Abstract
The present study was undertaken to conduct a detailed survey in all agronomic zones of Punjab, Pakistan to find out the factors
responsible for impeding adoption of High Efficiency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) among the farmers. A sample of 242
respondents (farmers and other stakeholders i.e. manufacturers and service providers, NGO’s and Government officials) were
interviewed, using three comprehensive pretested questionnaires. The respondents comprised four categories i.e. HEIS
adopters of drip and sprinkler, those who adopted HEIS but discontinued, those who did not adopt HEIS named as nonadopters, and professionals. The analysis prioritized the factors as financial issues, less backup support/repair and maintenance,
intensive supervision, non-availability of skilled operator, small land holdings, absentee land owners and certain operational
problems. The motives behind farmers’ decision to adopt HEIS were also analyzed empirically, using Endogenous Switching
Regression (ESR) technique. The ESR results complemented the inferences, derived from descriptive data analysis. The ESR
analysis indicated that farmers having favorable resource base, young and having better access to education / awareness (formal
and informal) along with other indicators such as availability of skilled operator, frequent contacts with professionals and nonoccurrence of financial issues increased chances to adopt HEIS. Based on these results, it is suggested that level of awareness,
education and training of farmers need to be enhanced. It is proposed to launch skill development programs at demonstration
farms to train youth for growing high value crops, using HEIS through enabling environment and providing backup support to
make farming a profitable business.
Allah Bakhsh, Furqan Aslam, Asghar Ali, Junaid Nawaz Chauhdary, Mehran Hussain. (2020) ADOPTION OF HIGH EFFICIENCY IRRIGATION SYSTEM (HEIS) IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN: CHALLENGES AND OPTIONS, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 57, Issue 5.
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