SMALL FARM IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

AN OFFICE OF SMALL-SCALE IRRIG SYSTEMS(OSSOS)WILL BE CREATED TO ADMINISTER PROJ,STAFFED BY PERSONNEL FROM THE GOES DIV OF IRRIG AND FLOOD CONTROL(DGRD)OF THE MIN OF AGR AND LIVESTOCK AND THE COMMUNITY DEVEL DIV(DIDECO)OF THE MIN OF THE INTERIOR.DIDECO PROMOTERS WILL VISIT POSSIBLE SUB-PROJ SITES TO DETERMINE COMMUNITY INTEREST FOR AN IRRIGATION PROJECT AND WILL INFORM OSSIS OF THE LEVEL OF INTEREST. DGRD/OSSIS ENGINEERS WILL THEN UNDERTAKE FEASIBILITY STUDIES OF THE SITES TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE ACCEPTABLE; I.E., IF THE FARMS ARE LESS THAN 10 HA IN SIZE, IF THERE IS ENOUGH WATER SUPPLIED BY THE IRRIG SOURCE,AND IF THE SITE LENDS ITSELF TO THE USE OF SIMPLE CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND MATERIALS. AT EACH APPROVED SITE,DIDECO PROMOTERS WILL ORGANIZE THE LOCAL LABOR FORCE WITH THE COOPERATION OF COMMUNITY LEADERS,SET UP A WATER USER"S ASSOCIATION, AND SERVE AS THE COMMUNITY"S LINK TO OSSOS. DGRD ENGINEERS WILL PREPARE PLANS AND SPECS FOR EACH SUB-PROJ. ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE TARGET FARMERS,ASSISTED BY DIDECO PERSONNEL AND SUPERVISED BY DGRD PERSONNEL. LOAN WILL ALSO PROVIDE CONSTRUCTION EQPMNT AND MOST MATLS; COMMUNITIES WILL PROVIDE MINOR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS. DGRD PERSONNEL WILL PROVIDE SUBSEQUENT TECH ASSISTANCE TO THE FARMERS FOR THE MAINT AND OPER OF THEIR IRRIG SYSTEMS. 100 EXTENSION AGENTS FROM THE GOES NATIONAL CENTER FOR AGR RESEARCH WILL BE TRAINED IN WATER AND LAND-USE MGMT UNDER PROJ AND WILL PASS THIS KNOWLEDGE ON TO TARGET FARMERS. FOUR ENGINEER AGRONOMISTS ATTACHED TO OSSIS WILL RECEIVE SHORT-TERM(6-8 MOS)TRAINING COURSES IN THE US AND/OR 3RD COUNTRIES IN SMALL-SCALE IRRIG,TO INCLUDE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL-SCALE SYSTEMS. A PROJ ADVISOR,WITH AS-NEEDED ASSISTANCE BY CONSULTANTS,WILL PROVIDE ON-GOING ASSISTANCE TO OSSIS DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF SUB-PROJS AND WILL CONDUCT PERIODIC EVALUATIONS OF PRODUCTIVITY ON TARGET FARMS(BASED ON DATA COLLECTED BY DIDECO PERSONNEL).