Impacts of Drain Water on Soils and Crops and it Causes: A Case Study of Kamber Taluka, Pakistan

Abstract

Taluka Kamber has been facing natural calamities-turned disasters due to its geographical location. The area is under constant threat of the surface drainage effluent coming from Balochistan Plateaus and local drains. The highly soil contaminated water from different drains has devastating impacts on the natural lakes and agricultural lands of the region. The natural flow routes of the flood water have been interrupted at many places which have increased the impact and frequency of the floods in the area. The investigated area is very famous for the paddy and wheat production in the country, but average production of both crops in the area is reducing. Growers dependent on the cultivation of wheat crop on the land degraded by the Hairdrin Drain as well as on rain fed agriculture on the uplands of Kachho also have been facing difficult situation. Interestingly, since 1998-1999 not only the Rabi Minor command lands were submerged in Hairdrin Drain but there has been drastic reduction in the rainfall in Kachho resulting in the failure of crops in the area. The salinity is affecting the area of Kachho. The situation has become dismal to the extent that last year, the wheat crop yield was not even 200 kgs per acre (494 kgs per hectare). As a result, the growers were not even able to recover the expenditure incurred on the inputs. The study shows that a solution of the problem is possible for the development of the agriculture in the study area.