KABUL - The European Union (EU) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide Afghanistan $76 million in aid until 2022 for agriculture development under an agreement signed on Wednesday.
The aid contract was signed between Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi, ADB’s country director in Afghanistan, Thomas Panella, and Gonzalo Serrano, the EU Delegation deputy head for cooperation, in the presence of Asadullah Zamir, the minister of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, in Kabul.
Eklil Hakimi, during the signing ceremony, said of the $76 million aid, $50 would be provided by the EU and the $26 million by the ADB.
He said with the aid provision, 21 huge projects would be launched by the ministries of agriculture, irrigation and livestock and energy and water in the 5th Amu-river basin located in the northeast of the country, encompassing Badakhshan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar and Bamyan provinces.
He said the projects would directly benefit 400,000 people and irrigate 186,000 acres of land. The projects also included the training of 6,300 farmers.
According to Hakimi, besides spending the aid, the Afghanistan government would also contribute $750 million to the projects.
Asadullah Zamir said the projects would also include construction of canals, reservoirs for appropriate distribution of water and improved ways of irrigation and protection of pastures.
Thomas Panella said the projects were of great importance in the sphere of irrigation and their implementation would help improve agricultural production in Afghanistan.
He said the ADB from the year 2002 till now had provided Afghanistan with $4.3 billion in loans and grants.
He said the bank would continue assisting Afghanistan and had announced an aid of $878 million to Afghanistan over the next four years.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo Serrano called Afghanistan’s agriculture sector as of vital importance and said the EU had earlier assisted Afghanistan with €100 million in the sphere of irrigation in the 5th Amu-river basin.
He stressed continued support to Afghanistan and said the projects whose aid contracts were signed today would create jobs for 9,000 people. (Pajhwok)