Sheeraz Sindhu is a farmer in Chichawatni in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, and belongs to a family associated with agriculture for generations.
“This app is a terrific tool for me or any farmer,” Sheeraz told SBS Urdu.
“I just have to add my location and the app tells me all the details about the water and soil immediately.
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The farmers in the area input the water data including water usage and consumption which is incorporated by the app that provides the overall water details to each farmer who has the app.
Similarly, the soil data is provided to the farmer to help in determining the best farming practice in relation to the soil content.
Sheeraz says for a village farmer, it is quite cumbersome to collect soil samples and take it to a faraway lab.
“I have made long journeys to check the PH level, phosphorous content, and other properties of soil in order to workout water management and produce a better crop.”
According to Sheeraz, the app is now being increasingly used by farmers of other regions.
"More and more farmers from other villages are asking about this app which provides water and soil information; I am hoping it reaches other provinces soon."
The app has been developed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the agency that invests Australian aid funds in building research partnerships between Australian scientists and partner countries in our region including Pakistan.
ACIAR CEO, Professor Andrew Campbell, meeting with Mr Ilyas, a citrus farmer in Pakistan. Source: ACIAR/Kazmi Munawar
“The app gives tools to improve the groundwater management to the Pakistani farmers, by being able to better monitor and report on the groundwater, quality and quantity,” ACIAR CEO Andrew Campbell told SBS Urdu.
“The Indus basin is very important for agricultural production in Pakistan. About 90 per cent of Pakistani agricultural production comes from the land that is irrigated through the Indus irrigation system. That system draws water from both surface and groundwater."
About half of Pakistan’s irrigation comes from the groundwater. Unfortunately, the groundwater use is not regulated. In many places, the resource is now being overexploited.
Pakistani farmer Sheeraz Sindhu (2nd left) hopes to overcome water challenges with the better ground water management. Source: Sheeraz Sindhu
However, Pakistan is among the world’s 36 most water-stressed countries, according to the World Water Stress Index.
Sheeraz says that in old times, farmers used to harvest cotton but now there's been a move to maize and potatoes, all of them require a large quantity of water.
But given the current situation of water concerns in Pakistan, he now works to “improve the water usage while maximizing the produce.”
“The groundwater in this area is considered good for farming and we were able to produce quality crops."
In order to experiment with new farm produce that uses less water while getting sufficient harvest, Sheeraz has switched to other crops.
(screenshot) The 'apna paani' app provides details such as water levels and soil content to the Pakistani farmer, based on the location. Source: ACIAR/APNA PAANI APP
“I started working on sunflower and the result was amazing. Compared to maize, sunflower required a fifth of water quantity for the same level of production.”
“Similarly, mung beans (lentil) required a similar quantity of water like the sunflower.”
“In Pakistan, around 80 per cent of edible oil is imported and pulses are also an import item. By producing sunflower, I catered to the oil market while moong beans took care of the import side of pulses, and that too with minimum water.”
On the commonalities between Pakistani and Australian farming, Andrew Campbell said Pakistani farms are smaller and lack the amount of machinery available comparted to their Australian counterparts.
“The fundamentals of how you grow a crop are the same. We might have to adapt to different types of machinery or different sizes of farms but in many cases, the solutions in principle are the same.
“They just need to be adapted in practice so they work in a Pakistan environment,” he said.
We always work alongside Pakistan scientists so that they can adapt the solutions to the local context.
Pakistan is one of the most 'water stressed' countries in the world. Source: World Resources Institute
He says the main challenge that Pakistan faces is trying to achieve the sustainable use of groundwater and surface water.
“Not using groundwater at a rate which is faster than it can be recharged and also not using it in ways that reduce the quality of the groundwater.
"If you overuse groundwater, then the water that remains becomes more and more salty, and have quality problems as well.
"The fundamental challenge is to try and bring groundwater use within sustainable limits."
(Screenshot) 'Apna paani' app showing the ground water level in a Pakistani farm. Source: ACIAR/Apna paani app
However, Australia has recently cut the aid budget to Pakistan with a new focus on Pacific nations.
Andrew Campbell says that the ACIAR is funded from the Australian Aid budget but is independent of DFAT, reporting directly to the Foreign Minister.
“We have maintained our investment in Pakistan because agriculture is so important to the country, and so many people in Pakistan are employed in agriculture.
He says that there might be some minor reductions, “we have to live within our budgets but we are retaining our footprint in South Asia.”
But ACIAR head is hopeful of the seeds of effort currently being sown.
“All sectors of Pakistan including agriculture and industries, in particular irrigation, will have a much better understanding of the impact they are having on the groundwater and surface water resources, through the apna paani app and other tools [provided by ACIAR] along with a much better understanding of what is needed to improve the situation.
“I know that the Government of Pakistan is very interested in improving the policy and regulatory environment to improve water use and hopefully within five years we will start to see the impact of improvement in that area as well.”
