• Traditionally, villagers across Afghanistan diverted water from river to their fields by building channels with local timber, stone, and sand.
• However when the rivers overflow, and this happens 3-5 times a year, these fragile structures are washed away.
• Rebuilding channels required about 50-100 people working about 10 days.
• The canal beds were unlined, water was mostly seeped underground.
• Farmers often had to wait for days and weeks for their turn to water their fields.
• In many cases, delays caused standing crops to shrivel and dry out.
• Often, there was no proper division of water between villages.
• Little water reached lands at the tail end of the canal, resulted in frequent conflicts over water.
• With the construction of Nahar-e-Afghan Canal intake and other supporting structures, water for irrigation now reaches to 65000 hectares of land in Kapisa; before the new intake was built, only 55000 hectares of land could be irrigated.
• Over 100 villages with 5,572 house holds in Kapisa province are benefiting from the project.
• In Panjshir Province, the newly constructed concrete canal intake and lining on part of canal bed allows more water to reach the fields.
• Across Badqool village in Panjshir Province, an additional 30 hectares and over 2000 jerib of land have come under irrigation with this project.
• The Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) is the World Bank's first initiative in Afghanistan that specifically focuses on Irrigation.
• The program is assisting the country's Ministry of Energy and Water to rehabilitate dilapidated irrigation systems nationwide.
• Many beneficiaries were able to earn extra money by working with project construction team.
• The vast majority of Afghans depend on agriculture for a living.
• Afghanistan’s terrain- with rugged mountains, harsh deserts and a dry climate - is difficult to cultivate.
• Only about a tenth of the land is arable with 85% of them requiring irrigation.
• The country’s irrigation facilities have, however, suffered enormously during the war.
• About 70 % of the small underground canals (karezes) that watered the fields are no longer functional.
• As a result, rural incomes remain uncertain and low, with many farmers finding it difficult even to feed their families.
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