The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) was engaged by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Feed the Future initiative, to examine whether water users associations (WUAs) created and supported by USAID produced sustained increases in resource productivity, food security, and equity in southern Tajikistan, even after donor support was withdrawn. 

This evaluation consists of three research components, implemented from 2015 to 2018. These research components are: 

1. Identifying opportunities and constraints for the sustainability of WUAs; 
2. Assessing the persistence and equity of impact on irrigation services, crop choice, and cotton productivity; and 
3. Examining the role of women in irrigation water management to identify opportunities for enhancing food security. 

The baseline report presents initial insights from a series of surveys conducted in 2015 for each of the three research components.

The midterm report draws on a household survey conducted in February and March 2016 to bring insights to the three research components.

The final report was published in September 2018. We hope that you will delve into the exciting and broadly applicable findings!

Please also explore Agrilinks' special collection of posts related to the evaluation. 

Related publications: 

• Impacts Assessments without True Baselines: Assessing the Relative Effects of Training on the Performance of Water User Associations in Southern Tajikistan. Soumya Balasubramanya, Joseph P. G. Price, and Theodore M. Horbulyk, Water Economics and Policy. January 2018.
• Local water management in Tajikistan: Legal framework. Firdavs Kabilov, Central Asian Journal of Water Research. January 2018.
• Water, Women, and Work: A snapshot of women farmers in midst of male out-migration and challenges accessing irrigation water in Southern Tajikistan. Katie MacDonald and Panchali Saikia, CGIAR Thrive Blog.

• The Impact of Migration on Water Scarcity in Central Asia. Soumya Balasubramanya and Theodore M. Horbulyk, The Diplomat. June 2018.

• International Water Management Institute Water Policy Brief: Strengthening participatory irrigation management in Tajikistan. IWMI. June 2018.

• Efficient Water Management in Central Asia. Soumya Balasubramanya, Inter Press Service. February 2018. 

• Why Women are Key for Water Management in Tajikistan. Soumya Balasubramanya, Farming First. July 2018.

• Women and participative irrigation in Tajikistan and affiliated photo essay, BBC news (in Farsi), September 2018. 

• The effect of irrigation service delivery and training in agronomy on crop choice in Tajikistan. Marie-Charlotte Buisson and Soumya Balasubramanya, Land Use Policy, Vol. 81. February 2019.