Kathmandu. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment have agreed to collaborate to advance the irrigation infrastructure and agriculture production in an integrated manner.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary held a meeting at the Energy Ministry on Tuesday to discuss about implementing a unified plan for irrigation, production, agriculture service and marketing.

During the discussion, Minister Shrestha said that the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has been investing a lot in expanding irrigation facilities to the farmers’ fields. For that, he proposed that the programmes related to irrigation and agriculture should be implemented as an integrated plan rising above the ministerial boundaries.

Responding positively to the proposal, Minister Chaudhary said that the coordination between the two ministries would be further strengthened at the policy formulation, programme selection and implementation level in the coming days.

Prior to this, Minister Shrestha had carried out an onsite inspection of major irrigation projects in western Nepal. He inspected Rani-Jamara-Kulariya, Sikta, Babai and Rajapur irrigation systems and interacted with farmers, project chiefs and technicians. During the meeting, discussions were held on the progress of the project, challenges in its operation and farmers’ needs.

The under-construction Babai Irrigation Project in Bardiya district aims to provide irrigation facility to around 36,000 hectares of arable land in six local levels of the district. Irrigation facility is expected to be expanded to 37,800 hectares of land from Rani-Jamara-Kulariya Irrigation Project in Kailali district.

Similarly, the Sikta Irrigation Project is under construction in Banke district with the goal of providing reliable irrigation facility to 42,766 hectares of arable land. Almost half of the construction of these projects has been completed and farmers have started benefiting directly with the expansion of main canals, branch and sub-branch canals, embankments, reservoirs and lift irrigation system.

As per the government’s expectation, the completion of these projects is expected to significantly increase agricultural production and productivity, strengthen food security, increase farmers’ income and have long-term positive impact on rural economy. According to the Ministry, the irrigation projects are not limited only to infrastructure development but are being developed as the basis for agricultural modernization, expansion of commercial farming and rural prosperity.