Islamabad, Aug 31: The Central Cotton Research Institute in Multan hosted the official opening of an Eddy Covariance Flux Tower by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which was made possible by money from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and co-financing from the governments of Punjab and Sindh. In order for Pakistan to better monitor, analyze, and disseminate critical climate, water, and agricultural data all necessary for adapting to the effects of climate change through a better understanding of climate and ecosystem dynamics the installation of flux towers is a critical component of the project.
Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Secretary of Agriculture, and Florence Rolle, the FAO’s Country Head for Pakistan, co-led the inaugural event. FAO recently built various state-of-the-art climate and water data collection instruments as part of an ongoing project that encompasses five districts in South Punjab and three in Sindh. The goal of the installation is to revolutionize the current agri-food production systems.
The exchange of greenhouse gases between the atmosphere and the ground surface, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, is measured using the Eddy Covariance Flux Tower, a state-of-the-art scientific device. Understanding carbon fluxes, evapotranspiration, and the energy balance in agricultural ecosystems depends on the data it gathers. Assessing crop health, productivity, water use efficiency, and the environmental impact of agricultural operations all depend on this data.
Florence Rolle underlined in her lecture the significance of accurate information and statistics for government, research institutions, and farmers to make successful decisions in the face of climate change issues. “FAO’s dedication to assisting Pakistan’s agriculture in going digital is demonstrated by the installation of this flux tower and other cutting-edge instruments,” the spokesperson stated.
Iftikhar Ali Sahoo further emphasized the tower’s contribution to Pakistan’s advancement of environmentally friendly farming methods. He said, “The information we collect from this flux tower will enable our employees and farmers to make wise decisions, guaranteeing that we continue to raise agricultural productivity while reducing the effects of climate change.”
He emphasized the importance of flux tower and added that the datasets would also be used to calibrate a model that will determine how best to use water throughout a cropping season in order to advance precision agriculture. Several high-ranking officials were present at the ceremony: Dr. Yusaf Zafar, Vice President of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee; Shahzad Sabir, Director of the Agriculture Extension Division of the MNS University of Agriculture Multan; Malik Muhammad Akram, Director General On-Farm Water Management Punjab; Abdul Hameed, Director General Agriculture Extension and Adaptive Research; and Engineer Ashraf Bhatti, Chief Irrigation Multan, Punjab Irrigation Department.
The mounting difficulties of climate change and water scarcity, FAO, GCF, and the Agriculture Department have joined forces to create this project, which aims to ensure Pakistan’s agriculture sector remains sustainable. The project’s future goals will still center on building robust data management systems and utilizing comparable cutting-edge technology to increase the nation’s capacity for adaptation.
