Sindh Province consists of a sizeable agrarian economy. The irrigation water is supplied by the largest canal network in Asia and is controlled by 03 barrages / head works, 14 main canals (and branch / distributaries including minors) stretching over 64,000 kms and about 44,000 watercourses running approximately 1,32,000 kms which provide irrigation water to over 5.0 Million Hectares along the Indus River which flows through the Province. The main crops of the Province are; sugar cane, cotton, rice, wheat, vegetables, etc.

As population of the urban and rural sectors rapidly increases and as the Mega City of Karachi is swelling to enormous proportions due to its position as the Economic Power House of the Country, the demands on agriculture products by the increasing number of consumers and the need for increased income generation in the rural areas for the growing population through agriculture, is rapidly rising. As a result, more and more uncultivated areas are being brought under cultivation. With this increase in cultivated area, the water requirements for agriculture are also rising.

This period of increase in demand for irrigation water coincides with the declining availability of water resources. The long spells of dry weather, the silting of dams and canals, all are making the task challenging for the government to meet the growing demand for irrigation water. The task is even more daunting in Sindh where sub-soil sweet water is not available in most of the areas.

The Government is working on a two dimensional approach to this problem. While it is exploring the possibilities of increasing the availability of irrigation water, it is also working on various ways to conserve and use efficiently the available irrigation water.

Studies have shown that the over all availability of irrigation water in Pakistan is still more than warranted by the aggregate cultivated area. The problem lies in the inefficient use which is a result of water losses in obsolete conveyance systems (canals, minors, watercourses) and poor land preparation (mainly uneven leveling), and poor / inefficient Agronomic practices.

The entire system of canals and watercourses runs a distance of approximately 1, 96,000 kms. About 40% of irrigation water is lost during its course from the River to the fields through a network of over 42,000 watercourses. Hence, out of a total of 160 MAF (136 MAF river & 24 MAF underground) water available in the Country, 48 MAF is Sindh's share, but with a transmission loss of 40%, only 28.8 MAF irrigates the crops. A sizeable proportion, of these losses, is due to poor condition of watercourses.

Keeping in mind such high losses, the Government has devised this Joint Venture with the Farmers named as National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW). The Programme is an initiative of President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to solve the problem of scarcity of irrigation water through conservation strategies. The programme was launched simultaneously in all the provinces of the country in 2004. The programme aims at lining of 33000 watercourses in Sindh province along with a total estimated capital outlay of Rs 26 billion. The Programme is being Financed by the Federal Government and is being executed by the District Government under the umbrella of Agriculture Department Government of Sindh.

In order to effectively implement the Programme a total 260 field teams have been constituted in all the 23 districts of Sindh. The Programme envisages formation of Watercourse Associations ( WCAs) for carrying out civil works with the technical assistance of field teams. Once an association is registered with the Community Development Department & the technical sanction for the watercourse is issued by the concerned field team, funds are credited to the account of Watercourse Association ( WCA ). The NPIW envisages a paradigm shift where the spending on improvement of watercourses & procurement of material is under taken by the water users themselves instead of Government Contractors.