Irrigation revolution in Armenia

Photos: World BankThe Armenia Irrigation Rehabilitation Emergency Project (IREP) is helping people revive agriculture in the most remote parts of the country, such as the village of Aghavnadsor located in the mountainous region of Vayots Dsor.

Vahram Matevosyan, whose vineyards have enlarged over new lands irrigated by water in Aghavnadsor village, says: "The situation has improved drastically. I am establishing new vineyards with optimism, being sure that they will never wither."

Nature has endowed Vayots Dsor region of Armenia with severely dry and mountainous land. Yet, if irrigated, it delivers some of the best wine grapes in the country.

The village of Aghavnadsor spreads across a high-altitude valley at the foot of rocky mountains, insurmountable and non-arable at first glance. However, recently farming, the traditional occupation of the local people, has 'migrated' high into the mountains. This is the result of the newly-introduced irrigation system in the area. The construction of Vayots Dzor gravity pipeline, spanning nearly 70 kilometers, is far more efficient than the old system of pumps which took huge volumes of electricity consumption.

Through the World Bank-sponsored Irrigation Development Project (IDP), the basis for an effective and sustainable management of irrigation infrastructure has been created in Armenia, including conversion from pumping to gravity, and rehabilitation of some of the main irrigation structures and tertiary canals. As a result, irrigated land had increased by the end of 2008. Conversion from pumps with high electricity costs to gravity irrigation has resulted in saving around 51 million KWT electricity annually, amounting to a total of USD3.5 million.

Farmer Spartek HageyanMichael Grigoryan from Aghavnadsor turned to large-scale farming only two years ago, when the outcomes of the project reached the lands surrounding his village. He leased land on the hill above the village and started the mass planting of young vines.

"Irrigation had always been a major issue, for us, as well as for the neighboring communities, ever since the system collapsed in the early nineties. I became extremely enthusiastic, when I learnt two years ago that the lands above had become irrigable, so I started a new vineyard," says Michael. "I rejoice every time watering my young plants and watching them grow day by day. I am very optimistic that already next year I will reap a good harvest and enjoy the first portion of wine from my land."

Many farmers have switched from wheat to higher value crops. Artak Sargsyan, with his 17 hectares of land in Talvorik village of Armavir region, is one of them. "Irrigation used to be a huge constraint, and farmers were unable to bring in the crops they would have with better access to water," he says. "Not anymore. Now I am confident of what I am cultivating."

Armavir, the main canal that takes water from the Araks river, was one of the greatest achievements of the project. The reconstruction of the head gate redoubled the capacity of the intake, up to 53 square meters of water per second. The irrigation water supply in Armavir region has dramatically improved due to reconstruction of the head intake on the canal and to rehabilitation of the on-farm irrigation network. As a result, Artak is now planting new vineyards in the vicinity of where old ones used to be. Moreover, special software installed in the Water Users Associations allows him, as well as all water users, to follow how much water he has used and how much he has paid against it.

The establishment of Water Users Associations was a real revolution in the maintenance of the irrigation system in Armenia. Through this initiative 14 public agencies responsible for irrigation water delivery were replaced. There are 44 associations operating in the country currently, signing agreements with farmers, delivering water and maintaining the irrigation network.

The success of the Water Users Associations is tangible. "Whether through institutional reform, or development of infrastructure, we strive towards one goal: delivering more water to farmers, in time and in the quantity required by the farmer," says Adibek Ghazaryan, Director of the Water Sector Development and Institutional Improvements Project Implementation Unit. "Statistics, including that of decreased water loss and huge increase of payments collection, shows that we are achieving success."

Upon this success will be built a new World Bank-sponsored project, the Irrigation Rehabilitation Emergency Project (IREP). Resources will be channeled to the rehabilitation of almost 84 km of the main canals in Armavir and Talin that will reduce losses of up to 70 thousand cubic meters of water and could help to bring land back to irrigation.

The project will go one step further in the institutional reform process, by providing further support to the Water Users Associations, in particular through creation of Federations of Water User Associations. The new project also aims to create jobs on the ground, and thus alleviate the poverty of the local people.