The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $252 million loan and a $2 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the Turkey Irrigation Modernization Project. The Project’s aims to improve irrigation delivery, providing farmers with better access to water – through the rehabilitation and modernization of infrastructure – and strengthening the capacity of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in the country.
“The agriculture sector employs about 21 percent of the population and accounts for 60 percent of the rural workforce in Turkey,” says Mariam Sherman, World Bank Acting Country Director for Turkey. “Increased access to water, through irrigation, boosts the incomes of rural poor people, as irrigation triples productivity compared to rain-fed agriculture, on average.”
The project will consist of the following three components:
Modernization of Irrigation Systems (IBRD, $249 million): this component will finance investments to rebuild and improve irrigation systems in selected areas covering more than 50,000 hectares in Atabey, Ereğli-İvriz, Alasehir, and Uzunlu.
Innovation and Institutional Support (GEF, $2 million): this component will support State Hydraulic Works (DSI) in implementing a National Program for capacity building in WUAs ($1.29 million) and the introduction of a Groundwater Stewardship Pilot in Afyon ($0.71 million).
Project Management (IBRD, $3 million): this component will finance the multiple activities required for coordinating and managing the project, including measures to enhance dam safety in the project areas, community consultations and partnership program, communications, grievance redress mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation, and environmental and social management.
The project is funded through an IBRD Investment Project Financing (IPF) instrument, with a 10.5 year repayment period, including a 5-year grace period.
Original source: World Bank
Published on 22 January 2019
