Agro-Water and Climate Resilie...

The World Bank is assisting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to prepare the Agro-Water Climate Resilience Project (AWCR). The Project objective is to improve land and water productivity and strengthen climate resilience in agricultural systems in selected watersheds and irrigated areas of Afghanistan. The Project includes four components: (A) Support to Irrigated Agriculture; (B) Support to Dryland Farming and Watershed Management; (C) Supporting Access to Market; and (D) Project Management. The Project will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW); the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA); and Afghanistan Metrology Department (AMD) will be key implementing partners. The Project design is based on experience and knowledge acquired from several on-going or recently closed projects, including: On-Farm Water Management Project (OFWMP), National Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), Afghanistan Agricultural Improvement Project (AAIP), all three implemented by MAIL, and Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Project (IRDP) implemented by MEW, among others. With regard to irrigation rehabilitation, OFWMP and IRDP are the two relevant projects to learn from. They show good results in terms of implementation performance – with large number of schemes with improved irrigation as a result of project intervention – and seem to have a significant impact on water productivity. These results still need to be further strengthened and sustained. AWCRP intends to bring an additional focus on resilience of irrigation schemes through (1) collective action process: enhanced dialogue between MAIL and beneficiary communities resulting in shared commitments, with a view to improve the quality and viability of the irrigation service; and (2) improved water management: better linkages between water resources analysis, irrigation management and agricultural production, with a view to make best use of available water and increase its productivity, including through conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock is looking for an International Water Management Specialist to perform the activities below.