YEAR:2011-2012
CLIENT: Rural Restructuring Agency
BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
The Republic of Uzbekistan received a loan from the Asian Development Bank in the amount of US$ 60.2 million towards the cost of the Land Improvement Project. The project area was selected through a systematic screening and stakeholder consultation process. The selection criteria included:
- availability of reliable irrigation water;
- high risk of land degradation without project interventions;
- high potential for restoring land capability;
- low investments and O&M costs;
- large number of poor households; and
- existence of relevant rural organizations. Irrigation and drainage schemes were selected in nine districts of Kashdarya, Navoi and Bukhara provinces, covering an area of 162,300 ha.
The expect impact of the Project is increased income of farmers in the project area. The project outcome would be improved productivity of land in a sustainable manner, leading to increased crop yields and enhanced ecological sustainability in the project areas. To ensure such an outcome, the Project and the accompanying TA are designed to deliver outputs, covering policy, technical and institutional changes.
These outputs are:
- enabling policy environment that supports sustainable land management, including enhanced production incentives for farmers (freedom to choose what to grow and where to market) and secure land tenure,
- application of improved land and water management practices,
- strengthened water management institutions,
- rehabilitated land and water infrastructure and operational and effective project management and monitoring systems.
The project comprises 4 components:
Land and Agricultural Improvement: improved land reclamation practices and on-farm water management
Capacity Building of Land and Water Management Institutions: institutional strengthening, introduction of integrated land and water resources management, and O&M
Rehabilitation of Land Management Infrastructure: rehabilitation of on-farm irrigation and drainage infrastructure of irrigation canals and drainage collectors for improved land and water management (15,175 ha in Navoi, 21,460 ha in Bukhara, 24,150 ha in Kashkadarya, rehabilitation of main drainage collectors, covering an area of 162,300 ha
Project Management: establishment of project offices and performance monitoring and evaluation units, surveys and investigations, and water and soil quality monitoring.