HYDERABAD, Aug 18: The managing-director of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority, Mr Manzoor Sheikh, has welcomed formation of ‘Stakeholders Forum’ to monitor implementation of the World Bank-aided Sindh On-farm Water Management (SOFWM) project.

The forum comprises representatives from farming community and civil society.

It aims at to help improve the irrigation system and enhance agriculture production through farmers’ participation.

Mr Sheikh said that during his address to its first meeting held at the office of the chief engineer of Kotri Barrage, urged the members to come up with viable suggestions for proper and timely implementation of the project.

Prof Aijaz Qureshi, Sida’s general manager transition, said that the main objective of irrigation reforms and the WB-aided project was to reform the irrigation system by putting farmers in charge of administering the system under the principle of “participatory management”.

He urged the members to closely monitor the implementation of the project.

He said that the forum would next meet at the end of next month.

The forum would hold special meetings with the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and Sindh Abadgar Board to ensure coordination in project’s implementation, he said.

Nazir Memon, Sida’s social development specialist, told the meeting on SOFWM project and the purpose of ‘Stakeholders Fora’.

Mohammad Ali Mahar, deputy director of Sida’s capital works, gave a presentation on the “improvement of distributaries and improvement and rehabilitation of branch canals”.

G. N. Mughal, communication specialist, Sida, briefed about establishment of information kiosks in all three Area Water Boards to disseminate information about components of SOFWM project to stakeholders particularly farmers.

Omer Farooq, chairman of defense minor, proposed that the directors of all Areas Water Boards should also be made part of the forum to make the exercise more useful.

M B Lakho and Aftab Mako, experts, PIA consultants attended the meeting as advisory members.

Aijaz Nabi Shah, a representative of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Mr Farooq, Yameen Memon, a representative of SRSP, and Niaz Sial, a representative of SAFWCO attended the meeting as members.