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Climate
and
Disaster
Resilient
Irrigation
and
Drainage
set
to
reshape
lives
of
farmers
in
Tajikistan
August 24, 2022
SMEC has been appointed alongside BARS Consulting to deliver Climate and Disaster Resilient Irrigation and Drainage Modernization in the Vakhsh River Basin. The Vakhsh river is the major tributary of the Amu Darya, which is the largest in Central Asia.

Tajikistan is a landlocked and mountainous country prone to earthquakes and landslides and vulnerable to extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change. Agriculture is the most common form of employment but over time irrigation and drainage (I&D) infrastructure has deteriorated, putting heightened pressure on food security and the wider economy.

 

Key challenges faced by the community include declining water tables and rising salinity. Ageing infrastructure is also vulnerable to earthquakes, and not fit to deliver reliable irrigation, which locks farmers into rigid cropping with low yields.

 

The Vakhsh River Basin project is the first gender equity themed I&D investment of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Tajikistan. Despite women’s crucial role in agriculture and as primary water users, they do not have equal access to knowledge and inputs for improved agricultural productivity. They also have a limited role in decision-making on water management because of their low representation in water user associations. The project will help to enhance climate resilience, water productivity, and the income of female and male farmers by modernising selected areas of the Yovon I&D system.

 

 

The project vision is framed across three key outputs:

  • Modernisation of climate and disaster resilient I&D infrastructure.
  • Strengthening of climate adaptive management and gender-responsive operation of I&D systems.
  • Strengthening of policy for suitable water management.
Location

Tajikistan

Client

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Markets
Irrigation & Agriculture
SMEC has built a broad client base across the Central Asia Republics and Caucasus region with ongoing projects in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia. SMEC will help implement nature-based solutions for soil stabilisation and effective irrigation management practices that will enable a more sustainable way of life for the Tajikistan farming community. Using advance GIS & digital technologies, we will help build management capacity and design training opportunities for female and male agriculture workers in the region.
— Kawa Baha, Executive Director – Central Asian Republics & Caucasus Region

Details of scope

The Yovon I&D has a net irrigation command area of 40,335 hectares, and the system is highly exposed to climate and earthquake hazards. It is heavily reliant on irrigated agriculture for employment and subsistence and is characterized by highly erodible fine grained (loess) soils on sloping terraces.

 

Tajikistan Vaksh River Basin Contract Signing

 

SMEC and BARS consulting will lead services across four concurrent work streams, to be delivered over a program of approximately 60 months:

  • Engineering planning, studies, surveys, investigations, design, cost estimating, contract documents preparation, works construction supervision and construction contracts management for irrigation, drainage and irrigation Object safety improvement works
  • Institutional development, strengthening, training and capacity building for improved water management and systems MOM at the level of both local water user and supporting system management organizations
  • Agricultural development for improved and sustainable irrigated agriculture production and productivity, through training, demonstrations and establishment of extension and support organizations for farmer and farm manager capacity strengthening, and through demonstrations, technical support and advisory facilities for farm mechanization and mechanized maintenance of I&D systems
  • Overall project management and coordination support, including for environmental assessments and management and for project monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

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