QUETTA: Balochistan Minister for Irriga­tion Nawabzada Tariq Magsi has asked engineers, researchers and scientists to come up with smart and innovative ideas and suggest new technologies to improve irrigation efficiency and enhance water productivity, particularly in agriculture and livestock sectors.

Many countries have developed plans and adopted smart technologies to tackle depleting and scarce water resources, the minister said at the “Fourth Invention to Innovative Summit”, which concluded here on Wednesday.

The theme of the summit, which was organised by the University of Balochistan, was “Buy and Sell Technology”.

According to Mr Magsi, who was the guest of honour at the inaugural ceremony, Pakistan’s economy is propelled mainly by the agriculture and agro-based industry. But, he said, “With every passing day the need to build water reservoirs is being felt more than ever.” Water availability for agriculture, industry and even for household purposes was depleting and it was apprehended that Pakistan might become a water-stressed country if urgent remedial measures were not taken, he added.

Saying that the government besides building large dams was striving for water conservation and efficient management, the minister urged young researchers and engineers to suggest smart technology and modern ideas to enhance water productivity. He added that Balochistan had a huge potential for development of agriculture, especially fruit and vegetables, fisheries and livestock.

He reminded the participants of the summit that Balochistan in terms of area was the largest province of Pakistan. “It is rich in natural resources, having large deposits of hydrocarbons and metallic minerals,” he said, adding that its coastal areas, particularly Gwadar port, offered great opportunities for socioeconomic development of the province as well as for the whole country.

By hosting this event, the government had showed its commitment to engage the industry, the people and all stakeholders to take the country, especially Balochistan, towards economic sustainability.

He said this summit and its thematic sessions would be informative for the participants and would play an important role towards creating awareness about “innovative Baloch­is­tan”. He said: “The summit will provide a useful platform for entrepreneurs, scientists and academia of Balochistan for sharing strategy, innovative ideas, policies and plans with development partners and other participants for constructive discussions and fruitful outcomes”.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2019