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ADB JFPR Grant to Improve Irrigation Networks and Water Management in Balkh River Basin in Afghanistan

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (17 December 2004) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$10 million grant from its Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), funded by the Government of Japan, to boost agricultural productivity by improving irrigation networks and water resource management in the Balkh river basin in Afghanistan.

The project will address water distribution problems in two sets of irrigation networks in the Balkh river basin. The river basin has thousands of hectares of land supplied by traditional irrigation systems developed by local communities themselves, with some of them going back hundreds of years.

Water management in the area has traditionally been organized under mirabs, or locally elected leaders responsible for managing the irrigation system. A system of water allocation based on the irrigated land within each irrigation system also existed.

However, 25 years of civil unrest has weakened these traditional institutions for water management. This situation is worsened by the fact that most irrigation systems are in poor operating condition and lack modern designs and structures that could increase the capacity for water management and improve agriculture in the area.

"Inequitable and inadequate water distribution has had an adverse impact on agricultural productivity and has exacerbated poverty in the region," says Ki Hee Ryu, an ADB Project Specialist (Water Resources).

"Combining physical infrastructure with creating enduring community-based institutions responsible for water management will provide a more durable solution to the need for equitable distribution of water among all farmers."

The project will rehabilitate and upgrade traditional irrigation systems that are in poor operating condition by repairing diversion intakes and repairing and constructing canals. By employing a community-based approach, the project will provide jobs to the poor and former combatants.

Building upon the traditional social relationships and institutions that have worked well in the past for irrigated agriculture, the project will strengthen water management in the river basin through the mirab system.

The project will conduct capacity building activities on integrated water resource management and training programs on irrigation system operation and maintenance for mirabs, the Ministry of Irrigation, Water Resources, and Environment, and other irrigation water users.

It will develop new institutional arrangements for integrated water resources management for the Balkh river basin, including strategies and action plans, policy frameworks, and water management associations and organizations. It will also help enhance agricultural productivity and improve livelihoods through a small demand-driven capacity development program.

The Ministry of Finance is the executing agency for the project, which will be carried out over three and a half years.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about US$90 million), followed by additional contributions of $155 million and a commitment of $50 million.

ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 63 members - 45 from the region. In 2003, it approved loans and technical assistance amounting to US$6.1 billion and US$177 million, respectively.

More at adb.org/media

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