Capacity Building of the Irrigation Directorate Staff on the Use of
New Technologies: Applications of GIS and RS in Irrigation Management
Water resources in Afghanistan are limited. Population growth and
cyclic droughts have been adding pressure on the available water resources. Moreover,
climate change has been adversely affecting the snow reserves of the country. In
this context, effective planning and management of water resources becomes more
vital using the modern tools of spatial and temporal information on water
sources and availability, patterns of farmers’ water demand, irrigation methods
and practices, and physical and operational features of prevailing irrigation
systems.
Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) are widely
accepted tools for obtaining, processing, archiving and retrieving of
hydrological data coupled with geospatial and infrastructure information to
enable better management of irrigation and water management. It was imperative
to equip the engineers of the Irrigation Directorate (ID) of Ministry of
Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) with the application skills of these
latest GIS and RS technologies and build capacity within the nation.
Capacity Development and Institutional Strengthening (CDIS) is a
JICA funded project of MAIL being implemented by UN FAO. The main objective of
the project is to build the capacity of the ID staffs through On-the-Job
Trainings (OJTs) and institutional strengthening. As part of the Third Country
Training Program (TCTP) activities under CDIS, an advanced training on the Application
of GIS and RS in Irrigation was proposed to be held in Iran from 27 February to
10 March 2016.
Figure 1:
Inauguration Ceremony of the Training Course on "Applications of GIS &
RS in Irrigation" Held at Soil Conservation and Watershed Management
Research Institute (SCWMRI) During 27 February to 10 March 2016 for the Staff
of Irrigation Directorate (ID) of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and
Livestock (MAIL) of Afghanistan in Tehran, Iran.
For this, participants were selected through a screening process in
order to identify eligible and qualified staff for the said training program. A
GIS Orientation Training was conducted by CDIS Project of FAO for 19 MAIL staff
in Kabul during 28 November to 02 December 2015. The participants to this
orientation were nominated by Irrigation Directorate (ID) and various
Directorates of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL). The aim of the
orientation training was to introduce GIS Technology to the ID Staff.
Figure 2: Training Course on "GIS Orientation Training"
Held at Irrigation Directorate of MAIL During 28 November to 02 December 2015
for the Staff of Irrigation Directorate (ID) of Ministry of Agriculture,
Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) of Afghanistan in Kabul.
At the end of the training, the attendees were examined on their
basic grasp of the subject areas to assess their skills and ability to attend a
more detailed course.
Figure 3: Participants during examination at the last day of the
training Course on "GIS Orientation Training” on 02 December 2015.
In order to further prepare the participants, a second training titled
“Basic GIS Training” was held during 20-24 February 2016 as a pre-requisite of the
Iran Training.
Figure 4: Training Course on "Basic GIS Training" Held
at Irrigation Directorate of MAIL During 20 to 24 February 2016 for the Staff
of Irrigation Directorate (ID) of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and
Livestock (MAIL) of Afghanistan in Kabul.
A total of 13 participants from Irrigation Directorate and various
DAIL offices were selected for the training in Iran. Participants attended the training
in the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI)
of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran. The
successful TCTP trainees have since then taken up their work in related areas
and are working to update the Directorates utilizing the tools and skills they
have learned. This is expected to enable MAIL in better management of water
resources and the irrigation sector enhancing their capacities.
Figure 5: Training Course on " Application of Remote Sensing
(RS) and GIS in Irrigation" Held at SCWMRI in Tehran, Iran During 27
February to 10 March 2016 for the Staff of Irrigation Directorate (ID) of
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) of Afghanistan.
Where are the figures?
ReplyDeleteWe need to think how to effectively use these tools in the irrigation sector. Of course there are many applications and storing the irrigation data in geospatial format is one of them that support in decision making.
ReplyDelete