This report analyses the experiences and lessons from three World Bank-Supported watershed development projects in the Indian states of Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.5 The primary reason for the analysis was to guide the development and execution of new watershed programs in India, including new Bank-supported state-level operations in Uttarakhand and Karnataka, and a proposed national project now under preparation. Accordingly, it was important to deepen the knowledge base about large-scale, community-led watershed development in order to share that knowledge with key stakeholders both inside and outside of the World Bank. Another important reason was the immediate and growing concern over water resources and their management in India and the question of how well watershed development programs internalize these concerns. A third impetus was the nexus between rural poverty and rainfed agriculture and the important role that watershed development programs are to fulfill in the development of sustainable rural livelihoods.
This report provides a synthesis of all findings and information generated through a “stocktaking” process that involved a desk study of Prolinnova documents and evaluation reports, a questionnaire to 40 staff members of international organizations in agricultural research and development (ARD),...
The sector review includes seven chapters and one annex. This first chapter is an overview of agriculture, irrigation and the purpose and content of this report. The second chapter provides a review of the Bank s own strategy and priorities...
The issue of regional differences in development has moved to the center of the development debate in Sri Lanka, partly after the release of regional poverty data. For the past many years, there have been significant and increasing differences between...
This report presents policy, market, and agriculture transition in the Northern Uplands of Lao People's Democratic Republic aims to contribute to such a dialogue by providing: (a) a policy-relevant typology of the structural characteristics and transition patterns of the principal...
Grants for agricultural innovation are common but grant funds specifically targeted to smallholder farmers remain relatively rare. Nevertheless, they are receiving increasing recognition as a promising venue for agricultural innovation. They stimulate smallholders to experiment with improved practices, to become...