Modernization of Irrigation and Drainage Systems to Adapt to Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Tajikistan is mountainous and land-locked agro-industrial country with a fast-growing population in 2020 of 9.5 million. It is well endowed with water resources, with an annual water availability of 7,649 m3/capita/year. It is drained by two major trans-boundary rivers, the Amu Darya in the south and the Syr Darya in the north.
Hydropower provides almost all (99%) of Tajikistan’s electricity, and 90% of that comes from eight hydropower dams on the Vakhsh River, which is a major tributary of the Amu Darya.
Despite its abundant water resources, because of the paucity of arable land and the deterioration of its irrigation and drainage systems, Tajikistan has the lowest ratio of irrigated land to population in Central Asia. Nevertheless, agriculture accounts for 20% of the national GDP and 30% of exports. About 51% of the population is engaged in agriculture, and 69% of female employment is in the agricultural sector.
The main crops grown are cotton and wheat. About 14% of cultivated area is under vegetables, potato, and cucurbits, and there is considerable potential for expansion in the production of vegetables and fruits.
Tajikistan is highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Future changes in snowfall, rainfall, and air temperature, with melting of glaciers, is impacting flow in rivers that supply irrigation, hydropower generation, and water supply in Tajikistan and in downstream riparian countries.
At independence in 1991, about 752,000 ha of agricultural land was under productive irrigation and drainage, with nearly three-quarters of that area supplied by pumping water to terraces high above the rivers. Most of the schemes were constructed in the 1950-60s.
Funding for operation and maintenance (O&M) dropped precipitously, from US$ 88/ ha in 1990 to just US$ 14/ ha just three years later, and deterioration of system assets commenced. By 2014, by one recent estimate, there were only around 515,000 ha irrigated, of which just one-third was served by lift irrigation. Most systems are currently in poor condition, and command areas exhibit land degradation, erosion, and salinity.   
Investment in the land reclamation and irrigation and drainage sector is vital to support achievement of the strategic goals defined in the National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period up to 2030, including food security and employment in rural regions of the country.
A high level of irrigation and drainage service contributes to the diversification and intensification of crop production, and cultivation of high-yielding and high-value crops. The challenge is how to achieve this and modernize irrigation and drainage systems with climate adaptation, gender, and sustainable O&M as main considerations, under severe funding constraints.
Many other countries face this or similar challenges and have to make difficult decisions. The proposed workshop will allow participants to share and learn from each other experiences.