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| Grant Name | Farm Roads to Support Poor Farmers' Livelihoods | |
| Country | Bhutan | |
| Grant Number | 9146 | |
| Project Number | 43279- 01 | |
| Thematic Classification |
Economic growth
Gender Equity Capacity Development |
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| Sector/Subsector | Agriculture and Natural Resources / Multisector | |
| Gender Mainstreaming Category | Gender equity theme | |
| Description | The project aims to improve the living conditions and well-being of the rural poor in Bhutan thru construction of rural roads. | |
| Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | ADB's Country Strategy and Program for Bhutan (2006-2010) recognizes that geographic isolation is a major cause of poverty and underdevelopment in Bhutan. Half the country's population lives more than a half day's walk from the nearest motorable road. Because of the mountainous terrain, the area of land suitable for agriculture is very limited and the population is distributed in remote, scattered settlements. A well-connected national highway and road system interlinked with rural feeder and farm roads would greatly help reduce rural and regional isolation, expand rural access to social services and urban/export markets and create conditions required to promote rural industrialization and non-farm enterprises.
The Poverty Analysis Report (PAR) 2007 indicates that 98% of the poor live in rural Bhutan and that the incidence of rural poverty is about 31% as compared to only 1.7% percent in urban areas. The Tenth Five-Year Plan, 2008-2013 (Tenth Plan), therefore, gives importance to rural and agriculture sectors in its approach to poverty reduction. The Tenth Plan also aims to promote accessibility through the extensive development of farm roads and power tiller tracks in rural areas thus ensuring better access to and from markets and economic and social services, including facilitating the delivery of essential inputs to farmers. ADB's strategy includes support to the Government in improving rural access, to reduce the walking time to the nearest road and integrate remote areas and communities into the national transport network. The proposed JFPR project will support this strategy, by expanding the network of farm roads, linking rural communities to the road network being expanded under the ADB-assisted ongoing Road Network Project (RNP). The RNP includes construction of four feeder roads—mainly in Eastern Bhutan with its higher poverty incidence, but also to improve rural access in the western region. Proposed farm roads will link to these feeder roads. |
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| Geographical Location | Bongo (Chukha Dzongkhag), Kangpara and Trimshing (Trashigang Dzongkhag) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Safeguard Categories
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| Environment | B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resettlement | C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indigenous People | C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary of Environmental and Social Issues |
Environmental safeguards are built into the Government's procedures for road development and construction, including preparation of an environment management plan and guidelines for environmentally-friendly road construction.
Farm roads will not only enable increased incomes through improved access to markets, but will also provide better access to health and other services. Beneficiaries have agreed, through a consultative process, to donate the small strips of land that may be required, in addition to government and forest land that will be provided. |
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| Stakeholder Communication, Participation and Consultation | Stakeholders have particopated in identifing and prioritizing the farm roads, which are included in the Tenth Five-Year Plan. During appraisal, stakeholder consultations were held at each of the identified project sites. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Responsible ADB Officer |
Nishanthi Manjula Amerasinghe |
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| Responsible ADB Department |
South Asia Department |
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| Responsible ADB Division |
Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture Division, SARD |
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| Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concept Clearance | 06 Oct 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fact-finding | 16 Mar 2010 to 21 Mar 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appraisal | 08 Oct 2009 to 20 Oct 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Board Approval | 14 Jul 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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