The inaugural ceremony of the intelligent irrigation technology promotion center at PCRWR R&D farm Sialmore was held in PCRWR Headquarters, Islamabad on 30th November 2023. PCRWR and China Water Resources Bei Fang Investigation design and research CO. Limited (BIDR) team participated in the ceremony.
The participants were welcomed by Director General, PCRWR Dr. Hifza Rasheed. She highlighted the challenges of water resources management in Pakistan and need of technological innovation in the present time to combat the issues. She also briefed about the National Water Policy, 2018 and its priorities pertaining to water resources management. She also described different initiatives of PCRWR regarding water resources management. Dr. Hifza Rasheed appreciated the efforts of PCRWR and BIDR, China in introducing smart and innovative irrigation technology in Pakistan and hoped that it would act as a catalyst in adoption of water efficient technologies in irrigation sector.
Ms. Bareerah Fatima, Director, PCRWR, briefed them about the research infrastructure of PCRWR. She highlighted the different agro-ecological zones and the spatial and temporal changes of the water resources availability and use. She emphasized the need of technological transfer of tested technologies in Pakistan.
Mr. Liu Hairui, Vice president China Water Resources Beifang Investigation Design and Research Co. Ltd (BIDR), during his remarks, highlighted different initiatives of Chinese government in the field of water management. He hoped that this collaboration will be fruitful in addressing the issues of crop productivity and effective water management at farm level. At the end, Dr. Hifza Rasheed and Mr. Liu Hairui with their teams inaugurated the Intelligent Irrigation Technology Promotion Centre.