PESHAWAR, Aug 13: Farmers community of NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) meted out a lackluster response to the multi-billion rupee foreign funded on-farm-water- management project, under which farmers’ associations were required to make financial contribution to execute part of the development schemes, according to official sources.

Under the on-farm-water-management (OFWM) project, involving total estimated cost of Rs1.71 bn, farmers community was required to partly share cost of the irrigation schemes to be built in their area concerned.

Out of the total estimated cost, farmers’ share of contribution, as per project’s details, comes to 22 per cent involving total required investment of Rs378.7m.

Whereas, the government of NWFP is required to arrange Rs312.1m investment in comparison to Rs1.1bn IDA credit line to carry out the project covering all districts of NWFP and administrative units (agencies) of Fata.

“The farmers’ contribution, so far, appears to be almost zero,” said a senior development planner of the province.

The OFWM project, said the sources, was being executed with the objective of increasing agriculture production and poor farmers’ income by magnifying the scope and productivity of irrigation and drainage system in the project area.

Besides, it aimed at redefining government’s role in establishing self-sustainable and an efficient irrigation system through enhanced participation of farmers community at the level of distributaries and minors.

In an effort to achieve the objectives of the project, farmers organizations and federation of water user associations were to be established under the social mobilization and support programme forming an important component of the OFWM project.

“Not only that there are difficulties in establishing farmers’ associations, the funding agencies’ could not convince farmers to share cost of the project,” said the official holding important assignment in the provincial government.

The project encompasses rehabilitation of distributaries, minors and watercourses in addition to the construction of minor irrigation schemes and water storage tanks in the rain-fed areas of NWFP and Fata.

Farmers’ associations, said the sources, were required to share 20 per cent of the total cost of civil works in addition to donating land for the execution of minor irrigation schemes.

Whereas, in the case of schemes pertaining watercourses and construction of water storage tanks, water user associations were required to contribute 25 per cent of the total cost (of every scheme) in addition to providing skilled and unskilled labour.

In this way, farmers’ share comes to almost 50 per cent.

“No interest has been shown by any community mainly because of the fact that they are unable to share the cost as desired in the project documents,” contains an official document available with Dawn.

The donor agency has recently been apprised that as average estimated cost of each scheme comes to around Rs25m it might not be possible for farmers to provide required funds to share cost of irrigation schemes.

“This issue needs consideration by the provincial government and the World Bank and the cost sharing is needed to be brought in line with other developmental projects wherein beneficiaries are only required to provide land and accept the responsibility of O&M after completion of the project.”

Official sources claimed that the lending agency was satisfied with the progress made under the project and that it had no reservations vis-a-vis the project executing agencies’ failure to convince farmers for partly sharing cost of the schemes.

“The funds which were required to be arranged by the farmers community would now be contributed by the provincial government,” said the development planner.