Managing Water Resources for Environmentally Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture in Pakistan

Pakistan’s agriculture is almost wholly dependent on irrigation and irrigated land supplies more than 90 percent of agricultural production. Irrigation is central to Pakistan’s economy. Massive investments in irrigation contributed to the development of one of the largest Indus Basin Irrigation System. Despite heavy budgetary inputs in irrigation system, it is facing shortage of resources and suffering from operational problems. The sustainability of irrigated agriculture is threatened due to problems of waterlogging and salinity, inadequate operation and maintenance, insufficient recovery of O&M expenditure, inequitable distribution, environmental degradation, institutional issues etc. The growing scarcity of water sets the future stage for intensive competition over water between agriculture and non-agricultural users. The growing need for food and fibre requirements of increasing population further limits the per capita availability of water. Due to the limited prospects for expanding irrigation facilities, the projected increase in irrigated agriculture will have to come from significant improvement in the performance of existing systems. Policy-makers and planners are of the view that Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture requires new strategies to enhance input efficiency and maintain and improve the quality of the resource base and to get the irrigation system out of crises. There is a global movement for searching a new type of relationship between the managers of irrigated agriculture and farmers. Such options are being considered by government at various levels to put the system on sustainable development path. In addressing the environmentally sustainable water resource management in Pakistan, the paper makes an attempt to provide an over-view of water resource issues and options.

An Economic Analysis of Joint Production Between Latex and Wood Among Rubber Smallholders in Melaka

The total land devoted to rubber crop (Hevea brasiliensis) in 1995 was estimated to be around 1.7 million hectares, which were about 31 percent of the total land under agricultural crops in Malaysia. The increasing demand in the furniture market and the projected shortage of general utility timber from natural forests has made rubberwood a major source of timber. Malaysian Furniture Industry Council estimated about 80 percent of furniture exports were made up of rubberwood, amounting around RM1.7 billion of total 1996 furniture exports from Malaysia. The global demand for natural rubber is also projected to increase from the present figure of approximately 5.9 million tonnes to around 7.5 million tonnes by the early years of the next century. Latex and rubberwood production can be increased significantly by improving the productivity per unit area, which is very low. The present study was therefore conducted with the objective to find out the extent of increase in latex and rubberwood production through reallocation of resources optimally. The study was conducted in Melaka State, confined to the district of Alor Gajah. All the group replanting (TSB) and mini-estate (ME) schemes yielding latex were sampled. The data were collected by the survey method. Personal interview was used. A sample of 31 holdings comprising 18 TSBs and 13 MEs was selected for this study. Thirty-four sample plots were established for tree measurements to estimate rubberwood yield. The study was confined only to smallholders as about 84 percent of the total area planted with rubber in Malaysia come under smallholdings. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. The frontier production function was buih by imposing a Cobb-Douglas type specification on the frontier and an output-based measure of efficiency was evolved. The maximum revenue combination of latex and rubberwood was determined on the production possibility frontier. A comparison of marginal value products of the variable inputs with their corresponding per unit costs exhibited a potential of 24 percent increase in latex and rubberwood production through optimal resource allocation. It was concluded from the study that optimum combination of latex and rubberwood outputs in conjunction with optimal resource allocation and technically efficient management could increase smallholder's income up to 39 percent. It is suggested that Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority should declare latex a by-product, tapped only when it could fetch a good price. In developing rubber sma1lholding sector, the Authority should focus on the mini-estate programme rather than any other scheme. Furthermore, it is also suggested that the Authority should launch a programme for the logging of rubber plantations above 19 years, which are uneconomical to maintain

ANALISIS KETERSEDIAAN LAHAN UNTUK PEMENUHAN KEBUTUHAN SEREALIA DI KABUPATEN ACEH JAYA

Abstrak. Komoditi serealia sangat penting dalam memenuhi kebutuhan pangan masyarakat sebagai sumber karbohidrat utama. Produksi serealia salah satunya ditentukan oleh ketersediaan lahan pertanian yang luas dan subur. Kabupaten Aceh Jaya memiliki potensi untuk pengembangan tanaman serealia khususnya padi dan jagung. Semakin besar jumlah penduduk maka kebutuhan terhadap serealia juga akan semakin besar. Kebutuhan serealia dihitung menurut kebutuhan energi penduduk yang terus bertambah setiap tahun, serta mengetahui ketersediaan lahan yang sesuai untuk tanaman serealia berdasarkan kriteria tumbuh dan rencana tata ruang wilayah di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya). Hasil analisa menunjukkan jumlah penduduk di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya pada Tahun 2006 yang berjumlah 86.396 jiwa akan terus bertambah hingga Tahun 2030 berjumlah 115.359 jiwa. Produksi serealia (padi dan jagung) pada Tahun 2015 padi sebanyak 80.170 ton dan produksi jagung sebanyak 4.892 ton hingga pada Tahun 2030 produksi padi menjadi 1.161.329 ton dan produksi jagung menjadi 672.558,80 ton. Ketersediaan energi rata-rata dari produksi serealia di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya pada Tahun 2006-2015 masih surplus dengan rata-rata ketersediaan energi 69.328,53 juta/kkal sedangkan rata-rata kebutuhan energi penduduk sebesar 36.899,23 juta/Kkal. Ketersediaan lahan untuk budidaya tanaman serealia di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya seluas 19.119 ha telah mencukupi kebutuhan lahan untuk pemenuhan kebutuhan serealia yaitu seluas 4.402,87 ha. Ketersediaan lahan potensial yang sesuai untuk budidaya serealia di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya seluas 66.400,39 ha dapat mencukupi kebutuhan lahan untuk pemenuhan kebutuhan serealia penduduk hingga Tahun 2030 seluas 5.102,97 ha

DETEKSI RESIDU ANTIBIOTIK PADA DAGING BROILER YANG TERDAPAT DI BEBERAPA PASAR TRADISIONAL KABUPATEN PIDIE

DETEKSI RESIDU ANTIBIOTIK PADA DAGING BROILER YANG TERDAPAT DI BEBERAPA PASAR TRADISIONAL KABUPATEN PIDIE ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui adanya residu antibiotik pada daging broiler yang dipasarkan di wilayah kota Sigli. Sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah ayam pedaging (Broiler) bagian paha dan dada yang terdapat di empat pasar dalam wilayah kota Sigli yaitu pasar kota Sigli, pasar Beureunuen, pasar Tidjue dan pasar kembang Tanjong. Pengujian sampel terhadap residu antibiotik dilakukan dengan metode Bioassay (Screening) di laboratorium kesmavet Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan Universitas Syiah Kuala dengan Bacillussubtillis sebagai strain bakteri yang direferensi, masing-masing sampel dikerjakan pengulangan 3 (tiga) kali. Hasil pengujian menunjukkan hasil negatif disemua pasar yang diperiksa. Tidak ditemukan residu antibiotik di beberapa pasar tradisional kabupaten Pidie

Impact of Merchandize and Services Trade on Economic Growth of Pakistan

Trade comprises both merchandize and services trade. However, the former has over eclipsed the latter. Today services trade has also emerged an important component of international trade. Recent studies show that services trade is rapidly growing which assigns relative importance to services trade in developing economies. This study focused on Pakistan and empirically compared services and merchandise trade for the period 2001-2016. Model-I provided robust results. Merchandised trade has positive and significant impact on economic growth of Pakistan. Trade promotion not only depends on domestic economic conditions but also on favourable global economic scenario. Model-II estimation results are visibly different from that of Model-I. Services trade has negative impact on economic growth. Services exports have remained well below services imports that culminated in negative impact on economic growth. Pakistan  policy makers may address the services trade seriously in order take care of adverse services trade balance that could be made possible by exploring weak areas of services exports with emphasis on innovation and information technology  development. Keywords: Merchandised Trade, Services trade, Economic growth Pakistan Jel Classification: F1

Mathematical modelling of gas flow networks in pellet induratlon systems

The objective of this research is to develop a simulation software tool, GASFLO, which should evaluate pressure, flow and temperature distributions of process gas in pellet induration system networks. Pellet induration systems are complex industrial systems composed of heterogenous components. The magnitude of gas through leaks i.e. the air entering or leaving the system from the points other than the known exits, is substantial and it adversely effects the performance of induration process. These leaks are very difficult to measure because of the hostile environment in the plant. The modelling of such industrial systems requires a notable amount of experimentation so the tool has been designed to enable the user modeller to change the component models and solution algorithms easily. The conventional methods for flow network simulation are based on process centred approach, mostly composed of homogeneous components. For ease of computation, the non-pipe elements are modelled with an approximate linear or non-linear generic equation, whose coefficients can simulate different states of the element. The resulting set of non-linear equations is linearised and solved simultaneously using some iterative method. By contrast, GASFLO is based on device centred or unit based approach, and uses a two level hierarchical solution algorithm. The pellet induration system network is first idealised into a connected graph of streams (sets of serially connected components) and nodes. At the top or coordination level the flow and pressure distributions satisfying the Kirchhoff's laws are evaluated for the connected graph. At the lower or component level the exact mathematical models of components ale computed, in order of their occurrence in respective streams, using coordination variables as parameters. The converged flows are used for the temperature computation. The solution algorithm requires partitioning of the connected graph into forest and coforest structures, for which secondary algorithms have been developed using specific heuristics relevant to the pellet induration systems. The rigorous application of software engineering techniques for the design and implementation of software, enabled the resolution of the complexity of the modelled system, embedded the characteristics of 'quality software' into the resulting code and benefits from object orientation, even though it is implemented in standard FORTRAN 77. GASFLO predicted results are in a good agreement with the measured results, it has been validated for a real life pellet induration system. It has been applied to simulate several practical scenarios, like addition of extra wind boxes to the zones and to determine how the plant production can be increased by certain ratio, such simulations were not feasible otherwise. GASFLO takes less than a minute to simulate a real-life pellet induration system on a 486 PC. The combined simulation with an other software tool, INDSYS, which evaluates the heat distribution in the solids, is also feasible

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS: DOES CLASSROOM LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OF SINGLE-GENDER CLASSES MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?

Mathematics is an important subject as it supports most of the social sciences and almost all natural sciences. Both the teaching and teaching and learning aspects of Mathematics are quite different from other subjects of the social sciences as well as the natural sciences. Therefore, teaching and learning process of Mathematics demands specific learning environment and Mathematics related attitudes both of the teachers and the students. Studying these aspects in single-gender classroom becomes even more significant. The study at hand focuses on exploring the relationship between these two variables on the basis of gender. The 11th grade male and female Mathematics students enrolled during academic year 2012-2013 in public sector colleges of Punjab province of Pakistan constituted the population of the study. The sample of the study included randomly selected 1717 students from the public sector colleges located in six randomly selected districts of the Punjab province. In order to collect data, two Urdu translated questionnaires namely, What Is Happening in This Class (WIHIC), and Questionnaire of Mathematics-Related Attitude (QOMRA) were used. The data was collected in the last month of the academic year so that the attitude of students in real sense may be determined. Research findings revealed that male and female students’ perception about their classroom learning environment significantly differs from each other. The male students perceived more supportive learning environment in Mathematics classroom than the female learners. Moreover, it was also found out that classroom learning environment has a feeble effect on students’ attitude towards Mathematics. However, it was found that the male students showed relatively more positive attitude towards Mathematics than the female student

Estimating Long-run Trade Elasticities in Pakistan: A Cointegration Approach

The effects of devaluation or depreciation on the trade balance of a country are usually examined by the Marshall-Lerner [ML] condition, which states that if the sum of the absolute values of imports and exports demand price elasticities is greater than one, devaluation is expected to improve the trade balance of a country. Some Structural Adjustment Reforms were started with the help of IMF and World Bank in 1982-83 with the objective of improving the efficiency of the economy by increasing the role of the private sector. The reforms included the delinking of the Rupee from US dollar in January 1982, price deregulation of a large number of products, denationalisation of industry, imports liberalisation and export expansion [Khan (1994)]. The successive governments have taken a number of steps to pursue an extensive liberalisation of the trade regime in addition to taking a number of export measures. Exchange and payment reforms were also implemented [Pakistan (1991-92)]