Rehabilitation of Zemo Samgori Irrigation System (ZEMOSAM) (Development Phase)

Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the agricultural sector was re-structured. The Soviet era collective farm system was dismantled, with families receiving a plot of land of the same size frequently in several different locations. This created a smallholder-based rural economy with hundreds of thousands of farmers owning approximately 1 ha of arable land. Due to a lack of government funds, a weak institutional framework, and little priority given to agricultural sector development the extensive Georgian irrigation system dating back to the Soviet era deteriorated substantially. Of the 550000 ha of irrigation and drainage infrastructure in 1992 only 45000 ha of irrigation and 16000 ha of drainage was in use by 2013.The project aims to rehabilitate operate and adequately maintain the Zemo Samgori Irrigation System. With its 30285 ha. Zemo Samgori is the largest irrigation and drainage system of Georgias total gravity irrigation network of 278294 ha. The system receives water from the river Iori. Zemo Samgori has 82 km of main canals and 236 km of secondary channels and 35 km of drainage collectors mainly in the Lower Main Channel Area. Included in the project are civil works (cleaning and excavation of primary secondary and tertiary canals concrete lining of canals replacement of gates pipes and repair of collapsed bridges as well as drainage) UASCG institutional and capacity building as well as an extension and awareness raising programme.Due to significant delays in the development phase this project will not enter the implementation phase of ORIO. The ORIO funds spent in the development phase and the resulting studies will be used by the local government to develop the infrastructure with support from other concessional funders of from its own means. ORIO’s involvement in this project ends by year end 2019.