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The development objective of the Drainage, Irrigation, and Wetlands Improvement Project for Uzbekistan is to improve the livelihoods of poor rural households (marginalized farmers and women) in the Turtkul, Ellikkala, Beruni, and Khujakli districts of Karakalpakstan through increased income generating opportunities from sericulture and silk production by establishing and sustaining community-based silk micro-enterprises while addressing the environmental degradation of the areas caused by the decline of the Aral Sea. A significant undisbursed balance is available under the Trust Fund (TF). Delays in disbursement are related to: (i) slow disbursements during the initial years of the project due to inexperience of the project implementation unit (PIU); and (ii) difficult working conditions in the project area, in particular in terms of communication. Despite these delays, project implementation in recent years has significantly improved and overall progress and implementation of the grant was rated moderately satisfactory in the most recent grant progress report. A one-year extension will allow the Government to complete all activities that were originally scheduled for implementation in a satisfactory manner. Under component A, group formation and training, the implementing agency intends to train an additional 100 beneficiaries and 393 trainers, in addition to the 1,060 beneficiaries and 207 trainers that already have received training. Under component B, growing of mulberry, the Government has committed to providing close to 75,000 mulberry trees and 226.7 hectares of land to the poorer section of the farming communities, and will make UZS 112.2m available for follow-up. Under component C, processing and production, and component D, quality silk material and finished silk goods, the project intends to raise the credit limit from US $300 to US $600 to private entities and US $1,500 to US $3,000 to legal entities so that disbursements are expected to increase significantly. Under component E, project implementation and management, the project intends to recruit staff, including a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) specialist, a lawyer, a replacement of the accountant or finance manager, and a procurement specialist.
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