DUSHANBE, April 14, Asia-Plus – On Friday April 11, the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Tracey Ann Jacobson and the Shahritus district deputy chairman Ms. Gulandom Azimova participated in the opening ceremony of the Water User Association (WUA) “Sayod” office in Khatlon’s Shahritus district. Other local government officials, Water Users Associations Support Project (WUASP) staff and Water Users Association (WUA) members also attended the event.
Ms. Nigina Aliyeva, Press Assistant U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, said that WUAs had been organized through an open, democratic process and by time have developed into active civil society organizations serving their respective communities. As such, an office is necessary to provide a place for conducting WUA and other related community events and activities as well as identifying it as an official organization.
The major objective of the USAID funded WUASP is to provide assistance to Tajik farmers to improve irrigation water management that will contribute to increased crop production. WUASP organized and supports 28 WUAs in four districts comprising of more than 1,200 farmers with about 22,000 hectares of land and benefiting more than 210,000 people. The farmers and communities have experienced a substantial increase in their economic well-being through project activities and by their own efforts to put into practice the techniques and technologies they have acquired.
The farmers and communities continue to express their appreciation for the WUASP’s positive impact on their well-being and livelihood. And, now that WUA members have some success with system management, the project will next assist them with management of the critical main irrigation system serving their WUAs.
The Water Users Association Program is one of the many assistance projects implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on behalf of the American people in Tajikistan. Since 1993 the American people through USAID have provided more than $300 million in assistance programs that support economic growth, democratic institutions, health care, and education systems of Tajikistan.
