After the floods…

By Rina Saeed Khan and Frank Van Steenburgen

Spate irrigation relies mostly on indigenous knowledge and requires relatively little investment for its practice and maintenance. It needs to be promoted at both national and regional levels as crops grown in spate irrigation systems are usually organic, have a higher nutritional value and are less susceptible to disease .

 

There is an old Chinese saying that in every catastrophe there is an opportunity. The recent floods that hit Balochistan and Sindh may have wreaked havoc and devastated the lives of the local people, but there could be a positive side to this disaster as well. After many years of drought in the region, the floods have brought the much needed moisture to millions of hectares of land.

If the authorities move fast, this land can be cultivated once the water recedes and crops like sorghum and pulses can be planted in the month of August. People living in these remote areas are experts at an ancient form of irrigation called spate irrigation that depends on seasonal floods.

People living in the hamlets and small villages of Balochistan and interior Sindh have long been dependent on the rains that come twice a year to this parched land, transforming it overnight. The rains in the vast catchment areas that spread into Afghanistan create rushing hill torrents. The water from these hill torrents cascades through the mountains, gathering speed and comes down flooding through the arid plains, bringing life to the land.

In good years, when the people’s prayers are answered, the rains are plentiful and there is enough water to irrigate the fields and grow subsistence crops. For without rainwater, this ancient form of irrigation would not exist. Spate irrigation is not unique to Pakistan, and in this country it is one of the largest systems in the world.

The spate irrigation complex in Pakistan is the second largest system after the Indus Basin irrigated agricultural system. It dates back to the Mehergarh civilisation, which archaeologists say could be as old as 9,000 years, and whose ruins have been found in mounds located in Balochistan.

Long before the Pharaohs or the Mesopotamians, the early settlers of Mehergarh were domesticating animals for farming and growing crops by using floodwater. Remnants of large bunds (earthen dams) up to 5,000 years old have been found in the Khuzdar district in Balochistan, suggesting that a complex organisation existed at that time to maintain these earthen structures. In North-West Frontier Province and Punjab, the first spate irrigation systems were developed in 330BC.

Spate irrigation is today practiced in all the four provinces of Pakistan and is called nai in Sindh, sailaba in Balochistan and rod kohi in NWFP and Punjab, with rod meaning torrent bed and koh meaning mountain. In this system, water from sporadic flash floods is diverted to irrigate land and fill drinking water ponds. These flash floods have been occurring naturally for centuries, and it is said that most of Alexander the Great’s retreating army was destroyed by flash floods in Balochistan.

The largest areas under spate irrigation are on the plains bordering the mountain ranges, along the Koh-i-Suleiman and Kirthar Ranges as well as on the Kacchi Plains.

It normally rains heavily twice a year — in the summer monsoon season and during the winters. When floodwater enters the plains, it is diverted and guided by earthen bunds that depend on the lay of the land. Some bunds may be more than one kilometre long, several meters high and up to 20 metres wide at the base.

Close to the mountains, the bunds tend to take part of the fast flowing flood, but lower down they block the river and divert the entire flow. Water is then guided through a system of flood channels, sometimes marked by low side bunds — all constructed by the local farmers in preparation for the flood seasons. For centuries, the making of these bunds would be a festive time, with farming communities gathering with their oxen to build these bunds together.

Today, with the introduction of bulldozers, the bunds can be built faster and don’t require so much manual labour. But the communal spirit has slowly died out, causing many of the bunds to be neglected if the farmers can’t afford to hire the bulldozer. The old festivities have now become commercialised events, less to do with making bunds and more to do with entertainment. However, the engineering has not changed and the farmers still have to construct earthen diversion structures (called wakra) which raise the waters in the flood channels and lead them into the bunded fields. These bunded field (called bundat) are often very large — as much as 15 hectares sometimes, though they may be divided into sections.

There are different spate irrigation systems located in the mountain areas. These are smaller and make use of free intakes. Spate irrigation certainly supports local farming systems, but also rangelands, trees and drinking water supply — either by filling water ponds or through the recharge of shallow aquifers in some places.

However, due to its reliance on floods as the source of water it is inherently risky and uncertain. Even then in dry areas it is the most cost-effective way to retain and store water. Improvements in soil and water management, agronomy and governance have considerable potential to increase water productivity and enhance livelihoods in one of the most poverty-stricken areas of Pakistan. These lands can be transformed if enough attention is paid to them by scientists and policy makers in Pakistan.

Subsistence crops, often sorghum, millet and wheat are planted only after irrigation has occurred. In Pakistan, there are two main cropping seasons — summer and winter. Crops are grown from one or more irrigations using the moisture stored in the deep alluvial soils formed from the sediments deposited from previous irrigations. Spate systems ‘grow’ their own soils, and rely on nutrients transported with sediments from upstream catchments to maintain fertility.

The soil is thick and when dry, it cracks into clay block forms – just underneath lies moist, fertile earth which is ploughed and then seeded with various crops.

Crops grown in spate irrigation systems are usually organic, and don’t require inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. They are of a higher nutritional value and are less susceptible to disease. Since the flooded fields are free of pesticides and other chemicals, they become natural wetlands which attract migratory birds from as far as Siberia.

Every year, the flooded fields come alive with the sound of ducks and other waterfowl as they rest and feed in the winter months, on their way south. They return again in spring, on their way back to Siberia and colder climes — the Indus flyway is an internationally recognised migratory route for birds.

This type of agriculture requires high levels of co-operation between farmers to divert and manage the distribution of flood flows. The uncertainty stems from the unpredictable numbers, timing and volumes of floods, the occasional very large floods that wash out diversion structures, and the frequent changes to the rod channels from which the water is diverted.

Substantial local wisdom has developed in the location and construction of diversions and in organising water distribution and managing flood waters. In D.I. Khan, large irrigation systems have developed over centuries and there is a fair measure of equity between upstream and downstream water users.

The spate farming system in Pakistan is very important since it grows crops used in animal feed for livestock all over the country. Spate areas have also developed special local breeds of cattle and goats. They are also culturally rich areas with unique folklore relating to spate systems.

The spate irrigation system in Pakistan has enormous potential. According to conservative estimates, a significant amount (more than 50 per cent) of flood water is allowed to escape and flow into the Indus River each year. This flood water often brings fish from the other rivers and streams into the Indus as well which is healthy for its ecology. Of the remaining flood water, however, more than two third is wasted and not properly used for irrigation. A lot can be done to improve the livelihoods of the poverty-stricken communities living in spate areas.

At the policy level, spate irrigation should be encouraged since it is low cost, environmentally sustainable and people friendly. It gives sustenance to the poorest of the poor and allows free grazing for livestock. Many kinds of medicinal plants, wild vegetables and mushrooms, like the expensive truffles used to flavour European foods, are found in spate areas. Spate areas are also environmentally friendly and sustain various kinds of endangered wildlife. These include cranes, flamingos, houbara bustards and the Suleiman wolf.

Spate irrigation relies mostly on indigenous knowledge and requires relatively little investment for its practice and maintenance. The most important aspect is that the people manage it themselves. Although it is practiced in all the four provinces of Pakistan, little about it is known in the country and it needs to be promoted at both a national and regional level.

Before it is too late

Floods are part of climatic catastrophes throughout the world, but in recent years we are witnessing an increase in their occurrence and severity. There is no hard and fast rule to deal with the natural disaster but it is important how one responds to it.

Indigenous communities have learnt to survive in difficult situations, in many cases without institutional support, though on a limited scale. Villagers in some parts of Pakistan see floods as something partially useful. Many parts of Balochistan and the foothills of Suleiman Range and Kirthar Range in Pakistan receive floods through hill torrents and manage it through indigenous water user organisations and ancient methods like spate irrigation.

Upon the drying of moisture in the field, seeds of local varieties are sown and no further irrigation is applied. Reasonable production of high value crops is obtained in the form of seed and fodder. Livestock is the major industry that depends upon this type of agricultural system. No fertiliser is applied nor are pesticides used. It is pure organic farming and environmental friendly practices are applied throughout the land.

Once the flood water seeps down into the soil, different types of shrubs, bushes, grasses, trees, medicinal plants, mushrooms, (underground mushrooms) and wild vegetables sprout in these areas. Flood water brings along seeds and organic matter highly useful to local fields and excellent range-lands emerge to meet the livestock requirement of local and nomad tribes.

Floods also help in recharging underground water in certain areas which is beneficial for vegetation and pumping by tube-wells. In high lands of Balochistan floods also help to recharge karezes (underground channels). Moreover floods help to increase the water supply from springs and perennial flow of streams. This is the right time to cater to the appropriate sites in hilly areas to check the flood speed in order to recharge the underground water and let the natural vegetation grow.

The recent floods of Balochistan also demonstrate that professionals, bureaucrats, policy makers and even NGOs see the flood as something of a completely devastating phenomenon. To an extent it may be true but still there are positive aspects which need to be catered to with the help of the local population. In many parts of Balochistan, flood water leaves high content of moisture in the soil and local farmers know how to capture and utilise this opportunity.

They cultivate crops that are suitable to the environment, ecology, and socially acceptable and economically viable in such situation. The outsiders and even the government officials are not fully aware of such positive aspects of flood. July and August are the most suitable season to cultivate sorghum in hot areas of Balochistan (like Kachi, Jhalmagsi, Sibi and many other regions too) in the soil where moisture is left by flood. Still there is one month left and it is an opportunity that needs to be grasped by national and international NGOs, UN agencies and government to provide the seed of sorghum in spate irrigated areas of country affected by the recent flood.

Equally important is the seed of pulses suitable to this type of agriculture as mix farming is favoured by these farmers. The next two months, i.e. September and October are peak season for sowing oil seeds in flood affected areas. On the other hand, areas like Chaghi, Dalbandin, Washuk, Lasbela and Kharan are most suitable to cultivate guar beans and melons in July and August. There is a great need to address this opportunity on priority basis as spate agriculture is time bound and not much can be done once moisture disappears in this dry climate. In some areas sesame oil crop is an excellent option and other areas offer the cultivation of caster oil seed. Some farmers may need millet seeds and others may prefer wheat and barley crops.

Once the political will is there then several other suitable options can be implemented to utilise flood moisture. The recent flood water has spread to more than two million acres of land alone in Balochistan. The farmers there are waiting for someone to help them obtain seeds and other inputs before it is too late.

Conventionally many aid agencies spent time in planning and in this case not enough time is left as procurement of inputs and its logistics involve additional time. There is also the danger that we may loose this opportunity and in such a case it will be a national loss worth billions of rupees. Its counter effects may contribute further poverty and vulnerability among the already poor population in the province. — Karim Nawaz