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Success Story
Through improved access to irrigation, USAID eased tensions in the Yassy community
Bringing Greater Access to Water
Photo: USAID
USAID helped Yassy build an irrigation
system and repair wells to benefit local
citizens
“Now I am confident that my
garden will survive and that
I can develop my business
and ensure financial stability
for my family,” said Yassy
farmer, Galymzhan Djalilov.
The Yassy community near the city of Turkistan in Southern
Kazakhstan, has been swelling in size as urban residents
migrate out of the city, displacing farmers, many of whom no
longer have access to reliable irrigation. Mounting tensions
eased after USAID helped Yassy build an irrigation system to
benefit local farmers.
The USAID program - aimed at assisting with urban
development and creating important infrastructure -
collaborated with the local water users’ association,
which is responsible for the distribution of water and
for the channel’s maintenance. With USAID support,
seven kilometers of irrigation channels were
dredged mechanically and manually. Two wells were
also rehabilitated, including the installation of a new
pump and filtering equipment. Some 900 hectares
of irrigated land became suitable for planting grain,
vegetables, and fruit trees. The program also taught
the farmers how to distribute water more equitably
so that each of them receives a sufficient amount of
water when they need it most.
Galymzhan Djalilov, one of the Yassy farmers affected by the
USAID program, said he was happy with the irrigation canal
rehabilitation. “When I decided to start my own farm, I bought
a garden plot close to the irrigation canal. However, due to the
poor irrigation system, my trees started to dry up and did not
bear fruit. I worried that my investment and hard labor of three
years had been wasted,” said Djalilov. “Now I am confident that
my garden will survive and that I can develop my business and
ensure financial stability for my family.”
In addition to improving irrigation and reducing tensions in
the Yassy community, the USAID program created hundreds
of long- and short-term jobs in the area. In Kazakhstan, the
program has pulled together communities, municipal officials
and businesses to work on building roads, water systems, and
community centers, as well as on rehabilitating schools. These
collaborative initiatives have benefited hundreds of thousands of
people in the most economically vulnerable communities across
the region.
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