NEIAP II
Government of Sri Lanka and
the World Bank has approved the second North East Irrigated Agriculture Project
which is a repeater operation of NEIAP I. The credit agreement was signed
between the Government and the World Bank on
The total cost of the
project is US$ 81.14 million and is funded by World Bank and the Government of
Sri Lanka. The project will be
implemented in the North East Province and border districts as in NEIAP I and
expected to cover 600 focal villages for a period of 6 years commencing from
January 2005.
The Project aims to help conflict-affected communities in the NE Province and adjoining areas to restore livelihoods, enhance agricultural and other production and incomes, and build capacity for sustainable, social and economic reintegration. The PDO will be achieved through a) creating, restoring, or improving essential village-level social and economic infrastructure and facilities; b) improving productivity, sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture; c) building skills and capacity and decentralizing powers for decision making, control of resources and implementation of programs at the community level; and d) implementing targeted livelihood-support programs for the most vulnerable (such as land mine victims, people with war-induced deficient abilities, widows, women-headed households).
The proposed project would include the following four major components
and subcomponents.
Component
1: Village rehabilitation and development
(US$53.14 million). This component will
comprise: a) reviving, forming and strengthening community-based organizations (CBOs); b) Community-level subprojects for rehabilitation
and improvements to essential village-level social and economic infrastructure
and facilities; c) Livelihood support activities for vulnerable groups and
people, and d) special development activities targeting women, widows, land
mine victims etc. The main beneficiaries are Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and other conflict-affected households in about 600
selected focal villages in the project area. This component would directly
contribute to creating an enabling environment in the selected focal villages
for quick socioeconomic recovery, through the restoration of productive
village-level assets, mobilization and strengthening of village-level community
institutions, promotion of production and employment, and triggering economic
activities at the household and village levels. The project would finance
village subprojects, primarily civil works, and sub-grants, goods, training and
other services.
Component 2: Essential rehabilitation and improvements to
selected major irrigation schemes (US$16.74 million). This component
will include essential dam safety repairs and improvements, and urgent
rehabilitation/improvements to major irrigation, drainage, and
conveyance/feeder canals of selected major irrigation/drainage schemes. It
would benefit about 15,000 farming families who are dependent on those schemes
for their livelihoods by: (a) preventing potential risk of failure of the most
dilapidated five major irrigation schemes (Allai
scheme in Trincomalee district; Giants Tank scheme in Mannar;
Iranamadhu scheme in Kilinochchi;
Karavahu scheme in Ampara;,
and Rugam scheme in Batticoloa);
(b) improving serviceability, performance and improved water availability; and
(c) restoring and enhancing agricultural production. The component would
finance civil and electromechanical works, goods and equipment, consultancy
services and training activities.
Component 3: Farmer Organization
(FO) capacity building and empowerment and strengthening of agricultural
support services (US$4.92 million). The objective of this
component is to develop ability and capacity of farmer organizations (FOs) and farmer federations (FFs)
of the NE to improve productivity, sustainability and competitiveness of
agriculture. This component will include: a) forming, supporting and
strengthening viable and commercially oriented FOs
and (FFs); and b) strengthening capacity of
government agricultural research, extension and inputs supply services. This
component would help a large number of commercially oriented farmers, FOs, FFs, farmer
cooperatives/companies in the NE province and adjoining areas to become
self-reliant, competitive and sustainable and are independent of public-sector
assistance. The project would support and finance capacity building and
training of farmers, technical assistance, facilities and revolving seed funds
to progressive FFs and FOs.
It would also assist Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) and Provincial
Department of Animal Production and Health (MPAP&H) at minimum essential
level to renovate physical facilities, skill development of its professional
staff and improve mobility of front-line staff to implement this component
effectively and efficiently and achieve the component objectives.
Component 4: Capacity building,
project implementation support and project oversight (US$6.34 million) will consist of:
a) Capacity building of provincial, district/divisional, and local government
agencies, other than agriculture-related agencies responsible for project
implementation. This would include support for the enhancement of equipment and
facilities; improvement and establishment of regional laboratories for testing
construction materials, quality assurance of civil works construction, and
agricultural soil testing; short-term local and international training and
study tours to selected staff to improve implementation of the project and
other long-term community-based reconstruction programs, and post-conflict
reconstruction and development; provision of essential office equipment and
facilities; and technical assistance for special studies and research; and b)
Project implementation support and oversight through hiring consultants and
staff for the project management unit and district project offices; and hiring
NGOs and consultancy firms and consultants for external technical, social,
financial and management auditing and project impact monitoring.