Land Husbandry, Water Harvesting and Hillside Irrigation Project (LWH)

Results

At the end of the project, the World Bank rated LWH as “satisfactory.” LWH benefitted more than 280,000 farmers over five years, about one-half women. The project successfully achieved its two main objectives of increasing both productivity and the commercialization rate. Productivity on irrigated lands (as measured by dollar amount of farm products sold per hectare of farmland) rose from a baseline figure of US$492 in 2009 to US$2,575 by mid-2016. The share of farm products commercialized (as opposed to consumed locally) more than doubled from 35 percent to 76 percent. To achieve this outcome, the project disseminated improved technologies to farmers that addressed issues such as erosion control, productivity enhancement, and soil fertility. Before the project, less than 30 percent of farmers in the project area reported using these technologies. By mid-2016, almost all farmers were using some of these technologies. Further, the project irrigated 1,356 hectares of land, protected about 88 percent of hilly land areas against soil erosion, and reduced the volume of sediment yield or soil washed down from hilly slopes during heavy rain in project areas by 89 percent.

LWH also increased access to various formal financial products, such as committed savings accounts, and by mid-2016, about 80 percent of beneficiaries were using formal financial services, up from a baseline of about 20 percent. The project strengthened farmers’ organizations to effectively support farmers in their transition to move to higher value chain activities, helping to form and strengthen 2,624 self-help groups comprised of 15–25 farmer members each. Finally, the project improved the composition of peoples’ diets and thus their nutritional status by carrying out nutrition awareness training and constructing 47,611 kitchen gardens. As a result, by mid-2016, approximately 83 percent of households were consuming an acceptable diet, including food from various food groups.

Lessons Learned

Among the project’s lessons learned, flexibility in landscape approaches is important. The project proved that site-specific conditions were critical for determining what type of land husbandry package to apply. The initial model of implementing all three components of land husbandry, water harvesting dams, and hillside irrigation did not meet all sites’ needs. Flexibility had to be introduced to ensure cost-effectiveness and technical soundness. Next, the involvement of local leaders, such as village and Grievance Redress Committee leaders, was key to resolving conflicts over plots between neighbors, between land owners and the owners of assets on that land, and within families over asset ownership or social issues, such as the proper management/ use of compensation funds received by some displaced people.