TA 6697-REG: Project Readiness Support for the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Sector in Central and West Asia. ADB
Name of Client: ADB/Ministry of Water Resources Status: Completed (Completion Date (Month/Year): 12/2023) Narrative description of Project: The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide assistance in updating the feasibility study of the proposed Ayakchi dam project and Obizarang dam project in the Amu Darya River Basin. The Ayakchi dam will have a height of 69.8m and a reservoir with a storage capacity of 16.8 million m³. The project will have a dual purpose: (i) to protect settlements, public infrastructure and private properties other objects from destructive floods and mudflows; and (ii) to provide supplement irrigation supplies to a command area of 25,000 hectare by regulating the flow of Ayakchi river. The Obizarang dam will have a height of 87.5m and its storage capacity is 13.15 million m3. The project will serve two purposes: (i) protection of settlements, public, and private properties from destructive mudflows and floods; and (ii) a supplementary water source for an irrigation area of 9,724 ha serving Sariosiyo (6,662 ha) and Uzun (3,062 ha) districts. After reviewing existing reports prepared by the government and conducting a field mission, an additional Socio-economic survey has been required to confirm financial and economic viability for the projects by collecting and compiling up-to-date socio-economic information.
Description of actual services provided in the assignment:
Without-project scenario (current situation)
i.Typical and average size of farms, and basic demographics (household composition and age, percentage of migrants) in the command area;
ii.Existing cropping pattern, cropping calendar (which crops, and when are they grown) and cropping intensity;
iii.Cropped area for each of the crops in the command area in hectares;
iv.Water requirements for currently grown crops;
v.Crop budgets for all crops grown in the command area, in both physical and financial (unit cost) terms, including yields, output price, variable operating costs (inputs such as fuel, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, electricity) and fixed operating costs (land preparation, irrigation fee);
vi.Labor requirements for each crop grown in the command area. Specify the labor requirement, in person-days, for each stage of the growth cycle, planting, pruning, wedding, etc. until harvesting and marketing);
vii.For each crop grown in the command area, roughly estimate the labour source (hired vs. household labor);
viii.Current irrigation scheme O&M (routine and periodic) costs at all levels:
●Primary and secondary canals: which party is responsible, what is the O&M requirements (dredging, maintenance and repair, inspection), how much is actually allocated;
●Tertiary canals: pumping costs and maintenance costs.
With-the-project scenario
i.Collect all information as described in the without-project scenario above;
ii.Identify any significant additional costs for existing crops that are already grown in the command area (e.g., extra inputs, farm machinery, pumps) that farmers may incur to expand agricultural production that is made possible with additional water supply;
iii.Cross check with relevant experts that the new reservoir can supply sufficient volume to meet the total water requirement for the design cropping pattern (taking into account of water conveyance efficiency);
iv.If new crops are proposed collect information regarding:
●Investment cost for equipment, civil works, consumables (regardless of the sources of financing, it may be paid by farmers, government, or private companies);
●Gestation period for perennial crops for fruit trees (e.g., new grape vines bear fruit only after three years);
●Quick assessment on whether farmers have experience in cultivating new crops;
v.Potential improvement in water-productivity (which can be deferred from data on water requirement and crop budget) and quick assessment on potential soil carbon sequestration (using FAO’s EXACT tool).
Development of the Feasibility Study: Climate Resilience Water Supply Project. Funded by EBRD
Name of Client: Ministry of Water Resources Status: Completed (Completion Date (Month/Year): 03/2022) Narrative description of Project: Preparation of the comprehensive feasibility study to assess the water resource management in Uzbekistan and to determine a priority investment program worth approximately USD 400 million (the “PIP”), consisting of two phases, USD 200 million each. Conducting an Environmental and Social Audit and Assessment to evaluate the PIPs impacts and benefits, including assessing its environmental and social feasibility and sustainability. Identification of the inefficiencies in the sector regulation, where reforms are required. The feasibility study of the project provides for the reconstruction and modernization of 118 pumping stations in Namangan, Andijan and Fergana regions. The purpose of this project is to ensure guaranteed water supply to irrigated lands with a total area of 88,590 thousand hectares, including: Namangan region 45 558 thousand hectares, Andijan region 21 912 thousand hectares and Fergana region 21 120 thousand hectares, as well as for prevention of product losses and other negative socio-economic and environmental consequences, long-term sustainable conditions for the development of agriculture. The goal of the project is to replace the old worn-out technological and electrical equipment with new, modernized ones and introduce technologies that ensure energy saving and rational use of the supplied water for irrigation of subcommand lands.
Description of actual services provided in the assignment:
Support the compilation, analysis and presentation of information and data relevant to irrigation operations through water consumers associations (WCAs) of Uzbekistan, its provinces and districts as well as the irrigation systems linked to the 235 pumping stations considered for the project: • Structure of WCAs and their institutional setup and internal and external governance structure, including relations with Ministry of Water Resources and other government structures; • Description of functioning and operations of WCA, legal regulations, fee collection and expenditures, land ownership, bread winners, expenditures for agriculture practices, essential goods and services (health care, education), poverty, disability groups; • Total number of WCAs, division over Oblasts, irrigation management authorities and irrigation schemes; • Actual water delivered to /taken by WCAs; actual volume of water sold by each WCA to farmers; fees collected per WCA from farmers; what regulations, agreements on payment amounts; • Statistics of the total number of members (men, women) in WCAs, farm sizes, WCA membership (gender disaggregated as relevant) operations: membership criteria, election criteria, characterization of membership groups, organization of elections and meetings, interactions with members, decision-making capacity of members (especially also women); • Assess the technical, managerial and E&S support required for WCAs to build their capacity, including on climate resilience and ESAP implementation; • Recommendations for strengthening WCAs, optimization of operations, payment collection, use of financial resources, management, Assess the need for development of a capacity building plan for WCAs training/capacity building; • Description of international projects targeting the strengthening on WCAs in Uzbekistan.
Baseline for current agricultural production and water use in agriculture and sustainability of water resources, for country, provinces and districts and also minimum for selected field sites (25-30); optimal for 235 pumping stations linked irrigation systems: • Analysis of land use and how much land is currently irrigated (and how the situation has changed over the last 20-30 years, and the forecast future use); • Full list of irrigation schemes in Uzbekistan (name, hectare), division per Oblast and per (basin) irrigation management authority. For each province and irrigation scheme: their total land area, area actually in use for agricultural production, actual area under irrigation, statistics on crops grown (hectare, 2016-2018), statistics on crop harvest (tons/hectare, 2016-2018), percentage saline soils; • Statistics on type of farms (size, ownership, irrigation techniques) within irrigation schemes in different oblasts; • Expenditures for agricultural production, per type of farm, per crop; • Agricultural water use statistics (irrigation techniques, cropping rotations, water use and drainage volumes, etc.); • Uzbekistan-specific crop water requirements for all relevant crops; • Define the existing types of land tenure, the average size of farms owned, the household members owning/working the land, the percentage of farmers who do not own the farm they land, all data disaggregated by gender; • Describe irrigation practices; Identify who currently has and who will have the right to irrigate after project implementation, whether this right is currently connected to plot registration, who the end water users are and who can decide on the use and management of water resources (data collection disaggregated by sex, age groups, minority groups, socio-economic status, etc.); • Define existing irrigation systems and whether there are “family plots” registered in the name of both husband and wife, and if not, what is the percentage of plots registered in the name of women. Report on what happens in case the registered plot holder is absent, gets divorced or dies and whether there are significant differences between men and women. • Description of agribusiness models, value chains: production, sales, subsidies, agricultural extension services provided to farmers, current irrigation and agricultural water management services; demand for additional (education, extension, etc.) services; • Recommendations for strengthening irrigation agricultural land use and production value chains.
Collect, review and evaluate available climatic and hydrologic data relevant to the Republic of Uzbekistan. • Assess existing hydrological models and their accuracy; • Statistics on quantitative river flow volumes (monthly), long-term records (1950-2018), with indication of location of monitoring stations; description of changes over time, characteristics of reservoirs in Uzbekistan; • Information about transboundary water flows, transboundary agreements (Syrdarya, Amurdarya, other transboundary rivers); statistics how much water enters UZ (2010-2019), how much water is Uzbekistan allowed to use, how much minimum flow should be left in the rivers, how much water is agreed to enter the Aral Sea; • Groundwater use for irrigation: how many groundwater well in use for irrigation. Their location and total volumes abstracted per year and per month (2016-2018); • Water quality monitoring data, rivers and canals as feasible; water quality norms for Uzbekistan. • Adaptation of the prepared the bank-format feasibility report to the local feasibility study report in accordance with requirements of the President’s decree #3857 dd. 16.07.2018. • Reformulating the report and developing local feasibility study report (FSR) its localization in accord with local standards and requirements; • Close collaboration and supporting the Client during concurrence of the FSR with the line ministries (Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade); • Collecting and preparation of additional information and reports necessary for concurrence of the FSR, including approval by the interagency scientific-technical council for endorsing the main technical and financial parameters of the proposed project; • Supporting the Client in development of the draft resolution of the government (resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers) on effecting the project by approving the FSR.