Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme
Related pages: Afghanistan country
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Image courtesy Nick Danziger
DFID has allocated £30m over three years (2006/07-2008/09) for its Helmand
Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (HARDP).
On 8 March, DFID visited a number of well and roads financed by HARD-P. Locals in a village in Qal-e Bost told the team that, since their
well had been constructed in January, there had been no diarrhoea in the area.
Prior to construction, the villagers had been drinking from irrigation ditches.
Rural Development
Rural development activities are being implemented through the
 Ministry for
Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to accelerate the roll-out of its
key National Programmes to Helmand. Helmandi contractors are deployed to deliver
services where the Ministry's capacity is limited.
- The National Rural Access Programme (NRAP) will receive around £8.5m over
three years to deliver improved infrastructure, including roads, bridges,
drainage and protective walls. Construction of four roads in Bost district started in January (49 km in
total), and is now 40% complete. Three additional roads at Musa Qala have been
surveyed and designed. However, construction has been delayed to security
concerns.
- The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (RuWatSan) will receive
around £2.1m over three years for the construction of water points, pipe schemes
and latrine blocks.187 wells have been built since the start of January, and work has started on
another 113 wells. Contracts have also been issued for the construction of a
further 720 wells.
- The
National
Solidarity Programme (NSP) will receive around £10.6m over
three years to establish Community Development Councils (CDCs) and provide
grants for projects that will bring benefits to these communities. NSP is
implemented by a wide range of ‘Facilitating Partners’ on behalf of the
Government.
To date, using core funding from a number of donors including DFID, NSP has
engaged with 496 communities in six districts in Helmand (although work with 184
of these has been suspended due to the security situation). A total of 677
community-level projects have been approved, of which 208 are completed.
The programme is now entering a second phase - funded by HARDP - which will
see expansion to all remaining districts in Helmand (security permitting).
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Agriculture
We are also working with the
Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and
Livestock (MAIL) to develop agriculture projects for Helmand, with
implementation expected to start in the autumn.
Among other things, these projects are likely to:
- Support the production and marketing of local fruit and nut, animal
and vegetable products.
- Build the capacity of local government officials to support Helmand
farmers and businesses.
- Help to provide agricultural and business education for young people
in Helmand.
- Build local research capacity, and identify cost effective and
innovative solutions to address challenges in the agricultural sector.
Last updated: 19 June 2007
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