Pothowar region in Northern Punjab (1.82 Mha) is the watershed/catchment area for Indus River. It generates huge runoff, estimated to be around 6 MAF/year, due to its undulating topography, lesser crop cover and poor capacity of rural communities. The torrential rainfall pattern erodes around 1billion ton soil loss/annum generates peak runoff flow during monsoon causing land degradation on account of severe soil and water losses. The runoff is reported to cause downstream damages resulting in flood. Erratic rainfall and loss of water through runoff are main agriculture problems in the sloppy lands of the dryland farming area. Huge losses of soil in rainfed areas because of erosion has caused frustration among the inhabitants, therefore, many of them have chosen alternate professions. The loss of soil through runoff is occurred by high intensity of rainfall, low vegetation and low organic matter of the soil. The other problem of rainfed areas is moisture stress; long dry spells effect the crops, while sometime rain may be enough for both winter and summer crops but improper water conservation leads to poor crops. Because of uneven topographic features, unequal distribution and erratic rains, major portion of rainwater is lost as run-off, which can be utilized for enhancing agricultural production if properly conserved. Successful conservation of diminishing water and land resources are needed to feed an ever-increasing population and alleviating poverty. Soil and Water Conservation Research Institute was established in 1989 at Chakwal to develop technology for soil and water conservation and efficient use of available moisture for sustainable and profitable crop production. This institute consists of 12.31acre area including research and office area. The main objective is to develop specific technology for climatic zones of rainfed areas, this institute has also developed its research stations at Sohawa, Jhelum and Fatehjang, Attock.
Mission
SAWCRI aims to conduct local field-scale participatory research through using various techniques to harvest rainfall at the point of its origin and its subsequent use for minimizing land degradation and increasing crop cover/productivity in the Pothohar region.
Objectives
- To develop appropriate soil & water conservation low cost technology for different ecological zones including rehabilitation of gullied lands and water harvesting
- To standardize soil & crop management practices to arrest soil & water losses and raise the productivity
- To develop a system to monitor surface runoff and soil losses under different land use, soil types and rainfall patterns