Qarghaee, Laghman | September 21, 2011 — With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the newly rehabilitated Nahre Karim canal will now irrigate 2,000 hectares of agriculture land benefiting 4,250 families in the Qarghaee District of Laghman Province. The availability of water for irrigation will enhance agriculture production and enable farmers to get more from their lands.
The 17 km canal feeds from the Alishang and Alingar rivers and runs through several villages of Qarghaee District. The improvements included constructing a 2,910 meter retaining wall, installing 24 small and three large water distributors, constructing three culverts to facilitate the easy transportation of agriculture products, and improving four older passages to avoid flood damage to the canal.
“Our village is located at the beginning of this canal and always faced a flood threat during rainy seasons. The retaining wall that USAID built near our village protects 300 families against flooding,” said Malak Zabet Zaman, an elder from Tarakhil Village.
The canal improvement has ensured the irrigation of land that previously had limited access to water. By preventing water loss, an additional 100 hectares of land at Ahmadzai Village which completely lacked water in the past has now become irrigated.
The 17-month long USAID project employed an average of 160 local laborers per day and injected $394,000 into the local community through wages and procurement of locally available material, such as sand, stone, and gravel.
USAID strives to improve irrigation systems and market links across eastern, northern and western Afghanistan to enable farmers to produce high-quality fruit and vegetables and benefit from higher incomes.
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RTA coverage on IDEA-NEW agricultural activities in Laghman province (1 of 2)
RTA coverage on IDEA-NEW agricultural activities in Laghman province (2 of 2)
Salar Canal (Barya Program) Part 3 of 4
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March/April 2013