OREANDA-NEWS. On 09 July 2009 was announced, that in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the World Bank and its partners held the Central Asia Development Marketplace 2009 (CADM) and the Knowledge Forum. The theme of the two-day event was Efficient Water Use in Agriculture. The event has become a closing part of the regional grant initiative aimed at identifying and supporting innovative ideas and early-stage projects with high potential for development impact. The CADM brought together 40 finalists and about 60 other participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. They represented farmers’ groups and associations, water users’ associations, civil society organizations, academia, research institutions, and other groups in the Central Asia region.

The CADM 2009 was a grant competition administered by the World Bank and held in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (Swiss Government) and the Department for International Development of the UK (DFID). The competition was announced in February 2009 and sought innovations in three sub-themes: (i) rainfed agriculture; (ii) irrigated agriculture; and (iii) river basin management. It was open to various organizations and companies concerned with water problems in the region. About 150 participants took part in the first round of competition, of which 40 finalists were selected after thorough evaluation by the team of experts. These 40 finalists were invited to the CADM final event in Tashkent on June 25-26, 2009 to compete for grants.

The Central Asia Development Marketplace  2009 has demonstrated a very high potential that the local communities and organizations have in addressing urgent water availability constraints in their countries.

“I would like to thank all CADM participants who came from different countries to join together, expose their ideas and proposals, to share experience with the objective of improving water management in the region,” - said Mr. Loup Brefort, the World Bank Country Manager for Uzbekistan, at the Opening Ceremony of the CADM final event. "We all know that this is a very important agenda not just now but, certainly, for the future. Data shows that water stress in Central Asia will increase, and that is why it is very important to mobilize the brain power of those who are working on these issues. I hope this event will contribute to disseminating all the good ideas across the region. We all know that the future driver of growth will be innovation. This will be true in every sector but particularly true in agriculture. The participants in Central Asia Development Marketplace 2009 are the source of innovation who make every drop of water count and increase agricultural productivity.”

On the first day of the event the finalists presented their projects and ideas to the members of the Grand Jury individually. It was also a great opportunity for them to meet each other, communicate with colleagues, exchange and compare ideas, find partners, build network, and even meet old friends from other countries.

The second day was devoted to the Knowledge Forum where participants discussed issues of rational water use and major problems related to water resources in Central Asia, presented their innovative ideas to each other.

The two-day event was concluded by a ceremony of announcing and awarding the winners of the Central Asia Development Marketplace. The Grand Jury, consisting of 12 representatives of donor agencies, research institutes, and international experts in water and agriculture issues awarded about USD 300,000 to 15 finalists as seed money for implementation of their innovative ideas.

The Central Asia Development Marketplace has demonstrated a very high potential that the local communities and organizations have in addressing urgent water availability constraints in their countries. It has also showed the enthusiasm and willingness of professionals from the five countries to cooperate and revive relations that were discontinued after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“We are very grateful to the World Bank for organizing this great event. It not only supported our innovative projects but also let us unite, helped us to network, to find research and business partners in other countries, to communicate and exchange ideas,” – said Ms. Sofia Alihojayeva, a finalist from Uzbekistan. “We came to an agreement with colleagues from our own and neighboring countries to work jointly. Our collaboration and joint efforts must be beneficial to the whole region.”

There is a great hope that the projects supported by the CADM 2009 will have positive impact on water use and management in the region.

“The great thing about Central Asia Development Marketplace was that it gave me a chance to learn from my colleagues. We came to a conclusion that regardless of the competition results we could combine ideas from several similar projects across the countries for much better results,” – said Mr. Batyrbek Bajanov, a finalist from Kazakhstan.

Water availability and use in Central Asia is a complex issue affected by historical developments, growing needs for hydro-power and irrigation purposes, as well as more recent impacts of the global climate change. There is a great hope that the projects supported by the Central Asia Development Marketplace 2009 will have positive impact on water use and management in the region.