Announcement

Water-Saving Technology in Drought-burdened Afghanistan

Hydroflume Water Delivery System preserves valuable resources.

Kabul, Afghanistan  | Monday, December 15, 2008

Photo: USAID/ASAP

The new irrigation technique was introduced to Afghan farmers at Badam Bagh farm in Kabul.

Since 1999, Afghanistan has suffered from a severe drought. As the country tries to rebuild after years of war, scarce water makes feeding families and renewing lives even more difficult.

USAID is committed to helping Afghan farmers combat the drought through better irrigation techniques.  Recently, USAID introduced a new, water saving technology in Afghanistan called the Hydroflume Water Delivery System.  The system provides a tube which irrigates fields without losing the valuable water to evaporation or wasting it on non-fertile soil.  This technology is particularly helpful to Afghan farmers who have traditionally watered their crops by flooding their fields and unwittingly wasted the life-giving water.

The new system has been set up at USAID’s Badam Bagh demonstration farm in Kabul and will be demonstrated to visitors. USAID is also working on a plan to sell the new system through agriculture stores across the country, making this affordable resource available to Afghan farmers in rural areas.