pitchers — an everyday object more commonly found in the home than in the field.

After eight years, Khoso has 400 berry trees, 70 lemon trees, three mango trees and four pomegranate trees. He grows vegetables such as okra, bitter melon, onions, chilies and tinda (a type of squash), as well as watermelon, on his land in the district of Tharparkar.

Khoso can grow berries, lemons, mangoes, pomegranates, watermelon and vegetables. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot with a wide bottom and narrow top is buried in the ground and filled with water. The water is slowly released into the surrounding soil and absorbed by the roots of nearby plants, minimising the amount of precious liquid lost to evaporation.

In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot is buried in the ground near a plant and filled with water. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso



Water in the desert

Rich in coal but poor in water, Thar is the largest desert zone in the province of Sindh. Its residents depend on rainfall; most people fetch their daily water from wells and store rainwater in water tanks. In summer, many wells run dry and groundwater becomes brackish.

To this day, some wells are dug without modern machinery. Recently four workers dieddigging a well when the walls fell in on them.

Water is so important a commodity that it even features in marriage negotiations; before a proposal is accepted, the parents of a bride will ask the groom’s family how close the nearest well is. In greetings, people also ask about sweet water wells.

Nevertheless, living in the desert does not mean thirst and poverty are inevitable.

How does pitcher irrigation work?
"Many years back, one of my friends came to visit our village and he discussed pitcher irrigation," said Khoso. "I got the idea and started working on it. In the beginning, it was quite hard but now it looks very simple. I thought that if I could make my farm green without rainwater, then I should go for it."

Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


To install a new pitcher, Khoso first makes a small hole in the bottom of a pitcher. He puts a rope through the hole, then buries the pitcher, packing mud and sand tightly around it. This leaves only the mouth of the pitcher exposed, which Khoso fills with water. The water seeps through the porous clay and soaks through the rope into the sand, where it is absorbed by the roots of the crops he has planted close by. As well as natural fertilisers, Khoso uses mud from Virawah, a city near Nagarparkar where there is an ancient lake.

Each pitcher is two to three feet wide and holds 10 litres of water, which will irrigate the soil for 15 to 20 days. New pitchers are better for irrigation because they are more porous and, once in place, will last three years. Khoso fetches water roughly every 10 days — there is a well on his farm, and another nearby.

For trees, Khoso uses one pitcher per plant; sometimes two pitchers for mango trees, planting trees 25 feet (7.6 metres) apart. The amount of water needed depends on the crop, with trees requiring more pitchers. Khoso now has 400 pitchers irrigating his orchard.

Khoso believes this is a more effective method than drip irrigation, where pipes release a certain amount of water and fertiliser per minute directly to the roots of each plant. He said that while drip irrigation is suitable for vegetables, for orchards pitcher irrigation can deliver water more efficiently to the plant.

He calculated that 280 litres was enough for his 400 berry trees for 10 days.

Pomegranates are one of the crops Khoso has been able to produce using his method. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


The efficiency of this system is now accepted. One study that compared melon yields found that pitcher irrigation used two cubic centimetres (cc) of water and yielded 25 tonnes of melon per hectare, while the flood irrigation system used 26 cc of water and yielded 33 tonnes per hectare.

"We do not have any canal or [conventional irrigation] so it's our duty to save water as much as we can," said Khoso. "I have tried to make the desert green and I have been earning my bread and butter through this orchard. In the last season, I earned PKR 130,000 from onions and almost PKR 600,000 from red chilies. I am preaching for the usage of pitcher technology… those who want to try this should start from their homes on a small scale."

Local trade
Khoso buys his pitchers from Hussain Kumbher, a potter. "This is my forefather’s profession; I earn a good income by selling the pitchers to Allahrakhio," said Kumbher. "I have sold more than 1,000 pitchers since he has been working on his orchard. People in the Thar desert still use pitchers to store drinking water, but harvesting through pitchers is beneficial for our business — I get PKR 100-150 per pitcher."

Khoso buys his pitchers from Hussain Kumbher, a local potter. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


Kumbher lives in the village of Khaark, almost 25 kilometres from Nagarparker. He told The Third Pole he is the only potter in the area selling pitchers for irrigation as well as household use — so it is unlikely other farmers in the area are using this method.

 

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Experts pitch in

Pitcher irrigation is not common in Pakistan. Many farmers demand canals to irrigate their farms, but experts say canal irrigation wastes a lot of water through evaporation and overuse. In the future, different farming methods could mean bumper crops are grown with a small amount of water.

"People are not familiar with pitcher technology hence it has not been so common. In Sanghar district, some farmers have planted lemon orchards through this technology. In cities, people use this technology on a small scale. This is very beneficial in semi-arid zones, like the Rajasthan desert of India. Where no water supply is available, farmers use pitchers to boost their agriculture," said Ismail Kumbher, a professor at Sindh Agriculture University in Tandojam.

The professor added, "People in the desert are not privileged — they don’t realise the importance of pitcher technology and in our country it is not cheap, therefore we don’t see this water-saving technology on a large scale. This is also helpful for kitchen gardening. I believe the Sindh government and Sindh agriculture department should come forward to facilitate those farmers who are using pitcher technology with limited resources." He said the government should provide training on pitcher irrigation and pay for or subsidise the cost of pitchers.

Muhammad Waseem Kalro is senior scientific research officer in the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s Arid Zone Research Institute in Umerkot. He told The Third Pole that the pitcher irrigation method uses 70 per cent less water than conventional irrigation for any crop.

Despite its benefits, the technology is restricted by its very nature to places and plants that can be usefully grown using it. Kalro said that pitcher irrigation is more effective in sand than soil and "is only suitable for desert areas… If we use this technology on a national level we need more water and more pitchers, and it would be very costly, so this is best at a household level and in those areas where water is brackish. Especially in Thar, now people are consuming fresh vegetables from pitcher farming. Therefore, this is no less than a blessing for local people. We are working here in Umerkot and have developed different arid agriculture models."

Idrees Rajput, a water expert and former secretary of irrigation, agreed. "Pitcher irrigation has a very limited scope. It may be used for fruit and vegetable cultivation. No mass irrigation is possible with pitcher irrigation. This is helpful in desert areas where people can’t cultivate their land with conventional irrigation," he said.

The header photo by Zulfiqar Khoso shows farmer Allahrakhio Khoso.



https://www.dawn.com/news/1571967/tending-orchards-in-thar-desert-without-flowing-water

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ayodhyapati]

Tending orchards in Thar desert — without flowing water


A farmer is using clay pitchers to irrigate his orchard and crops, using 70 per cent less water than conventional methods.

Akhtar Hafeez


Most of the inhabitants of the Thar desert can grow crops only after a downpour has transformed the arid land into lush greenery. But Allahrakhio Khoso, a 60-year-old farmer, does not need to wait for rain.

In the city of Nagarparkar, in the shadow of the Karoonjhar mountains, Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality by using matkas or pitchers — an everyday object more commonly found in the home than in the field.

After eight years, Khoso has 400 berry trees, 70 lemon trees, three mango trees and four pomegranate trees. He grows vegetables such as okra, bitter melon, onions, chilies and tinda (a type of squash), as well as watermelon, on his land in the district of Tharparkar.

Khoso can grow berries, lemons, mangoes, pomegranates, watermelon and vegetables. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot with a wide bottom and narrow top is buried in the ground and filled with water. The water is slowly released into the surrounding soil and absorbed by the roots of nearby plants, minimising the amount of precious liquid lost to evaporation.

In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot is buried in the ground near a plant and filled with water. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso



Water in the desert

Rich in coal but poor in water, Thar is the largest desert zone in the province of Sindh. Its residents depend on rainfall; most people fetch their daily water from wells and store rainwater in water tanks. In summer, many wells run dry and groundwater becomes brackish.

To this day, some wells are dug without modern machinery. Recently four workers dieddigging a well when the walls fell in on them.

Water is so important a commodity that it even features in marriage negotiations; before a proposal is accepted, the parents of a bride will ask the groom’s family how close the nearest well is. In greetings, people also ask about sweet water wells.

Nevertheless, living in the desert does not mean thirst and poverty are inevitable.

How does pitcher irrigation work?
"Many years back, one of my friends came to visit our village and he discussed pitcher irrigation," said Khoso. "I got the idea and started working on it. In the beginning, it was quite hard but now it looks very simple. I thought that if I could make my farm green without rainwater, then I should go for it."

Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


To install a new pitcher, Khoso first makes a small hole in the bottom of a pitcher. He puts a rope through the hole, then buries the pitcher, packing mud and sand tightly around it. This leaves only the mouth of the pitcher exposed, which Khoso fills with water. The water seeps through the porous clay and soaks through the rope into the sand, where it is absorbed by the roots of the crops he has planted close by. As well as natural fertilisers, Khoso uses mud from Virawah, a city near Nagarparkar where there is an ancient lake.

Each pitcher is two to three feet wide and holds 10 litres of water, which will irrigate the soil for 15 to 20 days. New pitchers are better for irrigation because they are more porous and, once in place, will last three years. Khoso fetches water roughly every 10 days — there is a well on his farm, and another nearby.

For trees, Khoso uses one pitcher per plant; sometimes two pitchers for mango trees, planting trees 25 feet (7.6 metres) apart. The amount of water needed depends on the crop, with trees requiring more pitchers. Khoso now has 400 pitchers irrigating his orchard.

Khoso believes this is a more effective method than drip irrigation, where pipes release a certain amount of water and fertiliser per minute directly to the roots of each plant. He said that while drip irrigation is suitable for vegetables, for orchards pitcher irrigation can deliver water more efficiently to the plant.

He calculated that 280 litres was enough for his 400 berry trees for 10 days.

Pomegranates are one of the crops Khoso has been able to produce using his method. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


The efficiency of this system is now accepted. One study that compared melon yields found that pitcher irrigation used two cubic centimetres (cc) of water and yielded 25 tonnes of melon per hectare, while the flood irrigation system used 26 cc of water and yielded 33 tonnes per hectare.

"We do not have any canal or [conventional irrigation] so it's our duty to save water as much as we can," said Khoso. "I have tried to make the desert green and I have been earning my bread and butter through this orchard. In the last season, I earned PKR 130,000 from onions and almost PKR 600,000 from red chilies. I am preaching for the usage of pitcher technology… those who want to try this should start from their homes on a small scale."

Local trade
Khoso buys his pitchers from Hussain Kumbher, a potter. "This is my forefather’s profession; I earn a good income by selling the pitchers to Allahrakhio," said Kumbher. "I have sold more than 1,000 pitchers since he has been working on his orchard. People in the Thar desert still use pitchers to store drinking water, but harvesting through pitchers is beneficial for our business — I get PKR 100-150 per pitcher."

Khoso buys his pitchers from Hussain Kumbher, a local potter. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso


Kumbher lives in the village of Khaark, almost 25 kilometres from Nagarparker. He told The Third Pole he is the only potter in the area selling pitchers for irrigation as well as household use — so it is unlikely other farmers in the area are using this method.

commendable effort by this farmer , congratulations to him.

 

[TNT]

Pitcher farming is cheap as compared to drip irrigation. Its very useful in fruit plantation. I am going to try a few. A friend of mine said he used that bigger clay water container used in villages and would only refill it once every 6 months.

 

[Path-Finder]

Welldone, I hope some investment finds its way to him.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Pitcher irrigation brings vegetables to Pakistani desert


Pitcher irrigation – in which buried clay pots release water into the soil – delivers water directly to plant roots rather than spreading it more widely across fields.

AlertNet
SANGHAR, PAKISTAN


Farmers in the arid district of Sanghar in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province regard the vegetables growing in the sandy ground outside their thatched homes as little short of a miracle.

First introduced to the area in 2008, pitcher irrigation – in which buried clay pots release water into the soil – has expanded to 14 villages. It has provided a fresh source of income for more than 200 families who previously thought it impossible to farm vegetables on these dry lands.

“It is amazing to cultivate vegetables with less water and labor,” says Soomar, who has installed 20 pitchers on the land outside his hut in Rano Junejo village, near Chotiari freshwater reservoir.


Farmers have been unable to take advantage of the reservoir as there is no canal network to distribute water for irrigation. And even if there were, it would likely prove ineffective, as the water would simply be soaked up by the sand before reaching its destination.
“All we did was plant pitchers [in the soil] and sow different vegetable seeds, and it feels as if the vegetables are growing on their own,” adds the exultant 34-year-old.

Ibrahim Mangrio of Padhrio village grows a range of vegetables, including cucumbers, okra, and eggplant. Some go to feed his family and the rest are sold at the local market in Sanghar, a bustling town some 260 km (162 miles) northeast of Karachi.

The 45-year-old’s main source of income is cattle farming, but diversifying into vegetables has generated extra money and better economic conditions for his household.

Around 400 families in Padhrio and other villages scattered nearby rear livestock for a living. But their pastures turn into dry lands and rain-filled ponds evaporate during the scorching summer days from May to July, causing livestock deaths and hiking poverty in the area.


Drinking water also becomes scarce, leading to a rise in water-borne infections and skin diseases.

Poor sanitation and the lack of clean drinking water, coupled with depleting underground water reserves due to insufficient rain, have made life miserable for local people, particularly women and children.

The desert district, bordering India to the east, receives sparse and erratic rainfall, averaging only around 125 mm (5 inches) per year. Heat waves have become longer in the last several years, with the temperature hovering above 49 degrees centigrade (113 F.) from May to July.


In this harsh climate, which could become even more extreme as the planet warms, villagers have had no access to canal water, ruling out crop cultivation in the past. But pitcher irrigation has made agriculture possible, ushering in a new era for local farmers.

Also known as sub-surface micro irrigation, it is an efficient method, delivering water directly to plant roots rather than spreading it more widely across fields. The ancient technique has been used in arid and semi-arid regions of China, India, Iran, Mexico, and Brazil to grow a wide range of plants.

An unglazed, porous clay pot with a wooden or clay lid is sunk up to its neck into the ground next to a seedling. Water poured into the pot seeps out slowly, providing the roots with a steady supply of moisture.


The water oozes out of the pot due to the difference in moisture content between its surface and the surrounding soil, until the two reach equilibrium.

The number of pitchers required per hectare differs with the type of crop. Creeping vegetables like cucumber, okra, eggplant, and bitter gourd need 2,000 to 2,500 pitchers per hectare, whereas upright and canopy crops, such as beans, tomatoes, leeks, and melons, need up to 4,000 to 5,000 pots per hectare.


Saleh Mangrio, executive director of the Pakistan-based Center for Rural Change, has conducted successful experiments with pitcher irrigation at community level in Sindh’s eastern desert under a project funded by the Dutch government and managed by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan.


The rate of water seepage from a pitcher depends on the type of plant and soil, and climatic conditions, he explains. Once the surrounding soil becomes saturated, water will soak back into the pot, filling it again. “The system is self-regulating and water losses are negligible,” he says.

This method of irrigation is ideal for sandy to loamy soil with good porosity. For small farmers, the system costs around Rs 4,500 (nearly $48) per acre – about 80 percent cheaper than drip and sprinkler irrigation. The yield per acre is around 60 percent higher than with furrow and flood irrigation, which many farmers continue to use, Mangrio says.

The pots are readily available in Pakistan, where they have more traditionally been used to keep drinking water cool in hot months.


Pakistan faces a major challenge in adapting to its fast-depleting water resources. They are coming under increased pressure due to uncertain rainfall, a rising population, outdated and inefficient irrigation techniques, and reliance on water-intensive crop varieties.

The country is now classed as a water-stressed country, with less than 1,000 cubic meters per capita water availability, down from 5,500 cubic meters per capita in the 1950s.

Achieving maximum crop productivity from each drop of water is regarded as essential for the sustainability of the agriculture sector and food security.


But achieving this goal will be difficult unless farmers switch to new methods such as pitcher and drip irrigation, said Altaf Ali Sial, chairman of the Land and Water Management Department at the University of Agriculture in Sindh’s Tando Jam town.

Pakistan’s population is growing at an annual rate of around 2.6 percent, and water use and demand by all economic sectors is increasing.

The Indus River, which provides 80 percent of water for agriculture, is fed mainly by the glacier systems of the Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges. But global warming is shrinking their snow cover rapidly, which could affect the river’s base-flow.


According to studies by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, run-off into the Indus is predicted to decrease by 27 percent by the year 2050.

Better use of water by farmers could go some way to offsetting that decline in water availability, although low levels of funding for innovative irrigation techniques may well hold back their adoption.

Pitcher irrigation is also being introduced in the western part of southern Baluchistan province, not only to grow vegetables but shrubs to stabilize sand dunes in coastal areas.


“Efficient irrigation water management and its careful use, by promoting water-saving irrigation techniques – such as pitcher, drip and sprinkler irrigations – will help sustain food-production systems in our water-stressed country,” says Pervaiz Amir, an irrigation expert and member of the Pakistani prime minister’s Task Force on Climate Change.

• Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio are climate change and development reporters based in Karachi, Pakistan.

 

[Avatar]

Very nice to see this eco-friendly, self-sustainable and local solution to the water shortage problem for farming in deserts. The same methods should be encouraged to be used by both GOI and GOP to help improve lives and economies of rural desert settlements. The optimal solution would be to have water pipelines to save the labor of fetching water from the wells but using pitcher irrigation is a good way to conserve water.