MAF provides half a million dollars for community irrigation projects
Five community irrigation schemes will benefit from funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to assist in generating investor and community support.
MAF has provided $562,000 over four years for five irrigation projects as part of the Community Irrigation Fund (CIF), Deputy – Director-General Paul Stocks announced today.
“The CIF helps rural communities make use of their water resources and adapt to climate change by helping community water irrigation schemes get off the ground.”
“When people think of irrigation and water infrastructure, they usually think of building dams, aquaducts and pipelines. What is often not considered is the enormously important work in planning and community and stakeholder consultation that has to happen before the earthmovers arrive.”
The five projects funded in this CIF round are in North Otago, Tasman, North Canterbury, South Canterbury, and Central Otago.
Paul Stocks says the CIF was recently expanded to fund local government-led water strategies. In March the Canterbury Water Management Strategy was allocated a grant of $219,000.
Applications for the 2009/10 funding round of water strategies recently closed and will be assessed this month
