| Project Detail |
In Bhutan, agriculture is one of the countrys key industries, with more than 60% of the employed population engaged in agriculture. However, agricultural productivity is low in Bhutan because most of the country is located in rugged mountainous regions, and the self-sufficiency rate of rice, the countrys staple food, is approximately 50%, making the improvement of food security an issue. In addition, 60% of the total cultivated area is rain-fed agriculture, which means that the abundant Sustainable Water Resources Management land is not being used efficiently. The reasons for this include the high degree of difficulty in planning, design, and construction of irrigation facilities using mountain rivers as the water source in a country where 85% of the land is mountainous and hilly areas with an elevation of 2,000 m or higher, the absence of planning and design standards in the country, and the low technical level of engineers due to lack of practical skill development opportunities in agricultural civil engineering (irrigation) at universities. The level of technical skills of the engineers is low due to the lack of opportunities for practical capacity building in agricultural engineering (irrigation) at universities. This cooperation will contribute to the promotion of sustainable irrigation development in the country by strengthening the capacity of irrigation engineers in irrigation development, planning and design, and construction management through the formulation of standards and related manuals for irrigation development, on-the-job training for irrigation development engineers through the construction of model irrigation schemes, and the implementation of training for local engineers. The project will contribute to the promotion of sustainable irrigation development in the country. |
