The World Bank Executive Board has approved $171 million to support agricultural productivity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by improving irrigation system, strengthening small farmers' skills and supporting farmers to add value to their products.
According to the project documents, the total cost of the project is $219.3 million of which International Development Association (IDA) credit is $171 million while counterpart funding is $48.3 million.
The project has the following components; (i) improvement of community irrigation systems ($140.7 million, IDA $109.7 million). This component will improve the on-farm water supply in irrigated areas. There are two systems the project supports: watercourses in canal command areas and those in non-canal areas, also known as 'civil canal.' The component will support four types of watercourse improvements for; (a) watercourses in canal-irrigated areas; (b) large-scale (around 3 cusecs) watercourses in non-canal irrigated areas; (c) regular-scale watercourses in non-canal irrigated areas; and (d) piped water schemes in non-canal areas run from tube wells or springs, tanks or pumping from rivers and channels; (ii) introduction of modern irrigation technologies ($44 million, IDA $26.8 million). This component will provide support to farmers for the adoption of modern irrigation technologies to increase on-farm water application efficiency. It has three subcomponents; (i) subcomponent B1: installation of high-efficiency irrigation systems (HEIS) ($13.6 million, IDA $8.1 million); (ii) subcomponent B2: construction of on-farm water storage tanks and ponds ($23.2 million, IDA $17.4 million); (iii) subcomponent B3: strengthening private precision land leveling service in private sector ($7.3 million, IDA $1.3 million); (iii) capacity building and establishing knowledge base for future inclusive growth ($12.5 million, all IDA). This component has two sub-components aimed at building capacity to optimise the investments in components A and B and to lay the groundwork for profitable market linkages for the agricultural sector.
There are two subcomponents; (i) subcomponent C1: capacity building for farmers and the government institutions ($7.5 million); (ii) subcomponent C2: establishing knowledge base for future inclusive growth ($5 million); (iii) project management and monitoring ($26 million, all IDA). This component will ensure that all project activities are implemented effectively in a timely manner.
The World Bank stated that farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa face serious challenges of low water use efficiency and lack of modern technology, skills and knowledge to engage in high value agriculture value chains. This results in an underdeveloped rural economy with high vulnerability to climate changes.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa irrigated agriculture improvement project will help address these challenges by: (i) rehabilitating community watercourses; (ii) establishing water users' associations; (iii) introducing high efficiency irrigation systems and laser land leveling; (iv) strengthening farmers' technical skills; and (v) filling knowledge gaps on agriculture market opportunities and constraints.
"Agriculture accounts for one-fifth of Pakistan's economy and employs nearly half the labor force in the country," World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu said. "This project will boost the rural economy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by benefiting millions of small farmers to diversify crops, improve productivity and increase household incomes," he added.
Most of the project beneficiaries will be small farmers with less than five hectares (12.5 acres) of land, who account for 96 percent of all farmers in KP. Approximately, 150,000 farm families (around 1.1 million people) will benefit directly from the project, mainly through community watercourse improvements. In addition, about 5,000 families will benefit from tanks and ponds, and 2,000 families from higher efficiency irrigation system.
The project will contribute to an improved and more climate resilient community water management system. It aims to increase water and agriculture productivity to respond to market opportunities. As the performance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa irrigated agriculture improves, the project will contribute to a more vibrant and dynamic rural economy in the province.
"Cultivated land per capita is very limited in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and only about half of it gets irrigated. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will need to use its limited natural resources of land and water more efficiently to meet its growing needs for food," senior agriculture specialist and team leader of the project, Muhammad Riaz said. The project will help strengthen the province's potential for higher water productivity and profitability with smarter technologies and infrastructure, he added.
Efficient use of water and climate smart agriculture is among the priority areas identified in 'Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future,' a flagship initiative that identifies frontier interventions for Pakistan to become a prosperous country by 2047.
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