Tajikistan receives $46M agriculture grant from World Bank

Tuesday, February 05, 2013 - The World Bank has provided Tajikistan with a $46 million grant to improve its agricultural sector and provide employment for thousands in the country’s southern district of Khatlon, the bank said on Tuesday.
The grants come in the form of a $18 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), coupled with a $27.9 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Multi-Donor Trust Fund Program.
The grants build off a previous project in the Khatlon region, which benefited over 43,000 households with the provision of improved irrigation infrastructure and the creation of temporary jobs. The $10.01 million grant was financed by the European Union Food Crises Rapid Response Facility
“I am glad to see this project expanding and covering new districts of Tajikistan as food security is essential for the well-being of children and adults everywhere,” the World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan Marsha Olive said in the statement.
“By providing temporary employment opportunities we intend to help rural households not only earn additional income, but improve access to irrigation so they could get higher crop yields from the lands in many years to come.”
The project aims to increase crop yields by 10 percent, which will significantly improve food security in the country. It also expects to create 20 new Water User Associations to enhance water management.
“The repair of the irrigation and drainage infrastructure will improve irrigation of about 190,000 hectares [469.5 acres] of land,” RIA Novosti quoted Tajik Finance Minister Safarali Najmiddinov as saying.