A gateway to development

Pakistan is a massive country of over 225 million souls, and with a fifth-gear population growth rate of 2.55 per cent per annum, it faces the grim task of feeding its population. The country is also one of the top ten countries with climate change risk in the world. The economy is precarious and, with one of the highest GDP-to-public debt ratios in the world, faces the daunting task of rebuilding its ageing agriculture sector, most notably its irrigation and drainage infrastructure. In June this year, one of the gates of Sukkur barrage collapsed during active inundation season, and it is miraculous (and to the credit of the Sindh Irrigation Department) that the province was able to avoid the worst as supplies to its seven off-taking canals were restored within three weeks. This curtailed the devastating impact on rice and cotton crops during peak demand.