Small Irrigation Programme (SIP ) - Phase I

The Small Irrigation Programme (SIP) will develop or improve approximately 15.000 ha in about 1.800 small-scale irrigation systems, benefiting an estimated 30.000 households in 9 districts in Nepal through a community-driven process targeted to the poor, women, and other disadvantaged groups. At least 60% of the beneficiary household will belong to the disadvantaged groups, Small irrigation systems are defined as systems having less than 25 hectares of irrigation area in the hills and mountains and 200 hectares in the Terai. The project will offer optimal 'backward and forward linkages' to farmers for accessing agriculture support services for extension, agriculture inputs and linkage to agriculture production value chains. This will be done through synergy with the SDC funded NASDP and NAMDP projects. It is intended to scale-up by covering all the VDCs in the existing 7 participating districts and the extension in the two adjoining inner Terai districts of Sindhuli and Udaypur depending upon the resources available. To strengthen institutional capacity at district and central level,ensure agreed co-financing from GoN, andto develop a sub-sector approach, where a one-window system is applied in the district for planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring. The project staff will be well oriented to provide the entire Technical Assistance required both at the district and the national level.