Sobia Asghar

National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), Faculty Member

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), School of Environment,Resources and Development, Graduate Student

Followers

Following

Public Views

Assistant Professor of Agribusiness Management at Atta ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
Supervisors: Prof. Nophea Sasaki, Prof. Ganesh P. Shivakoti, and Dr. Takuji W. Tsusaka

less

Jude (Judith) Capper

Harper Adams University

David Seamon

Kansas State University

Timothy Morton

Rice University

Dr. A K M Mominul Islam

Bangladesh Agricultural University

Chhabi Baral

Tribhuvan University, Nepal

ORHAN ÖZÇATALBAŞ

Akdeniz University

Darwin H . Pangaribuan

The University Of Lampung

Indera Syahrul Mat Radzuan

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Walter J Fernandes

Carlos Manuel Faísca

University of Coimbra

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Sobia Asghar

Assessing the efficiency of smallholder sugarcane production: The case of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Agricultural Water Management, Jul 1, 2022

Declining water tables and shrinking irrigation supply are two major challenges for agricultural ... more Declining water tables and shrinking irrigation supply are two major challenges for agricultural production that increase production costs of high delta crops in Pakistan. Crop producers may tackle these threats by optimizing the use of available resources. To devise policies for improved resource use and cost reduction, assessing current efficiency levels and their determinants can provide useful information. This research assessed the technical, allocative, and groundwater-irrigation efficiency of smallholder sugarcane farms in Faisalabad, Pakistan using primary data for 56 tubewell solo owners, 37 tubewell shareholders, and 47 water buyers and applying the data envelopment analysis technique. The factor affecting the allocative efficiency were explored using the tobit regression. We found that the groundwater-irrigation efficiency ranged from 92% for the solo owners, 92% for shareholders, and to 83% for water buyers. On average, technical efficiency at sugarcane farms was more than 90%. Solo owners, shareholders, and water buyers achieved only 40%, 28%, and 37% of allocative efficiency, respectively. By improving the allocative efficiency through optimal allocation of inputs, farms can considerably decrease their costs for a given output level. The allocative efficiency was negatively associated with farmers&#39; age, farm size, tubewell depth, discharge rate and salinity in groundwater. Our findings imply that sugarcane farms can substantially reduce their production costs by installing smaller tubewells that match their crop irrigation requirement and groundwater depth. Further, improving the allocative efficiency of relatively large sugarcane farms, monitoring and regulating groundwater extraction to prevent further increase in groundwater and irrigation and soil management practices to reduce salinity can improve the efficiency.

Factors affecting farmers’ choice of tube well ownership in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract Development of private tube wells and groundwater markets have transformed the farming s... more Abstract Development of private tube wells and groundwater markets have transformed the farming systems of smallholders in Pakistan, leading to the realization of economic incentives for higher outputs, profits, and sustainability. This chapter aimed at identifying significant factors affecting farmers’ choice of tube well ownership. The multinomial logit model was applied to investigate the factors that drove farmers’ choice among the following three options to access groundwater namely, (1) exclusive ownership of a tube well, (2) sharing a tube well, and (3) buying water from informal groundwater markets. Data from 224 households consisting of 84 exclusive owners, 65 tube well shareholders, and 75 water buyers were analyzed. The results showed that decision maker’s age, groundwater depth, and salinity perception increased the odds of choosing the shared tube wells over exclusively owned tube wells. The price of groundwater significantly decreased the odds of opting for shared tube wells. The odds of purchasing water significantly increased with an increase in salinity. On the other hand, land size, price of groundwater, and ownership of tractor decreased the odds of purchasing water. The findings implied that shared tube wells were more preferred over exclusive tube wells in deeper water table areas and where water was more saline. In the given circumstances of falling groundwater levels, and decreasing quality of groundwater, the focus should be shifted to sustainable use and management of these shared tube wells and purchased water to safeguard the groundwater resources and farm profitability in the long run.

Farming system analysis of irrigated farms in Faisalabad, Pakistan

This research was related to water inequality assessment at canal and watercourse level in the he... more This research was related to water inequality assessment at canal and watercourse level in the head, middle and tail farms irrigated by Canal Rakh Branch, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The main objectives of the research were to assess the inequalities in irrigation water supply, farmers' decision about cropping patterns based on available water and the constraints faced in different areas. This study was carried out to assess the status of water availab ility in the year 2012-13. The data analysis was performed in order to find out the differences in designed and actual water discharge in head, middle and tail areas based on the data provided by Punjab Irrigation Department. The analysis also aimed to study the farmers' adaptation to given water supply based on selected indicators such as area under each crop, number of crops in a year and purpose of production. The research found out that the water inequality existed at canal level, distributary level and watercourse level. Tail distributaries were getting less water than designed discharge while in the head distributaries the condition was opposite i.e. they were getting more volume of water than their allocated share. However, in middle distributaries the water supply was equal to designed discharge. The reasons of inequality were based on physical design of canals, management of water flow in canal/water course and roles of informal institutional in water allocation. The research also found out that farmers decided the cropping area of high water demanding crops like sugarcane and low water demanding crops like fodder according to canal water availability. The area under high water demanding crops decreased from head to middle and further decreased in tail areas. The income of head farmers was the highest and it gradually decreased toward downstream areas, which implied the needs to focus on income diversification in downstream areas.

Sobia Asghar

Uploads

Papers by Sobia Asghar

Log In