The Punjab government and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization have launched a new data platform that will bring climate, water and crop information together to help protect agriculture from climate shocks and water shortages.
The Agriculture, Climate and Water Punjab Consortium was formally established through a memorandum of understanding signed at its first meeting. The platform will coordinate data from Punjab’s agriculture, irrigation and environment departments, the Planning and Development Board and the Punjab Information Technology Board, with technical support from FAO.
The initiative focuses particularly on five districts in south Punjab: Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan. It is part of a broader FAO project covering the Indus Basin, supported by the Green Climate Fund and co financed by the provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh.
The project has already installed 24 automatic weather stations, including 15 in Punjab and nine in Sindh, along with systems for monitoring canal flows, groundwater and other climate and agricultural conditions. Data generated through these systems will be fed into the ACWA portal.
The portal is intended to give government officials a single source of information for planning, policymaking, agricultural advisories and water resource management. Officials said the system could help replace fragmented data with a government owned platform as climate risks and water shortages increase.
The consortium will also establish rules for data sharing, security, licensing and confidentiality. Participating departments will determine their responsibilities for contributing data and maintaining the system, while discussions will also cover hosting and maintaining the portal after the project ends.
Planning and Development Board Secretary Rafaqat Ali said reliable and timely information on climate, agriculture and water resources was becoming increasingly important for Punjab’s development planning. He said bringing the information onto one platform could improve coordination and help the government make better investment and resource management decisions.
FAO Pakistan Representative James Okoth said the organization would continue providing technical support and helping Punjab develop more resilient agricultural and food systems. He said the consortium would strengthen coordination and evidence based decision making.
The meeting also included a demonstration of the ACWA portal, covering its current status, key features and operating capabilities.
The post Punjab and UN Join Hands to Shield Farms from Climate Shocks appeared first on ProPakistani.