Islamabad: A low-cost hydraulic ram pump is changing the lives of poor families on a hilltop in Anzali, Ichrian town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, providing them with uninterrupted water for daily use and crop irrigation without fuel, electricity, or heavy expense. Installed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the pump channels water from a nearby stream uphill, giving the once-struggling community a reliable supply for crops, livestock, and household needs.
“This has made our lives much easier. We no longer spend hours fetching water from the mountain,” says Imtiaz Ahmed, a community elder, who with his neighbours now stores water in tanks supplied by the pump. IWMI has set up three such ram pumps in Mansehra district as pilot projects, where water is being delivered from downstream sources to altitudes as high as 1,000 feet.
The initiative is part of IWMI’s broader programme to improve water governance and climate-resilient agriculture in KP. Projects include soil moisture sensors to help farmers avoid over-irrigation, rainwater harvesting with drip irrigation, and new rice-growing techniques that use less water but increase yields, as proven in neighbouring Afghanistan. In Charsadda, woman farmer Shazia Sami is already using soil moisture sensors for better sugarcane production.
Naqaash Taj, a research officer at IWMI, said that in rain-fed districts like Charsadda, where only 21 percent of cultivated land is irrigated, innovative water management is critical. “We are forming water societies and working with district administrations to expand these solutions,” he added.
Two advanced flux towers have also been installed in Mansehra and Mardan to collect over 70 types of climate and soil data, including rainfall, carbon emissions and water flow. With six such towers across KP and Punjab — the highest number in South Asia — IWMI aims to guide both policymakers and farmers with evidence-based solutions.
“These innovations, if adopted by governments, can be a game changer for agriculture and water management,” said Kifayat Zaman, team lead of IWMI’s KP water project. He emphasized that IWMI is also helping provincial governments draft water laws and regulatory frameworks to secure long-term water sustainability.
IWMI argues that water security is among the most pressing global challenges, with rural communities and small farmers most vulnerable to climate change. By demonstrating affordable technologies in KP, the institute hopes to inspire government adoption and scale-up, making Pakistan’s agriculture more sustainable and resilient. -Waqar Gillani