Project Name
Integrated catchment management and capacity building for improving livelihoods in Afghanistan

Investment in soil and water conservation and associated technologies is critical for increasing food security and improving rural livelihoods in Afghanistan. But Afghanistan lacks trained personnel to support agricultural research and development. This adaptive research project will focus on increasing catchment productivity, lifting the productivity of dryland areas, and improving livelihoods of rural people. The focus will be on wheat-based farming systems, enhancing conservation practices and demonstrating more efficient use of natural resources. The project will also help to build the capacity of personnel within the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock in the area of natural resource management and wheat/legume productivity, and will encourage the transfer of knowledge through sharing between project partners and farmers. There is evidence to suggest that the project is generating economic, social, policy and environmental impacts (e.g. wage and ancillary employment, reducing soil and water erosion, policy and research advocacy, and environmental safety). Direct wage employment due to man-days created through watershed planning activities is worth 1.1 million Afs apart from its long-term benefit from assets created and soft skills imparted. The project has significant impacts on the watershed R&D information, training policy makers and other stakeholders apart from water recharge, soil fertility improvement, environmental and a range of ancillary benefits. An elaborate study on valuing these impacts will be carried out by the end of the project.