The Irrigation Modernization Enhancement Project (IMEP) is a strategic initiative designed to boost the productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of Nepal’s farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS). By modernizing traditional infrastructure and promoting sustainable, climate-smart agricultural practices, the project directly contributes to Nepal’s food security and climate adaptation goals. It aims to institutionalize Irrigation Modernization and Integrated Crop Water Management (ICWM) across approximately 56,000 farming households in five provinces—Bagmati, Gandaki, Koshi, Lumbini, and Madhesh—thereby strengthening the agricultural sector and improving rural livelihoods.
IMEP represents a critical shift from conventional methods toward more efficient and sustainable systems, offering significant benefits to small and marginal farmers. These include reliable irrigation access, hands-on training in modern techniques, and opportunities to increase crop yields and income. Furthermore, the project seeks to mainstream FMIS investments into Nepal’s national financing framework, a key step for reducing long-term dependence on external support and ensuring the sustainability of irrigation modernization efforts for years to come.
In response to the challenges facing Nepal's irrigation sector, the Government of Nepal has partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to launch the Irrigation Modernization Enhancement Project (IMEP). The project seeks to transform the sector by upgrading physical infrastructure, introducing climate-resilient technologies, and strengthening institutional capacities at both community and government levels. IMEP emphasizes inclusive development, ensuring equitable access, participation, and benefits across all social groups. With a total budget of USD 133.6 million, the project is co-financed by ADB with USD 85 million (64%), SFD with USD 30 million (22%), and the Government of Nepal, along with in-kind contributions from beneficiaries, covering USD 18.6 million (14%).
A major objective of the project is to improve the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of irrigation systems that are managed by farmers. This includes:
The Farmer Managed Irrigation Schemes (FMIS) component of the IMEP is a focused initiative aimed at rehabilitating and upgrading traditional, community-managed irrigation systems in Nepal's hilly, inner Terai, and Terai regions. These systems, once efficient and sustained through local management, have gradually declined due to recurring floods, erosion, water shortages, and the erosion of collective maintenance practices. Under the ADB-supported component, IMEP plans to rehabilitate 100 schemes covering a total of 17,452 hectares, with an estimated cost of USD 35.14 million, of which 99.2% will be financed by ADB. Of these, 66 schemes are located in the hilly region, covering 5,889 hectares across 21 district with at an estimated cost of USD 12.34 million, while the remaining 34 schemes are in the Terai region, covering 11,563 hectares across 14 districts with an estimated cost of USD 22.81 million.
The hill region, covering over 60% of Nepal's land area and home to nearly half of its population, holds significant potential for irrigation-based agricultural growth. While gravity irrigation has long supported production and poverty reduction, many areas remain rainfed due to limited dry season flows and lack of feasible gravity-fed options. Recognizing this untapped potential, DWRI initiated feasibility studies for lift irrigation, now made viable by reliable and low-cost hydropower. The Irrigation Master Plan (2019) identified over 560,000 ha in the mid-hills suitable for pumped irrigation, with about 92,000 ha assessed as highly to moderately suitable. Building on these findings and the Mechanized Irrigation Project (MIIP), which planned for both Terai and hill irrigation expansion, the IMEP will pilot 12 Hill Lift Irrigation Schemes (HLIPs) across Gorkha, Lamjung, Tanahun, Palpa, and other districts. Supported by the Saudi Fund for Development (USD 9.22 million, 100% financing), these schemes will irrigate 1,415 ha of fertile Tar lands by pumping water from perennial rivers with high heads (100–140m). The project will strengthen institutions, promote multiple cropping, crop diversification, and agribusiness services, ensuring long-term sustainability through robust Water User Associations (WUAs) and Water Utility Committees (WUCs).
The pilot hill lift irrigation component aims to develop up to 12 schemes to provide reliable irrigation to Tar lands—old river terraces along the mid-hill river corridors. These fertile terraces, ranging from a few hectares to several hundred, have high potential for multiple cropping but currently lack year-round irrigation. The schemes will lift water from perennial rivers with high heads of 100–140 meters, supporting crop intensification, diversification, and improved agricultural productivity. A phased implementation approach will allow testing of intakes, pumping efficiency, distribution networks, and construction practices, ensuring that designs are refined and validated for long-term technical viability.
Sustainability of the schemes will be ensured through strong institutional arrangements. Water User Associations (WUAs) will be established in line with irrigation regulations, and Water Utility Committees (WUCs) will manage operation, maintenance, and cost recovery using volumetric water charging systems. The WUCs will also support farmers with agribusiness services, including input supply, marketing, value addition, and extension services, promoting financial and operational sustainability. By integrating technical performance with robust institutional frameworks, the project aims to create replicable models for hill lift irrigation, providing a foundation for scaling up similar investments across other suitable areas in Nepal.
The Rajapur Irrigation System (RIS) is a major, traditional farmer-managed system located in the Bardiya district of Nepal. Situated on a triangular island formed by the Karnali and Geruwa rivers, it commands a net area of 14,480 hectares. The system is historically comprised of six individual subsystems, with the Budhi Kulo being the largest and oldest, having been previously rehabilitated with Asian Development Bank (ADB) support. A total budget of USD 27.41 million has been allocated for its modernization, with funding from ADB (USD 10.51 million), the Saudi Fund for Development (USD 13.93 million), and the Government of Nepal (USD 3.06 million).
The project will undertake critical rehabilitation works identified in recent feasibility studies, as a full restoration is not economically viable within the budget. Key infrastructure interventions include improving the approach channel with semi-permanent structures, upgrading the Budhi Khola intake with electric gates and a new scour sluice, and constructing riverbank protection. To enhance water control and manage the significant challenge of sedimentation, the project will install gates on branch canals, build sluiced settling basins on five branches, and procure excavators for the Water User Association (WUA). Implementation will be managed by the Rajapur Irrigation Management Office, with advanced works proceeding in 2024 and the remaining designs finalized in 2025.
A core objective of the project is to ensure the system's long-term sustainability by strengthening institutional management. This will involve clarifying the currently ambiguous operation and maintenance responsibilities shared by the WUA and the government. The project will prepare updated guidelines to define the roles of the WUA, new Water Utility Committees (WUCs), and Local Government. Furthermore, to address persistent challenges like river morphology and sediment, a Rajapur Stakeholder forum will be established for ongoing dialogue and planning. All project activities will adhere to prepared safeguard plans, including an Initial Environmental Examination, a Resettlement Plan, and an Indigenous Peoples Plan.
Institutional Strengthening and Agricultural Efficiencies focuses on strengthening the institutions and agricultural practices essential for sustainable irrigation management. The initiative begins with a comprehensive Institutional Development Plan, which involves conducting a rapid needs assessment of key field-level agencies to identify critical gaps. Based on this assessment, a detailed training plan and modular courses will be developed, focusing on Integrated Crop-Water Management, Participatory Irrigation Management, and agribusiness. A central activity is the formation of Water User Cooperatives (WUCs), which will be piloted at 20 sites. This process includes drafting by-laws that integrate irrigation service with commercial activities, providing legal registration support, and creating a clear transition model for evolving existing Water User Associations into more robust WUCs.
To further ensure sustainability, the output addresses the critical need for rural finance. It will review existing financial instruments across the five provinces to identify opportunities for blended finance. This will be operationalized by selecting three pilot sites to test models that combine government subsidies with cooperative loans, thereby improving farmers' access to capital. Concurrently, the project will engage with Microfinance Institutions, cooperatives, and local banks to design viable co-financing mechanisms. Together, these efforts in institutional capacity building, cooperative development, and financial innovation aim to create a supportive ecosystem for commercial, climate-resilient agriculture.
The project's agricultural component is designed to comprehensively address on-farm weaknesses by transitioning farmers from subsistence to commercial, climate-resilient agriculture. The strategy is built on four key pillars: adopting climate-smart practices to boost yields; promoting advanced farm mechanization to counter labor shortages; establishing agriculture facilities for value addition and marketing; and developing a Digital Advisory Service (DAS) to deliver real-time information on weather, markets, and best practices directly to farmers' mobile phones.
A core methodology is the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, which will be used to deliver a wide range of demonstrations and training. Main components include promoting consolidated farming for efficiency, seed multiplication businesses, improved compost-making, and enterprise development. Minor components encompass practices like green manuring, minimum tillage, and plastic mulch. The project will provide substantial subsidies—50% for machinery and 85% for facility construction—to Water User Associations/Cooperatives (WUAs/WUCs) to ensure the adoption and sustainability of these technologies.
Implementation will be managed by a newly established Central Agriculture Management Office (CAMO) within the Department of Agriculture, supported by Provincial Ministries and local Agriculture Knowledge Centers (AKCs). A significant challenge identified is a potential mismatch between the intensive, result-oriented activities and the available technical manpower at the AKC level, which may require additional staffing to effectively execute the program and achieve set targets.
Finally, the project will operationalize a new approach to Integrated Crop and Water Management (ICWM), reinforcing the link between water and agricultural productivity. This involves strengthening WUA/WUC capacity for operation and maintenance, developing new national ICWM guidelines, and ensuring all activities are closely coordinated with infrastructure and institutional development efforts. The overarching goal is to create a sustainable and scalable model that enhances productivity, profitability, and climate resilience for farming communities across the project's command area.
The Environmental Supervision and Monitoring (ESM) framework is established for the Irrigation Modernization Enhancement Project (IMEP), a six-year (2024-2030), $133.64 million initiative funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Saudi Development Fund. Implemented by the Government of Nepal, IMEP aims to modernize irrigation infrastructure and promote climate-resilient agriculture for 56,000 families. Given the project's scale and location across climate-vulnerable and biodiversity-sensitive regions, this ESM framework is a critical safeguard to ensure all activities adhere to national laws and ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (2009).
The ESM is designed to be a proactive and continuous process with several key objectives: ensuring regulatory compliance, monitoring the effectiveness of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs), promptly mitigating environmental risks, promoting best practices, and building the capacity of implementing agencies and contractors. Its scope is comprehensive, spanning the entire project lifecycle:
A clear institutional hierarchy governs the ESM process. The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) holds overall responsibility, supported by Supervision Consultants (SCs) who conduct regular site inspections and reporting. Contractors are directly accountable for implementing mitigation measures on the ground. The methodology is evidence-based, combining:
The framework identifies key environmental risks—including habitat disturbance, changes to river morphology, construction-phase pollution, and the impact of increased agrochemical use—and outlines specific mitigation strategies. A dedicated Environmental Supervision Action Plan provides a timeline for monitoring, reporting, and review. To ensure integrity, a rigorous Quality Control Plan is in place, mandating equipment calibration, accredited laboratory testing, robust documentation, and internal audits. This systematic approach ensures that the ESM process itself is reliable, consistent, and capable of adapting to emerging challenges, thereby safeguarding the environmental sustainability of IMEP's investments for the long term.
The IMEP's social safeguards framework is designed to manage the social impacts of modernizing over 100 Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) and the Rajapur Irrigation Project (RIP), while establishing 12 new Hill Lift Irrigation systems. A central strategy involves transitioning from community-based Water User Associations (WUAs) to commercially-oriented Water User Cooperatives (WUCs) to enhance agribusiness and financial sustainability. Implementation is managed through a multi-tiered structure led by the Central Project Management Office (CPMO), supported by six Social Development Specialists (SDSs), 122 Community Organizers (COs), and Safeguard Focal Persons at Project Implementation Units (PIUs). A key concern is the potential under-resourcing of the SDSs, with recommendations to significantly increase their person-months to handle the vast workload related to Resettlement, Indigenous Peoples, and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI).
The project is categorized as "B" for both Involuntary Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples, indicating limited impacts.
The framework strongly emphasizes poverty reduction and social inclusion, targeting support to rural and marginal farmers who constitute 74.5% of beneficiaries. A comprehensive capacity development plan has been designed, with 68 training events targeting over 22,000 participants, including project staff, WUA/WUC members, and contractors. These trainings cover safeguards, financial management, and technical skills. Furthermore, a detailed action plan is in place to guide the pilot establishment of 20 WUCs. Robust monitoring and reporting protocols are mandated, including semi-annual safeguards reports to ADB and regular internal progress reports, to ensure ongoing compliance and effective management of social risks throughout the project's lifecycle.
The project is formally categorized as Effective Gender Mainstreaming (EGM) and is strategically designed to address gender and social inequality through a dedicated Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Action Plan. The core objective is to ensure that women, the poor, and disadvantaged groups benefit equitably from improved irrigation services and advanced agricultural knowledge.
Key implementation strategies include:
The project's monitoring is supported by a integrated digital system: