The Program aims to halt the loss of irrigated arable land and expand irrigated areas, which are critical for agricultural productivity, food security, and rural livelihoods. Given the country’s mountainous terrain and limited arable land, the Program emphasizes careful land management, improved irrigation and drainage systems, and alignment with national development priorities. The document provides an extensive assessment of the current state of land and water resources, highlighting challenges such as land degradation, soil salinization, outdated irrigation infrastructure, inefficient water use, and declining per-capita access to irrigated land. Although irrigated land represents less than half of the country’s potential irrigable area, they account for the vast majority of agricultural output and rural employment. However, financial constraints, deteriorating hydraulic structures, and insufficient maintenance have caused significant areas of land to fall out of agricultural use, posing risks to long-term food security and economic stability. The Program sets concrete targets and mechanisms for implementation, financing, and monitoring. By 2027, it plans to develop over 11,000 hectares of new irrigated land and restore more than 5,500 hectares of abandoned land, bringing nearly 17,000 hectares back into agricultural production and creating tens of thousands of rural jobs. Implementation will be coordinated by the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation, with funding from state and local budgets, investment projects, and domestic and foreign investments. The Program also establishes a formal monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress, funding, and the effectiveness of land reclamation and irrigation measures.
Tadjikistan · 2022-03-01