MANILA, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday said that it has approved a grant package totaling 1.96 million US dollars to prepare a project to boost integrated water resources management and irrigated agriculture development in Afghanistan.

    The ADB said in a statement that the grant is aimed at improving water resource management at all levels in Afghanistan, from farm level to basin management.

    It will also rehabilitate, modernize and develop new irrigation and water resource infrastructure, lay the foundations of improved agricultural productivity, and ensure the integrity of watershed resources, the bank said.

    According to the ADB, little of the irrigation potential of the western basins in Afghanistan has been tapped, while the existing systems, which are centuries old, are in need of serious repair as decades of civil unrest have impeded routine maintenance and starved the sector of resources. Also, few modern regulating structures exist and the systems need to be rationalized to eliminate duplication or resources and increase the irrigable area.

    "Increasing the productivity of irrigated agriculture and strengthening water resource management are critical to improving the overall rural economy and reducing poverty," says Thomas Panella, an ADB Water Resources Specialist.

    "In addition to improving existing systems, new land could be brought under irrigation in the western basins, providing significant benefits to rural communities," he added.

    The ADB said that the grant will take an integrated approach to designing a project that will establish the needed capacities and frameworks to support successful and sustainable programs and physical infrastructure.

    Within an integrated water resource management framework, it will prepare an program based on feasibility studies for subprojects and civil works, policies and institutional frameworks,capacity building programs, service delivery mechanisms and strategies, and monitoring and evaluation procedures.

    The Afghanistan Ministry of Finance is the executing agency for the TA, which is to be carried out over about eight months. Enditem