Afghanistan Water, Agriculture and Technology Transfer (AWATT) Project

DATES: March 2008 - June 2011
 
This is a three-year project with New Mexico State University.  The goal of the project is to link U.S. universities with Afghan universities and ministries to extend information and knowledge on appropriate technology, enhance the management of water resources, and develop a policy framework for land tenure in rural areas.  The main objective of AWATT is to improve the community and farm-level management of the supply and demand of irrigation water resources for increased agricultural productivity and food security in Afghanistan.  AWATT provides technical assistance to MAIL at the national, provincial, and district levels to assess and improve watershed management, irrigation management, and agricultural technology transfer.  AWATT also supports the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock’s (MAIL) Natural Resource Management project whose objective is to ensure that Afghanistan’s natural resource base is rehabilitated and used in a productive and sustainable way by Afghanistan’s rural population.  This requires a supportive policy and regulatory framework at the national level, and participatory planning methods with advanced technical opportunities in natural resource planning and management at the local level.