Pakistan's economy is primarily dependent on agriculture, but it faces serious water challenges. This paper critically evaluates the water resources and socio-economic and environmental factors contributing to increased farm-level water scarcity in the Punjab region. The study involved conducting structured interviews with 370 farmers to gather data necessary for conducting a detailed sociotechnical factor analysis. From this, eight factors were identified that were found to directly impact farmer well-being including climate change (rise in temperature and erratic rainfall), poor socio-economic farmer conditions, issues linked to the warabandi (canal water distribution system), inadequate irrigation, reduced water availability, poor water course maintenance, and low adoption of efficient irrigation techniques. The Kruskal-Wallis test was then used to assess statistical differences between the respondents' demographic attributes and the identified factors. Demographic factors including age, education, land size, farming experience, and cultivated area showed significant mean differences with the eight factors. Young farmers with higher education levels were more likely to adopt high-efficiency irrigation systems to conserve water. The research also highlighted the importance of introducing crops with a lower water demand into the region and the need to proactively support agricultural extension services to encourage farmers to adopt more efficient irrigation systems to improve crop productivity and facilitate on-farm water conservation.

中文翻译：

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评估影响巴基斯坦旁遮普省农场水资源短缺的社会经济和环境因素*

巴基斯坦的经济主要依赖农业，但面临严重的水资源挑战。本文批判性地评估了导致旁遮普地区农场缺水加剧的水资源以及社会经济和环境因素。该研究涉及对 370 名农民进行结构化访谈，以收集进行详细的社会技术因素分析所需的数据。由此确定了八个直接影响农民福祉的因素，包括气候变化（气温升高和降雨不规律）、农民社会经济状况不佳、与瓦拉班迪有关的问题（运河配水系统）、灌溉不足、可用水量减少、水道维护不善以及高效灌溉技术采用率低。然后使用 Kruskal-Wallis 检验来评估受访者的人口统计属性和确定的因素之间的统计差异。年龄、受教育程度、土地面积、耕作经历、耕地面积等人口统计学因素与8个因素的均值差异显着。受教育程度较高的年轻农民更有可能采用高效灌溉系统来节约用水。