The impact of an irrigation scheme on crop production and farmer’s income in Khost Province, Afghanistan

Author: Mujeeb Rahman

AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no.RD-14-16

Year: 2014

Academic Program: Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)

Type: Thesis (M. Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2014

Examination Committee: Gopal B. Thapa (Chairperson); Soparth Pongquan, Avishek Datta (Examination Committee Members)

Abstract: As more than half of the Afghan population are engaged in the agriculture productivity andrelied on farm production for their household livelihood. Therefore, during a decadenumbers of irrigation systemsare constructed and rehabilitated to improve rural livelihoodthrough increase crop production andincrement of household income. This study analyzedthe impact of irrigation water scheme in comparison to before and after operation of theirrigation system on farmer access to adequate irrigation water, crop production, householdemployment, food consumption and household income. Using primary data collected from120 householdsthat is equivalent to11.2 % of the total population of seven villages suchas,Babar, Hajino, Wadate, Malakan, Lalash, Digan and Layere of Lakan area withclassified of the upper, middle and lower sections of the irrigation system, through thestandardize questionnaire, group discussion and key informant interview. The findings ofstudy revealed that irrigation system had positive effect in improvement of farm activities.Therefore, with availability of irrigation water the fallow lands were irrigated in the upper,middle and lower sections of the irrigation system in the study area.However, in thecontext of accessibility to irrigation water, farmers in the upper and middle sections hadeasier access to adequate irrigation water and fairly better benefited than those in the lowersection. Due to adequacy of irrigation water majorityof farmers’ focused on cultivation ofhigh economic value crop such as rice in the upper and middle sections in summer season.Vis-à-vis in the lower section a greater proportion of farmers were concentrated oncultivation of maize crop because of shortage of irrigation water for their farming.Fundamentally, provision of irrigation water positively changed and increased yield ofmain cereal crops such as wheat, rice, maize and mungbean that affected food consumpt

Scholarship Donor(s): AIT-Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Afghanistan Partnership Project

Note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of therequirements for thedegree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning

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Search keywords index: Mujeeb Rahman The impact of an irrigation scheme on crop production and farmer’s income in Khost Province, Afghanistan Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP) Farmers — Afghanistan — Khost — Economic conditions;”Crops — Irrigation — Afghanistan — Khost”;