Archived Document
Priority 2. Strengthen Afghan institutional capacity to deliver core services and promote economic growth, enhancing the confidence of Kandaharis in their government.
The Canadian objective for this priority is that, by 2011, Canada expects that Kandahar’s provincial administration and core ministries of the Afghan government will be better able to provide basic services to key districts of Kandahar province.
Canada’s approach to this priority is thus based on the need for Afghanistan to become self-sufficient in the delivery of core services, including the dependable provision of education, health care, sanitation, road infrastructure, and clean water for homes and farmland.
The repairs to the Dahla Dam and its
irrigation system will allow farmers and their
families to grow feed and have crops to sell
at local markets.
In this quarter, Canada further advanced its first signature project in Afghanistan, the rehabilitation of the Dahla Dam and its irrigation system. Part of a larger project that seeks to rebuild sustainable agriculture in the Arghandab Valley—a region that once produced enough food crops to feed the entire country—the repair of the Dahla Dam and rehabilitation of the system of irrigation canals will provide a secure supply of irrigation water to the majority of the Kandahari population.
Despite daunting security challenges, ongoing physical work on the Dahla Dam project resulted in the removal of more than 52,000 cubic metres of silt (which would fill 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools). Kandahar’s farmers have indicated that work on the dam to date has already resulted in increased water flow to the southern part of the irrigation system.
Dahla Dam: Fix It, Share It, Use It
The Dahla Dam is the main source of water for the Arghandab Valley in Kandahar province. The area used to be called Afghanistan’s bread basket because it produced enough fruits and vegetables to feed the entire nation. Built in the 1950s, the dam and its canals have been damaged by decades of war and lack of maintenance. Leaks and extensive sedimentation mean farmers cannot rely on the dam for irrigation.
Canada’s support to the Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project aims to restore this region as a productive agricultural area, which will assist in alleviating rural poverty by providing sustainable food security and economic growth. There are three main components to this project:
Fix the system: Canada is supporting crucial repairs to the dam and its irrigation canals (our signature project). The work is complex: actual physical work on the dam structure (such as repairing the gates) can only take place during dry periods—roughly 120 days every year—when there is no water in the canal. Before water can flow through the system, silt and other debris must be removed, and over 250 kilometres of canals and sub-canals need to be dug and reshaped to very specific requirements. Jobs will be created in the immediate term from construction and repair work, while the bulk of jobs will come toward the end of the project, as the agricultural sector is revitalized.
Share the water: Canada is also supporting Afghan efforts to establish an Arghandab Sub-Basin Agency, farmers’ associations and water users’ associations, critical steps toward community-level involvement in making decisions about water use.
Use it well: To ensure our efforts are sustainable, Canada is investing in areas such as water management skills and technology, agricultural education, crop experimentation and alternative irrigation training. Current resources such as the agricultural lands at Tarnak Farms and the students at Kandahar University are being leveraged to advance sustainable improvements for Kandahar’s agricultural economy. Canada is also supporting capacity- building efforts in the Afghan Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.
The delivery of basic services in Afghanistan is confronted by the twin challenges of a dangerous security situation and a lack of sufficient resources—human or other.
Nonetheless, the delivery of these services is fundamental to Afghanistan’s stability and economic growth, both nationally and in the provinces. This is why Canada takes a multi-faceted approach in supporting basic services, building capacity through national, provincial and community-based programming.
Nowhere is this more evident than in our work on education. Canada continues to make positive changes in access to, and quality of, education in Afghanistan, despite a security environment that places Afghan officials, teachers and students and our implementing partners at risk of threats and intimidation. Canada is also launching a program that will provide additional training on core teaching skills to all teachers across Kandahar province. This training is part of the core curriculum developed by the Afghan Ministry of Education to improve the quality of teaching.
With respect to Canada’s second signature project in Afghanistan, to build, repair or refurbish 50 schools in key districts of Kandahar province by 2011, three additional schools were completed in this quarter, bringing the total to date to 19. Another 24 schools are under construction and contracts are in place for the remaining seven schools.
With Canada’s assistance, more children—
especially girls—have access to education.
Canada is the lead donor on the Afghan-led Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP), which since 2005 has supported the construction or refurbishment of more than 800 schools across Afghanistan, and has funded the training of more than 110,000 teachers and principals. EQUIP is highly active at the community level. Canada has helped to establish over 9,500 community-based School Management Committees that serve as a voice for community development in education.
Since 2002, Canada has supported the establishment of over 4,000 community-based schools across Afghanistan, enabling access to education for girls, and for students living in more remote areas of the country.
While playing a lead role in Afghanistan’s education policy development at the national level, Canada also works closely with the Afghan Ministry of Education to support the advancement of technical, management and policy-making skills. For example, Canada funded the attendance of 20 Afghan officials from the Ministry of Education at a five-month education administration and management training program in Bangladesh. This activity is among many that contribute to the much needed strengthening of institutions in Afghanistan’s education sector.
Canada also continued to work with programs that provide business development support for women, through training, skills development and access to small loans. For example, Canada’s support for the Afghan-led Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan has, since 2003, provided microfinance services to some 430,000 clients, 60 percent of whom are women. Access to credit in turn enables low-income households to purchase basic goods like food and clothing or the necessary start-up capital for a micro-enterprise. Women borrowers in particular greatly benefit from microfinance loans, as this assistance enables their participation in the local economy through activities such as selling poultry or dairy products, making crafts to sell at markets or operating tailor shops.
