Objective:
The overall goal of the Project is to promote inclusive economic growth while reducing poverty in the rural areas of Central and Eastern Development regions. Its specific objective is to improve agriculture productivity and sustainability of existing small and medium-size Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) suffering from low productivity and high poverty incidence, and thus enhance the livelihood of poor men and women including ethnic minorities, dalit and other disadvantaged groups.

The Project's expected outcome is enhanced productivity and sustainability of (FMIS) by (i) providing improved measures for Water User Associations (WUA) mobilization, infrastructure, agricultural development, and targeted livelihood enhancement for 150,000 households covering 13.700 ha; and (ii) strengthening policies, plans, institutions, and operational mechanisms for more responsive service delivery and sustained aspects.

By 2015, the expected policy and institutional reforms are to be achieved, and the following targets achieved through rehabilitation and extension of 103 subprojects: (i) cropping intensity increased by 40%; (ii) annual cereal, potato, and cash crop production increases by at least 16,700 t, 10,800t, and 4,600t; (iii) gross margin per farm family increases by 70%; (iv) permanent employment increases by 1.3 million days; and (v) annual farm income of landless farm laborers increases by over NRs 2,000

Project Cost and Financing Plan:
The total cost of the CMIASP is estimated to be USD 38.6M. The Project is supported by a Loan Agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (Loan Number 2102-NEP(SF)) dated 23 December 2005 for a total of SDR 13,615,000 (USD 21.3M equivalent at present exchange rates).  The loan became effective in January 2006.  In addition, CMIASP is supported by a Loan Agreement between the Government of Nepal and the OPEC Fund for International Development (Loan Number 1060P) dated 21 December 2005 for a total of USD 7M. The Government and Beneficiaries will provide the remaining USD 10.2 M to cover the total project cost.  The beneficiary farmers will contribute at least 3% of the infrastructure development cost in accordance with the Government’s Irrigation Policy, this in the form of labor, cash or in kind.

Implementation Period:
The Project Implementation Period is 7 years (from March 2006 to June 2013). The Project has two components:
 
Participatory irrigated agriculture development for FMIS that involves infrastructure rehabilitation and extension of irrigation coverage in 101 FMIS and typically comprises; (i) the improvement of water conveyance and distribution through the construction or improvement of permanent diversion and intake structures; (ii) improvement of water conveyance by reshaping and selectively lining of canal sections together with improvement or construction of cross drainage structures, and (iii) improvement of water distribution by installing cross and head regulators and rationalizing the distribution of outlets in the system. The 101 subprojects are implemented in 3 batches of which the 1st batch of 27 subprojects (5,700 ha.) is under construction, the 2nd batch of 41 subprojects (4,900 ha.) is in the final design/tendering stage and the 3rd batch of 33 subprojects (3.100 ha.) is under preparation.

System rehabilitation in the 101 subprojects is accompanied by WUA Institutional. The WUA as an organization of the beneficiary farmers is actively participating in subproject planning, development and implementation and will be responsible for system management based on an agreed O&M plan.  For each of the subprojects an Agriculture Development Plan (ADP) is prepared and implemented by the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) in consultation with the beneficiary farmers. In addition, under a Livelihood Enhancement Plan (LEP), a special set of micro agriculture development activities for marginal or landless farmers and women headed households, targets these disadvantaged groups in the subproject area.

Institutional strengthening and project management supports the creation and improvement of operation of mechanisms for improved service delivery to develop productive and sustainable FMIS through (i) further improved irrigation policies, regulations, and plans; (ii) strengthened DOI (in terms of human resources and management capacity), DOA, and WUAs; (iii) enhanced institutional linkages to deliver services in coordination with NGOs and the private sector; (iv) project management, monitoring, and quality control for FMIS rehabilitation/extension; and (v) training of project personnel and stakeholders. Consulting services are provided for these purposes along with the necessary hardware and software.

Implementation Arrangements:
The Ministry of Irrigation (MOI) is the Executing Agency, and carries out its Project implementation responsibilities through the Department of Irrigation (DOI).  Within this framework, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) is implementing the agriculture component through its delegated authority to Department of Agriculture (DOA), District Development Committees (DDCs), and Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC). A Central Project Management Office (CPMO) has been formed under the Director General (DG) of DOI. The CPMO is responsible for facilitating technical support and managing project implementation at the central level. In the DOA a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) coordinates the implementation of the ADPs, LEP and related training activities.

To provide overall policy guidance and undertake the necessary coordination, a Project Steering Committee (PSC) has been formed chaired by the secretary of MOI. At DOI/DOA level a Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) has been set up to approve individual subprojects.

In each Regional Irrigation Directorate (RID) a regional project support unit (RPSU) has been set up with assigned staff from RID and Regional Directorate of Agriculture (RDA). The director of RID heads RPSU as project manager for the concerned region.

For day-to-day subproject implementation a subproject management unit (SMU) has been established in each district. The chief of the concerned Irrigation Development Division or Subdivision (IDD/IDSD) heads the SMU as subproject manager of the district. The SMU is supported by an agriculture development officer from the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), a managerial representative from District Development Committee (DDC), and other departments relevant to the activities included in the subproject preparation. The SMU is undertaking all the field activities of the Project from subproject identification to monitoring of completed schemes. 

NGOs have been engaged by the IDD/IDSDs to support the WUA institutional development. Major construction works are undertaken through LCB contracting procedures (construction contracts) while simple construction works can be directly awarded to WUAs (WUA payable works) or are implemented under the WUA contribution