Training on Environmental and Social Risk Management in Agriculture Projects

An 8-day training programme was conducted at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, India from 11th to 19th September 2017 for participants of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) Afghanistan. The training was titled “Environmental and Social Risk Management in Agriculture Projects”. A total of 10 MAIL officials attended this programme. The training was sector-specific and focused on the environmental and social (E&S) impacts of agriculture projects. The training was conducted jointly by the Environmental and Social Assessment team and the Food Safety and Toxins team. The major topics covered during this training programme include E&S issues associated with Agricultural and Animal Husbandry projects, World Bank Safeguard Policies and Pest Management, Compliance Assurance Mechanism of the World Bank, E&S Risk identification and assessment; E&S planning, review and implementation; Importance and approaches for Public Participation and Consultation, Project Monitoring, Compliance and Reporting; Mainstreaming Gender in project cycle management and approach for woman involvement; Framework Development for skill assessment and improvement with reference to dairy and poultry, Approaches for water management in rural areas; Pesticides & Fertilizers, their E&S impacts and management in India, Organic Farming – Policy and Practices in India, Non chemical farming including non-chemical pest management, Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic use in food animal production – learning from India, and Farm and Household Waste Management.

Besides the 5 day in-class training, a 1 hour site visit to Jamia Hamdard Univerity was organized to give participants some exposure on water management practices. Further, a 3-day extensive site visits to various farms and dairies were undertaken for the MAIL participants. The sites to which the participants were taken are as follows.