The project “Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Climate-Smart Water Management (GCP/PAK/146/GCF)” has the objective to increase resilience to climate change among the most vulnerable farmers in the Indus Basin and to strengthen government’s capacity to support communities in adapting to climate change. In response to climate change threats, several measures are needed to sustain agricultural production and enable sustainable growth of the sector in a manner that reduces poverty, increases resilience and achieves food and nutrition security. The project addresses barriers that are currently inhibiting the transition to a climate-resilient pathway for Indus Basin agriculture. The first and most important step is to enable Pakistan to rationally manage its water resources in a changing climate, which requires expanding and strengthening the country’s capacity to continually measure, monitor and model its hydrologic systems taking into account the impact of climate change. The country’s agriculture is extremely dependent on surface water systems predominantly fed by snow/glacial sources. These systems are highly vulnerable to rising temperatures. The near certain continued rise in temperature, and the likely combined and synergistic effects that this will trigger, make critical the availability of timely, robust and accurate information upon which to base decisions and carry out long-term water use planning that will affect the future of the entire nation. 

The first component of the project contributes at enhancing information services for climate change adaptation in the water and agriculture sectors. State-of-the-art technology will be applied to cope with climate change and its impact on agriculture and water management through better monitoring, analysis, and dissemination of information on climate, water and agriculture. The use of digital technologies, remote sensing and collaborative compilation and sharing of data, information and knowledge under this component are part of the e-agriculture approach. The second component of the project contributes at building on-Farm Resilience to Climate Change, by supporting farmers to acquire skills on climate resilient agriculture and on-farm water management, adopt technologies and engage with stakeholders that provide services relevant to climate change adaptation in agriculture. The third component aims at creating an enabling environment for continued transformation. This is essential to the broader process of transforming Indus Basin agriculture to a progressively more climate-resilient pathway in the future.