Community Based Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development

Concept Paper Date: 26 January 2011

PART I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Mode of Nonlending Assistance

Grant-financed assistance (specify source) Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) Others _______________

2. Assistance Focus

a. Sector: Agriculture and Natural Resources Industry and Trade

Education Law, Economic Management and Public Policy Energy Transport and Communications Finance Water Supply, Sanitation, and Waste Management Health, Nutrition and Social Protection Multisector Subsector: irrigation, drainage, and flood protection

b. Targeting classification Targeted intervention

TI-Household TI-MDG TI-Geographic General intervention

c. Key thematic areas Themes: Sustainable economic growth Environmental sustainability Inclusive social development Regional cooperation Governance Private sector development Gender and development Capacity development

Subthemes: widening access to markets and economic opportunities; client relations, network, and partnership development

3. Coverage

Country Subregional Interregional1

Afghanistan

4. Responsible Department and Division: Central and West Asia Department; Environment, Natural Resources and

Agriculture Division

5. Responsible Officer: Randall Jones, Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF ASSISTANCE

1. The Proposed Assistance

a. Link to country/regional strategy. Agriculture is a vital economic driver of the Afghanistan economy and is a major source of employment and income for most Afghans. Agriculture accounts for 38% of gross domestic product and has generated two thirds of economic growth in recent years. Agriculture in Afghanistan is based upon irrigated agriculture which accounts for 80% of crop production. The rural poor account for 80% of the population, and are highly dependant upon agriculture. According to the 2005 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) data, about 45% of rural and Kuchi (nomad) populations appear to be poor compared to 27% of those who live in urban areas. Therefore rural development, particularly in irrigated agriculture, is a crucial sector for investment to improve livelihoods and stability in Afghanistan.

1 Projects for countries in more than one ADB department.

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Most irrigation works in Afghanistan are small and medium-scale irrigation structures developed and managed by communities, however many systems are in serious disrepair. It is estimated 1.55 million hectares of irrigation systems require rehabilitation to be brought back to intensive cropping, while 0.95 million hectares could be upgraded from intermittent irrigation to permanent irrigation through provision of water storage. This project expands on an earlier successful JFPR 9039-AFG: Rural Recovery through Community-Based Irrigation Rehabilitation ($5 million that closed on 30 June 2010). That project undertook 74 civil works contracts for irrigation rehabilitation across three provinces (Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, and Jawzjan). The work was undertaken with local Community Development Councils (CDC), and the Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development (MRRD) was the executing agency. It had significant beneficiary impacts at the local level; (i) improved and more reliable irrigation water supplies generate increases in agricultural production, cash crops and household livelihoods; and (ii) during construction the CDCs contract local persons for labor-intensive civil work. The success of this program has generated a strong local demand for further rehabilitation work of the same nature. This project will apply a number of keys lessons learned from JFPR 9039-AFG. These include modifications to the location and design of irrigation structure, inclusion of greater supervision during construction, and enhancing the capacity building activities of government staff. The project is consistent with both ADB and Afghanistan Government investment priorities. The Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) has identified agriculture and rural development being critical to ensure the social, economic and political well-being of rural communities, particularly the poor and especially vulnerable. The ANDS has identified one of its specific rural development targets for 2013 as 68% of villages to benefit from new or rehabilitated small-scale irrigation systems. Agriculture and natural resources (including irrigation and water resource management) is one of ADB’s three priority sectors in the Afghanistan Country Partnership Strategy (2009-2013). One of the focuses of ADB’s support in this sector is rehabilitation and developing new irrigation and water resource infrastructure with associated expansion and improvement in enterprise returns. The project is consistent with ADB’s Strategy 2020 which lists investment in rural infrastructure, including irrigation and water management, as a core area of operations. The project is considerably larger than the standard $2 million limit offered for JFPR grant assistance due to the exceptional circumstances in Afghanistan. The country is undergoing considerable rebuilding following approximately three decades of civil conflict, and is highly dependant on foreign aid. Substantial investment in irrigation infrastructure is required to improve agricultural productivity and economic performance of local communities.

b. Impact. Incomes of rural households involved in agriculture-based livelihood activities in Jawzjan, Faryab, Ghor, Saripul, Balkh, Samangan and Baghlan provinces has improved.

c. Outcome.

Improved productivity of agricultural land reliant upon small-scale irrigation infrastructure in the seven target provinces. d. Expected outputs and time frame.

There are three project outputs. Output 1: Rehabilitation and reconstruction of community infrastructure. The project will rehabilitate degraded irrigation infrastructure of up to 175 small-scale and medium-scale traditional irrigation schemes. The average command area for each irrigation scheme is 550 acres, thus around 96,000 acres will receive secure irrigation supplies. The activities to support this output will include (i) a participatory assessment of irrigation facilities, (ii) rapid rural appraisal through community mobilization, and (iii) rehabilitation of infrastructure such as irrigation and water harvesting systems. Activities will commence within the first month of project implementation. The project will continue the same grant arrangements to CDCs as implemented in JFPR 9039-AFG. Output 2: Community capacity building. This will assist the community to develop capacity in various topics related to agricultural production, with a particular focus on water management systems. Capacity development is important to ensure local stakeholders have the requisite skills for ongoing project management and to be able to manage and maintain the irrigation systems. Activities will commence by the third month of project implementation. Output 3: Project management and monitoring. Support will be provided to stakeholders for project management, and monitoring and evaluation for impact assessment. The MRRD and provincial Department of Rural Reconstruction and Development (DRRD) in the target locations will receive management support in program, financial and procurement management. Action will be taken to increase capability for management and information systems and planning tools to monitor the process of subproject development, processing, approval, implementation, and final review. The activities will commence in the first month of project implementation.

e. Potential issues and risks.

The main project implementation risks are related to security and from a lack of skills and expertise of government staff

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and CDC members. To reduce the security risk the project will prepare a security management plan and through community participation develop a strong local ownership that will strengthen the local security environment. Limiting the number of international consultants will further reduce potential risks. Given their experience in the previous JFPR 9039-AFG project MRRD, the provincial departments and Ministry of Finance have established appropriate institutional procedures, operating, and fund flow mechanisms. Consequently, there are established methodologies that work well with communities and community development councils which will minimize the risk of any further problems. The criteria for partner selection will be based on agencies who are already working in the project area and with a verifiable success rate. Risks of delayed implementation due to non-functioning local government staff/facilities, limited development agency involvement, and resistance by local shuras (religious council) will be reduced through strong community, CDC and local agency involvement. MRRD will ensure appropriate selection of contractors and will work to strengthen the capacities of provincial DRRD. Involvement of the private sector in project irrigation construction activities will also be actively encouraged. Finally, potential governance issues and risks to transparent implementation will be minimized as mechanisms have been established under previous projects that will reduce the likelihood of corruption and other related issues in implementing labor-intensive rehabilitation works in the project area. The project will implement strict financial control and sound public financial management/governance, and will expand community responsibility to provide daily monitoring of individual projects. Capacity building to provincial DRRD will be targeted to introduce good practice control systems.

f. Plans for disseminating results. Internal Announcement in ADB Today Article in ADB Review Seminar, workshop, brown bag External Publication of articles in external journals or books Posting article on adb.org Media plan to be drafted (includes news releases, op-eds, or press briefings, interviews, or tours) Presentation at external conferences Others ________________________

2. Proposed Executing/Implementing Agency or Agencies MRRD will be the executing agency (EA). Provincial offices of the DRRD will be responsible for project implementation in each province. The EA will be assisted by a nongovernment organization (NGO) contracted to provide advisory and management support by placing experienced and skilled staffed in provincial DRRD offices to work closely with government employees who have little experience in participatory program formulation and implementation. The NGO will also assist MRRD in procurement and in financial management. Funds will be held by the EA in the Central Bank and disbursed through agreed-on methods to provincial NGOs. A central Project Coordination Unit (PCU), led by a Project Coordinator (PC) employed by the management NGO but seconded to MRRD, will be established at MRRD headquarters. The PC will be assisted by a deputy coordinator with responsibility for finance and procurement. The NGO will also provide staff to MRRD provincial offices that serve as a first contact point for communities in accessing project resources; they will work in the provincial MRRD offices, providing training and management guidance to staff of local DRRD. The project coordinator will be responsible for day-to-day management of implementation of the JFPR project and for reporting on it to ADB as required. The management NGO will focus on coordination, planning, and monitoring through establishment of effective information systems, finalization of the project implementation manual, regular community consultation, and a comprehensive, regional approach to district and provincial development. The management NGO together with MRRD will oversee the contracting of private sector or NGO surveyors, and community mobilization teams. Procurement under the grant will be conducted in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2010, as amended from time to time). Consultants will be recruited in accordance with the Guidelines on The Use of Consultants by Asian Development Bank and Its Borrowers (2010, as amended from time to time).

3. Stakeholder Participation and Consultation: MRRD has discussed the project with the Ministry of Finance,

provincial RRDs, other related government provincial officials and civil society organizations, as well as the Embassy of Japan (Kabul), ADB (AFRM) during a high level consultation mission from the Government of Japan. An ADB mission to Afghanistan on 28 October 2010 discussed the proposed project with Eri Nishimura, First Secretary, Embasssy of Japan (Afghanistan). Following that mission a letter (dated 28 November 2010) from Mr Shigeyuki (Ambassador, Embassy of Japan Afghanistan) to Director General Central and West Asia Department, ADB, expressed the Embassy’s strong support for the project.

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4. Financing Plan JFPR: $10 million Other: Government

Source Amount ($)

ADB Financing JFPR $10.0 million Government Financing $ 0.2 million Other Financing Total Cost $10.2 million

PART III. TIMETABLE FOR ASSISTANCE DESIGN, PROCESSING, AND IMPLEMENTATION

1. Year included in a regional or country operations business plan: 2011 2. Expected date of submission for approval: 28 March 2011 3. Period and duration of assistance: 36 months. 1 July 2011 – 30 June 2014

PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND MONITORING FRAMEWORK1

Design

Summary

Performance Targets/Indicators

Data Sources/Reporting Mechanisms

Assumptions

And Risks

Impact

Incomes of rural households involved in agriculture-based livelihood activities in Jawzjan, Faryab, Ghor, Saripul, Balkh, Samangan and Baghlan provinces has improved.

Income of 250,000 households increased 20% from 2011 baseline by 2014

Project progress reports Participatory monitoring

Assumptions

Government priority remains for water resource/ irrigation rehabilitation

Outcome

Improved productivity of agricultural land reliant upon small-scale irrigation infrastructure in the seven target provinces.

Secure irrigation supplies provided to 96,000 acres of agricultural land by 2014 Crop production increased by 30% from 2011 baseline by 2014 Increased cropping intensity from x% in 2011 to x% in 2014

Technical project reports Participatory impact assessment of selected completed schemes Project progress reports

Assumptions

Continued Government support for small scale rehabilitation and CDC implementation Risks

Deterioration in security conditions hinder civil works and community council development

Outputs Output 1:

Targeted project communities apply skills to rehabilitate and improve irrigation infrastructure.

Implementation of 175 water schemes with average command area of 550 acres by 2013

Technical project reports Participatory impact assessment of selected completed schemes

Assumptions

MRRD and provincial DRRD provide adequate staff and resources Community development councils are willing to prepare and implement O&M plans Risks

Unable to employ local labor due to deterioration in security conditions

Output 2:

Community applies skills for managing and maintaining the irrigation system.

175 field based training programs developed and implemented by 2013 175 community councils operational by 2013

Technical project reports Project progress reports

Output 3:

Communities and government staff apply skills in project management and monitoring

Quarterly progress reports are submitted within one month of the end of the quarter

Project M&E reports

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Activities with Milestones

1. Output 1: Targeted project communities apply skills to rehabilitate and

improve irrigation infrastructure.

1.1 Undertake participatory surveys for irrigation rehabilitation needs and selection of sub-projects (tbd)

1.2 Construct irrigation infrastructure (tbd) 1.3 Establish watershed management plans and water harvesting and conservation

options (tbd) 1.4 Establish agreements on coordination and further management of watershed

plan (tbd) 2. Output 2: Community applies skills for managing and maintaining the

irrigation system

2.1 Develop training packages in (i) agricultural management, (ii) watershed management and conservation, (iii) program management (financial, accounting, general project management), (iv) construction project and quality control, and (v) conflict management (tbd)

2.2 Implement field based training programs (tbd) 3. Output 3: Communities and government staff apply skills in project

management and monitoring

3.1 Capacity development training to MRRD/PRRD on (i) project management, (ii) monitoring and evaluation, (iii) financial management, and (iv) procurement (tbd)

3.2 Develop management information system (tbd)

Inputs

JFPR: $10.0 million

NGO services: $2,000,000 Training: $400,000 Infrastructure/civil works/equipment: $7,000,000 Project management: $550,000 Contingencies: $50,000 Government Financing (in-kind contribution): $0.2 million

Staff salaries and operating Personnel:

Consulting services (tbd) person-months of international consulting and (tbd) person-months of national consulting services)

1 Indicative data provided at this stage, firm data will be collected during fact-finding mission

JFPR = Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction; MRRD = Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development; PRRD = provincial rural reconstruction and development; NGO = non-government organization; tbd = to be determined.

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SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PROVINCIAL IMPLEMENTING NGO AND SCOPE OF WORK

A. Selection Criteria 1. The criteria for selecting provincial implementing nongovernment organizations (NGOs) area as follows:

(i) official recognition shown by registration with Afghan Government and NGO coordinating bodies, e.g. Agency Coordination Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), Afghan NGOs’ Coordination Bureau (ANCB);

(ii) presence and quality of experience in province/district; (iii) capability and demonstrable experience in community mobilization; (iv) commitment and approach to working with community empowerment in inclusive fashion; (v) ability to recruit additional, skilled staff with relevant skills should they be necessary; (vi) background and experience in supporting infrastructure projects (can be direct or indirect experience); (vii) community skills training capability; (viii) basic project accounts; (ix) conflict resolution capability; (x) project management; (xi) participatory activities with broad recruitment of community members, including rural appraisal, project

implementation, monitoring, environmental impact assessment; (xii) record of working with women and other vulnerable members of community; (xiii) expressed understanding of watershed management approach; (xiv) institutional financial management experience and existing systems guaranteeing transparency in funds

flow; accounts and accounting practices audited in the previous year; (xv) logistical and communications systems linking province to project sites, land Kabul; and (xvi) ability to work positively with government agencies in support of government policies and priorities

B. Scope of Work for Provincial NGOs 2. Provincial implementing NGOs are crucial to project success since they are employed by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to strengthen the capacity of provincial Departments of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD) staff and orient, mobilize, and help organize rural communities. By working with the NGO serving government officers will strengthen MRRD’s ability to guide and support programs of community development in the future. Rural communities that work with the NGO will increasingly gain skills in project management, conflict resolution, and community development monitoring. All parties are to work within the context of multiple village watersheds, with explicit attention to the problems of water management shared by communities and resolvable only through joint action. 3. Each implementing NGO will

(i) provide technically qualified staff members to serve as needed on the survey teams that define likely project sites;

(ii) engage communities selected for implementing irrigation subprojects in discussions of organizational requirements for implementing the project. This task involves (a) culturally appropriate entrance to the community and clarification of the NGO’s role and the requirements of the project; e.g. clarification with the local shura of the methods to be undertaken and the purpose of visits to the community; (b) clarification of the community’s organizational requirements, and the need for community resource mobilization; (c) introduction of poverty issues, the importance of participation by all affected community members;

(iii) manage all financial flows, and all payments to community workers, contractors, and suppliers, with clear reporting to both local shuras and to MRRD. This task will involve (a) prepare regular progress reports, including annula project accounts, for each component. Reports should assess percentage of project completion, percentage budget committed and/or allocated, and an explanation for significant variance between physical and financial percentage complete; (b) maintaining records of employment; (c) maintaining records of expenditures and inventories of equipment; (d) advising on, and gaining agreement from MRRD and the management NGO over the most appropriate way to transfer funds from Kabul; and (e) signing written agreements/contracts as needed for provision of technical expertise, labor, machinery;

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(iv) provide technical guidance, as needed, for infrastructure construction; (v) provide capacity building instruction for community members in basic accounting, project management,

project impact monitoring on a regular basis; (vi) collaborate with the management NGO on seminars and discussions examining progress of the project,

watershed management issues and techniques; (vii) ensure that contact with target communities is regular, continuing, and adequate to guarantee

accountability to communities; and (viii) report regularly to the management services NGO, including progress, problems and issues, financial

expenditures, and lessons learned.

INITIAL POVERTY AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS

Country/Project Title: Afghanistan / Community Based Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development

Lending/Financing Modality:

JFPR Grant Department/ Division:

CWRD / CWER

I. POVERTY ISSUES

A. Linkages to the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and Country Partnership Strategy

The Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) recognizes the need to sustain high growth rates in the medium term to generate employment and reduce poverty. Agriculture generates about 50% of gross domestic product and employs about two thirds of all Afghans; 19 million people (or nearly 80% of the population) live in rural areas and have the highest incidence of poverty. Agricultural and rural economic growth are essential for sustained improvement in national livelihoods. Given that irrigated agriculture produces 80% all agricultural output, providing reliable irrigation water supplies is critical to achieving this growth. To achieve the Government’s poverty-reduction goals, economic growth has to be accelerated and supported by a sustained increase of 5%–8% per year in the agriculture sector. According to 2005 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment data about 45% of the rural population is poor compared to 27% of those who live in urban areas. Rural populations have the highest rates of food insecurity, with 45% not meeting minimum food requirements. In addition to facing high food insecurity, rural households have less access to infrastructure and basic public services. Their level of education is low and rates of illiteracy high. The country partnership strategy (CPS) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is fully aligned with ANDS priorities and outcomes, and the CPS highlights four sectors for ADB investments: (i) energy; (ii) transportation and communication; and (iii) agriculture and natural resources, including irrigation and water resources management; and (iv) governance.

B. Targeting Classification

1. Select the targeting classification of the project:

General Intervention Individual or Household (TI-H); Geographic (TI-G); Non-Income MDGs (TI-M1, M2, etc.)

2. Explain the basis for the targeting classification: The project focusses on village and district level infrastructure refurbishment, which directly benefits households through improved irrigation water supply.

C. Poverty Analysis

Afghanistan’s human development indicators are among the lowest in the world. Some 12 million Afghans, or 42% of the population, live below the poverty line, with monthly incomes of about $14 per capita. About 45% of the population is estimated to be unable to purchase sufficient food to guarantee the world standard minimum food intake of 2,100 calories per day. The national literacy rate was only 28% in 2008, and the literacy rate among women only 16%. About 31% of the population has access to safe drinking water, and only 12% is believed to have access to sanitation. In addition, life expectancy in Afghanistan is under 45 years, at least 10 years below that of any other Asian country. Over 20% of all Afghan children die before the age of 5, half of Afghanistan’s school-age children are not in school, and 57% of the population is under 18 years of age. Gender inequality is rife across all sectors, resulting in particularly difficult circumstances for women. A number of factors have contributed to the country’s overall high poverty incidence, but it has primarily been a result of 30 years of civil conflict, and the associated political instability and lack of security. This has stifled economic growth and social development. The coincident arrivals of returning refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) and the resultant growth in landlessness have in some areas increased pressure on the resource base beyond sustainable levels.

II. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

A. Initial Social Analysis

The direct beneficiaries of the project are farmers whose land will receive increased and more reliable flows of irrigation water. This results in an improvement in agricultural production and productivity, which benefits farm families and wider communities. Farmers and farming communities are among the poorest social groups in Afghanistan. Local communities also benefit from the project in terms of increased employment opportunities from construction activities in rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure. A previous JFPR irrigation rehabilitation project in Afghanistan identified $1.1 million out of $5.0 million implementation funds went directly to short-term employment payments.

B. Consultation and Participation

1. Indicate the potential initial stakeholders. Farmers, community development organizations, national government, regional government

2. What type of consultation and participation (C&P) is required during the PPTA or project processing (e.g., workshops, community mobilization, involvement of nongovernment organizations and community-based organizations, etc.)?

Meetings held with Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development, non-government organization (ie. HOPE Worldwide Afghanistan). 3. What level of participation is envisaged for project design?

Information sharing Consultation Collaborative decision making Empowerment

4. Will a C&P plan be prepared? Yes No

C. Gender and Development

1. What are the key gender issues in the sector/subsector that are likely to be relevant to this project/program? Field assessments indicated that gender roles in the project areas are determined by tradition, with women engaged in selected activities with homemaking being the most important. The percentage of families headed by women ranges from 3% to 10%. Women are concerned about the lack of food, income, work opportunities, health facilities, and shortages in drinking water. They are also concerned about not having opportunities to work on income generation projects (which stems mainly from cultural reasons). The Project is not expected to explicitly address existing gender concerns and has few activities to address ongoing gender differences or to create a high gender impact. Given gender roles are unlikely to change and the Project’s main activities do not address gender concerns, there are unlikely to be any gender impacts resulting from implementation of the project.

2. Does the proposed project/program have the potential to promote gender equality and/or women’s empowerment by

improving women’s access to and use of opportunities, services, resources, assets, and participation in decision making? Yes No The project may improve womens access to water supplies and access to employment opportunities.

3. Could the proposed project have an adverse impact on women and/or girls or to widen gender inequality? Yes No The project is unlikely to have any negative impact on women.

III. SOCIAL SAFEGUARD ISSUES AND OTHER SOCIAL RISKS

Issue Nature of Social Issue Significant/Limited/ No Impact/Not Known

Plan or Other Action Required

Involuntary Resettlement

Potential for resettlement during construction. Due diligence will be conducted to assess potential effects.

Not known. Full Plan Short Plan Resettlement Framework No Action Uncertain

Indigenous Peoples

Potential for indigenous peoples to be affected during construction. Due diligence will be conducted to assess potential effects.

Not known.

Plan Other Action Indigenous Peoples

Framework No Action Uncertain

Labor

Employment Opportunities Labor Retrenchment Core Labor Standards

Increased employment of local communities on irrigation infrastructure refurbishment.

Significant

Plan Other Action No Action Uncertain

Affordability

No impact.

Action No Action Uncertain

Other Risks and/or Vulnerabilities

HIV/AIDS Human Trafficking Others (conflict, political

instability, etc.), please specify

No such risk or vulnerabilities are envisaged in the Project.

Plan Other Action No Action Uncertain

IV. PPTA/DUE DILIGENCE RESOURCE REQUIREMENT

1. Do the TOR for the PPTA (or other due diligence) include poverty, social and gender analysis and the relevant specialist/s? Yes No If no, please explain why.

2. Are resources (consultants, survey budget, and workshop) allocated for conducting poverty, social and/or gender analysis, and

C&P during the PPTA/due diligence? Yes No If no, please explain why.

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Proposed JFPR Grant-AFG: Community Based Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Project

Matrix of Interdepartmental Comments on the Draft Concept Paper

COMMENTS ACTIONS TAKEN

1) AFRM No comments received.

2) COSO (Rustam A. Abdukayumov, Procurement Specialist)

Pls provide more detailed description of

implementation arrangements, i.e. who will be responsible for delivering all three outputs. The role of HOPE Worldwide has to be clarified: is it an IA responsible for all project components or only some of them. Similarly, it is necessary to describe (i) how procurement of community-based civil works will be done - by MRRD alone or with external help; (ii) Who will do the assessment of irrigation facilities and RRA; (iii) Who will implement output 3 (project management and monitoring); (iv) What is the requirement for consulting services, if any?

Given the indicative amount of $2 million for NGO services, the engagement of HOPE Worldwide through SSS can be considered only if there is strong justification that no other competent NGOs are available to work in the project areas.

More details on roles of implementing agencies is provided in Part II para 2. Reference to Hope Worldwide has now been removed along with any reference to single source selection.

Issues (i) to (iv) will be addressed in

greater detail in Grant Proposal. The reference to single source selection

has been removed.

3) CTL (Y. Tatewaki, Financial Control Specialist) 1. If the proposed project envisages the block grant to CDCs as done under JFPR9039-AFG, please indicate such arrangements in the Part II, section 1.d., under output 1. 2. In the Board paper for the proposed Grant Assistance, we suggest the following matters are considered.

(i) To indicate that the JFPR Grant will be disbursed

in accordance with the ADB's Loan Disbursement Handbook (January 2007), which may be amended from time to time.

(ii) Cost Estimates and Financing Plan table should

be prepared in accordance with the provisions of para 11 of the New Guidelines and Operating Procedures for Application, Approval and Execution of JFPR Grants.

(iii) In addition, please make sure compliance to the

New Guidelines and Operating Procedures for Application, Approval and Execution of JFPR Grants in all aspects. If any exception, we recommend the team consulting with OCO.

A statement now included in Part II para

1(d) stating the project will continue the same grant arrangements to CDCs as implemented in JFPR 9039-AFG.

These comments will be addressed in the

Grant Proposal.

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COMMENTS ACTIONS TAKEN

(iv) The ADB’s Procurement Guidelines, the Consulting Service Guidelines and PAI No. 5.12 “Implementing Small Projects with Community Participation” should be complied with.

4) CWOD (Mark Kunzer, Senior Environment Specialist)

Regarding environmental categorization, the

Western Basins project which is similar to what is proposed here was classified as Environment Category B so it is likely that this project will also be cat B. An IEE will therefore be needed. We're happy to help draft up TORs, budgets, etc. when required.

Acknowledged. This will be addressed in

the Grant Proposal.

(Susann Roth, Social Dev’t Specialist, [Gender and Development])

Discussed with Randall Jones.

Agreed on gender issues and and will include details of gender activities in the Grant Proposal.

(Lanfranco Blanchette-Revelli, Senior Social Dev’t and Resettlement Specialist

The IPSA indicates that it is unknown whether

there will be resettlement impacts, yet it indicates that no action in this respect is needed. This is contradictory. As the situation will be clear only after due diligence is done we cannot say now that no action is needed. The PTL will have to indicate in the second column and in section 4 in which way he intends to carry out the due diligence and will have to re-check the action status after this is done. For the moment the box to check is "uncertain".

As per IP the PTL will have to substantiate that

there are no IPs and explain that. In Afghanistan there are many ethnic minorities although these do not have the features of IPs as defined by ADB safeguards.

The status has been changed to “uncertain”. A statement that due diligence is required and will be included in Grant Proposal has been included.

A statement that due diligence is required has been included.

(Carmina Luna, Senior Portfolio Management Officer)

Some points for consideration: OUTPUTS 1) For Output 2, suggest the target community be

specified or if not yet known at this time it can be restated to: Targeted project communities apply skills...

Need to indicate baseline date for the

indicators (perhaps to be collected during Fact

Changed as suggested

As of 27/01/2011

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COMMENTS ACTIONS TAKEN

Finding Mission, if not yet available now). 2) Output 3, suggest a restatement in the same

manner Output 2 is written (i.e., a statement of change by the beneficiaries). Section "d" of the text describes the M&E assistance to "MRRD and provincial RRD in the target locations".

Indicator: "Quarterly progress reports are

submitted annually" - if reports are quarterly made, then they should be submitted quarterly as well.

But notwithstanding, this indicator does not

give a good measure of capacity assistance for MRRD and the provincial RRD. Pls revise the indicator, choose a measure of capacity improvement (.e.g., what quality change is expected in doing M&E for the target units).

They may be producing reports, but the

content may not be of good quality that therefore they cannot be used.

DATA SOURCES 1) Need to specify who produces the reports,

assessments. 2) Pls delete "Participatory monitoring". This is

not a data source. Pls recall that Data Sources identifies where the information about the indicator can be found.

3) Pls delete reference to ADB Review Missions.

During missions, ADB Teams collect data/info from the source; ADB is not the source.

ASSUMPTIONS for Outputs 1) Need to qualify what "support" from MRRD

and RRD staff means to be very clear on the situation being assumed here. You may wish to focus on commitment (staff time, resources, etc).

Output statement changed to

“Communities and government staff apply skills in project management and monitoring.”

Changed from “annually” to within one

month of the end of the quarter. New indicators will be included in Grant

Proposal after further consultations are made.

Will be addressed in greater detail in the

Grant Proposal when more information is available.

Deleted as suggested. Deleted as suggested. Changed wording to “… provide

adequate staff and resources”

5) CWRC (Shigeko Hattori, Director) Thank you for sharing this draft with CWRC. We have no comments on this draft project concept paper.

Noted.

6) IED (Samjhana Shrestha, Evaluation Specialist, and Alvin Morales, Evaluation Officer)

1. Relevance. IED is pleased to note that the proposed assistance is consistent with the Government and ADB’s strategies and investment plans in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, we suggest

A comment linking project to Strategy

2020 has been included.

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COMMENTS ACTIONS TAKEN

linking it as well with ADB’s Strategy 2020 which supports rural infrastructure development.

A. Lessons from IED Evaluations

2. We would also like to bring to your attention two IED studies which compiled ADB lessons for irrigation and drainage– (i) Sector Synthesis on Irrigation and Drainage (http://www.adb.org/Documents/PERs/REG/ss-irrigation-drainage.asp) and (ii) Best Practices in Irrigation and Drainage (http://www.adb.org/Documents/Evaluation/Case-Studies/CS-Irrigation-Drainage/default.asp). Both studies identified key issues that remain relevant to ongoing and future ADB operations in irrigation and drainage. These issues relate to the design of irrigation projects, agricultural support services, strengthening of institutional capacities, improving O&M through participatory management, developing and managing water resources, benefit monitoring and evaluation, and irrigation service fees. The studies also identified that the success or failure of a project largely depends on the soundness of a project design, degree of the stakeholders' ownership of a project, and the sustainability of O&M of the project's facilities.

3. The first study identified key lessons concerning project preparation to include (i) diligence in project selection, conceptual framework formulation, and implementing design; (ii) adopting a holistic approach to upgrading and developing irrigation and drainage schemes; (iii) participatory approaches to prevent or minimize system deterioration including careful planning for mechanisms in beneficiary participation; (iv) the formation/strengthening of water users associations with some support thereafter; (v) a gradual and progressive process in project formulation that focuses on institutional development and stakeholder participation; and (vi) the inclusion of on-farm irrigation distribution systems and development of water management at the farm level.

4. The study also identified implementation and operations-related lessons and these were: (i) project supervision from an ADB resident mission rather than from headquarters is often more effective, particularly when it results in a better understanding of local problems and more judicious and timely reallocation of loan proceeds; (ii) continuous O&M is a necessary precondition to keep river and drainage channels open, thus adequate provision for O&M must be built into national budgets, if not funded from other sources, and (iii) ADB and the executing agency (EA) need to

The relevant lessons will be

incorporated into the Grant Proposal.

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have a more proactive role in complex public sector projects by paying close attention and giving advice on the policy and institutional development process in the EA.

5. Finally, IED recently completed a PCR validation of Loan 2083-AFG: Agriculture Sector Program (http://www.adb.org/documents/reports/validation/AFG/in296-10.pdf). The validation agreed with the PCR findings which cited among others, the need for strong stakeholder ownership, continued support to and dialogue with the government, timely appointment of the steering committee and program officers, and strong monitoring and evaluation systems. The validation also echoed the need for closer ADB involvement in critical early stages and greater rigor in government reporting. Based on this, IED suggests that a stronger focus on monitoring and evaluation systems should be undertaken at all stages of the project to ensure smooth implementation and monitoring. The project can also be a potential candidate for the conduct of an impact evaluation subject to improvements in area security conditions.

B. Other Comments

6(i) Outputs. Under Part 2-1d (component 1) kindly specify upfront the number of areas to be covered/irrigated under the 175 schemes. (ii) Rigorous impact evaluation (RIE). IED suggests that this project can be a good candidate for an RIE provided that there is an improvement in the security conditions in the area. Under component 3, ADB can undertake a baseline survey in the project areas, including non-project areas which will serve as counterfactuals. This project offers a great opportunity to quantify the impact of a JFPR funded project. The JFPR funds were the subject of an IED study in 2007, and an RIE would further highlight the contribution of the fund to over-all ADB goals concerning poverty reduction, including ADB’s assistance to the irrigation sub-sector. There is an existing regional TA which can be used to support selected RIE related activities. (iii) Private sector participation. Para 3 under part 2-1e mentioned the possible involvement of the private sector. We would appreciate if you can specify the exact areas where private sector participation can be harnessed. (iv) Operations and Maintenance and Cost Recovery. It is essential to ensure that project

In the DMF the command area per

scheme is 550 acres and total area affected is 96,000 acres. These values are now included in the text of Part II para 1(d).

A valuable suggestion and will be

considered and appropriately incorporated in the the Grant Proposal.

A reference to private participation in

the construction activities has been included. This will be addressed in the Grant

Proposal.

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benefits are sustained overtime and some financing can be used for operations and maintenance. IED would like to clarify if this would be part of consultant TORs, including the conduct of a willingness to pay study to assist in tariff setting. (v) Design and Monitoring Framework. We would like to suggest (i) adding increased cropping intensity from X% to X% by 2014 as an indicator under outcome, and (ii) revision of the indicator of output 3 from quarterly progress reports are “submitted annually” to “submitted on time”.

Added as suggested, however the

intensities cannot be defined at the moment. These will be identified in the Grant Proposal.

7) OCO (Kazuo Kojima, Japan Funds Coordinator and Ronaldo Oblepias, Consultant)

1. What were the lessons from the implementation of JFPR 9039-AFG and how will those lessons be incorporated into the design of this new proposal? 2. Were there any transparency/accountability issues under the previous project? (Please elaborate.) If so, how were these addressed? 3. We note that the new project will include the provinces of Faryab and Saripul which were also targeted by JFPR 9039. Will there be any overlaps with the previous project? 4. One of the risks mentioned is the lack of skills and expertise of government staff. Were there no capacity building activities done under JFPR 9039? To ensure that the government will be able to replicate this project in other areas, government representatives should be closely involved in the design and implementation of the project. 5. In the section on Stakeholder Participation and Consultation, please include the comments that were received from the Embassy of Japan.

Some lessons from previous JFPR are

now included in Part II para 1(a). There were no transparency issues

identified in the previous project. This project expands the activities without

overlap; this will be explained in the Grant Proposal.

One of the issues identified from JFPR

9039 was the need to enhance the capacity building of government staff. This has been included as one of the lessons learned.

Reference is now made to letter to DG,

CWRD from Ambassador, Embassy of Japan (Afghanistan) supporting this project.

8) OGC (Julian Chenoworth, Counsel)

1. JFPR Requirements

The proposed JFPR grant is $10 million. As JFPR grants exceeding $2 million may be considered only in exceptional circumstances, it is recommended that you include details of these circumstances in the paper. (see OM Section E2/OP Paragraph 7)

2. Output 1 (Part II Para 1.d and Preliminary DMF)

Included a discussion in Part II para 1(a) of the exceptional circumstances in Afghanistan justifying the project expenditure.

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Given the relatively large size of the infrastructure/civil works/rehabilitation component ($7 million) please include additional details on what these entail in the description of Output 1 and the Preliminary DMF section on Activities with Milestones.

3. Implementation Arrangements

Please include more information on proposed implementation arrangements generally as it is not entirely clear who is responsible for implementing each of the Components. In particular please clarify who is responsible for: (i) procurement for Output 1. Is it MRRD (in

collaboration with provincial RRDs)?;

(ii) community capacity building for Output 2 (is it the selected NGO for which single source selection is suggested)?

(iii) project management and monitoring in Output

3 (will it be MRRD/PRRD with ADB funded international and national consultant support)? Note that salary support for Government staff is ineligible for JFPR funding.

Paragraph e. of Part II section 1 suggests

that the Ministry of Finance will have a fiduciary role or oversight. Please briefly clarify this role.

If consultants are proposed to be used for the

above tasks or further fact finding, a description of inputs and draft ToR should be attached to the Concept Paper.

In Part II Paragraph 2 please indicate that all

procurement under the grant will be conducted in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2010, as amended from time to time) and that all consultants will be recruited in accordance with the Guidelines on The Use of Consultants by Asian Development Bank and Its Borrowers (2010, as amended from time to time). Subject to COSO's comments it is suggested that you delete the reference to proposed single source selection at this stage or alternatively indicate that the proposed single source selection is subject to ADB's Consultant Guidelines requirements. 4. Specific and Editorial Comments

Paragraph 3 of Part II, para 1.e: please clarify what partners/agencies are being referred to here and which Output/Component this relates

This will be addressed in the Grant Proposal.

More information has been included in Part para 2 of roles of implementing agencies. This will be addressed further in the Grant Proposal.

This was not intended. Ministry of

Finance will retain the same role as per all projects.

Included as an appendix is the draft

criteria for consultant selection. A paragraph has been included in Part

II 2 which states this. Single source selection has been removed.

Project partners are not known at this

stage and will be identified for different irrigation schemes during project

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to. Preliminary DMF, Activities with

Milestones: please provide a brief description of the nature of the Government's in-kind contribution. In footnote 1, "indicitive" should read "indicative".

implementation. This issue will be addressed in the Grant Proposal.

DMF shows in-kind contribution is staff

salaries and operating expenses. Spelling mistake has been corrected

9) RSGS (Bart Edes, Director) Social Analysis

1. We note that the Project is classified as targeted intervention at household level (TI-H). Please ensure that resources to conduct income poverty analysis at household level are adequate and monitoring system for TI-H will be included in the design of the Project.

2. Section II. B, Consultation and Participation.

We note that collaborative decision making is envisaged for project design and implementation. To ensure that the poor, vulnerable and landless people fully participate in the Project, please consider preparing a participation plan with detailed implementation and monitoring arrangements.

3. IPSA, section III on labor shows that there

will be increased employment of local communities on irrigation infrastructure refurbishment. Please ensure that a due diligence on the compliance with core labor standards and/or national labor laws is conducted, and provision for monitoring this compliance is included in the project implementation.

4. Section IV numbers 1 and 2, on the resource

requirement for conducting poverty, social, and gender analysis, show that issues are dealt with within the WRDIP. Please provide complete information on whether there is adequate resources to conduct this due diligence. Keep in mind that per Public Communication Policy (2005), an IPSA should be disclosed in ADB website accordingly.

Gender and Development 5. Although the IPSA notes the difficulties of

gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan and therefore the proposed thematic classification of the project does not currently include "gender equity", we believe that the project offers a great opportunity to make small but practical changes in women's conditions in the country, given the project's rural and community focus. In this regard, we are pleased to learn that you plan to include in the TA

This will be addressed in the Grant

Proposal. This will be addressed in the Grant

Proposal. Noted and will be included in the Grant

Proposal and the civil works contracts. Reference to WRDIP is now removed.

The project is not a PPTA and Part IV of the IPSA does not need to be addressed.

Noted.

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consultant's TOR to give serious attention to gender issues. The services of the recently recruited AFRM consultant can be most usefully rendered for this.

6. Women in rural Afghanistan are involved in

many production and income generating activities that contribute to the overall household income. However, very few women own resources such as land and livestock, and their income generating options are fewer in comparison to men. While we note that the project focuses on irrigation - a sector where women are invisible - we wonder if it is possible for the project scope to go beyond irrigation and consider women targeted support such as home-based productive activities (e.g., backyard garden, small livestock), training on income generation or basic health care, and small and basic community infrastructure such as water supply, all of which are acceptable within the cultural and religious confines. A proper gender analysis can explore these possibilities. Output 2 on community mobilization also needs to identify the strategy how women's voices can be reflected. 7. Please ensure the continued involvement of CWRD’s Gender Specialist, Susann Roth and the AFRM's national gender consultant Shaima Zakhilwal. RSGS is pleased to provide further clarifications as needed.

This project does not have capacity to

extend beyond rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure. ADB has been in discussion with Aga Khan who may undertake a separate project which would include the activities suggested in this comment.

Noted.

10) EAOD (Mohammad Ehsan Khan, Principal Economist)

Thank you for providing us with an opportunity to review the draft JFPR paper. We find the draft well prepared and the rationale well argued. We note that the JFPR will finance investments including rehabilitation of the irrigation infrastructure. This makes us wonder that how will the schemes be selected and how will the financial and economic viability, and sustainability be assured. We would appreciate if in due time the Mission can share with us the details of financial and economic analysis on the representative schemes. We would also appreciate if the JFPR paper includes a selection criteria to ensure that the irrigation schemes supported by the Project are financially and economically viable, and can be sustained after completion of rehabilitation activities.

A flowchart of methodology for selecting projects has been prepared and will be included in Grant Proposal. No economic analysis was conducted of schemes in previous JFPR 9039-AFG. The NGO Hope Worldwide responsible for implementation will be contacted for information so economic analysis of representative schemes can be conducted. Benefits and costs of rehabilitation will be included in future scheme selection criteria.

11) RSES (Ralf Starkloff, Social Development Specialist)

We have reviewed the document's social safeguard (involuntary resettlement (IR) and Indigenous Peoples (IP)) aspects, and offer the

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following recommendations. The JFPR grant assistance will support (i) reconstruction and rehabilitation of 175 community water schemes in 7 provinces, (ii) field-based community training at each of the 175 sites, and (iii) project management support. The IPSA appendix states that the project will entail no IP impacts. Its also says that IR impacts are unknown at this stage, and that no further action is proposed for IR safeguards. The IPSA should be revised to say that further due diligence will be undertaken to determine whether or not the project will result in IR impacts. We recommend that a resettlement framework be prepared for the project, in accordance with OM F1/OP para. 51. The resettlement framework will stipulate the IR safeguard requirements of activities with IR impacts that may have to be undertaken during project implementation. When information becomes adequate, please complete an involuntary resettlement checklist and categorization form [PDF] [Doc] and an Indigenous Peoples screening and categorization form [PDF] [Doc] for the project, and forward these to RSES for review and subsequent endorsement to the CCO.

The need for conducting due diligence

has been included. Issue will be addressed further in Grant Proposal.

Noted and will comply with Grant

Proposal.

Vijay Joshi (Environment Specialist)

We do not find any reference to safeguards in the concept paper. Though the environmental impacts for this project with construction works limited to rehabilitation of small and medium irrigation structures my not be significant, the project need to follow the SPS 2009 for environmental and social safeguards. We suggest that a paragraph under “potential issues and risks’ be added that mentions about anticipated environmental and social impacts and how these will be managed under the project.

Noted, this will be incorporated in the

Grant Proposal.

12) RSGP RSGP has no comment from public

management, governance and participation perspective.

Noted.

Prepared by Randall Jones Natural Resources Economist, CWEN 27 January 2011