Abstract
The least developed countries (LDCs) in Asia, as well as those in sub‐Saharan Africa, have not succeeded in improving their standards of living; and the number of poor in the LDCs has not yet shrunk due to economic stagnation and inapt policies amidst the ever‐increasing population.
In order to help ameliorate such problems, the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) has an important role, which it is expected to play, in assisting the LDCs with irrigation and drainage with respect to technologies, institutions, etc., by all of its capabilities, including encouraging non‐ICID‐member LDCs to affiliate with ICID, with the intention of increasing and stabilizing the production of agriculture, the foundation for the economic development of LDCs and the economic sector in which most of the labour force of LDCs currently engage.
The ICID Task Force for LDCs in Asia recommends, as the priority issues for LDCs to cope with, the promotion of participatory management of irrigation and drainage, the development of small, affordable and sustainable infrastructure, setting up substantive legal systems and laying the foundation of financial support, technology transfer and dissemination on irrigation and drainage skills to the farmer organizations, and the conservation and appropriate allocation of water resources. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.