Will gross production of agricultural industry increase in Turkmenistan? Expert Opinion
Today, President Berdimuhamedov held regular video conference session with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister who is in charge with agricultural complex and heads of regions, where issues of seasonal agricultural work, including the rate of cotton sowing and the care of young growth of winter grain crops, has been reviewed.
Participants of the working session reported to President on the indicators of field campaigns; on work that currently is being done by farmers, and on supply of farmers with the necessary resources.
So, currently, on lands sown to wheat, works related to fertilizer application and irrigation, preventive measures against agricultural pests and etc. are carried out. In addition, the issue on the beginning of preparation for the wheat harvest time has been considered.
Let us recall, starting 2020, in Turkmenistan, areas sown to wheat is reduced, and land plots freed from wheat will be allocated for cotton cultivation. Accordingly, the cotton-harvesting plan is increased, while the wheat-harvesting plan is decreased for 250 thousand tons less than in 2019, to make 1 million 400 thousand tons in 2020.
Wheat is one of the main traditional crops of strategic importance cultivated to ensure food security of the country. Since its independence, Turkmenistan has been increasing wheat production for many years until it has become fully self-sufficient and, even, the country-exporter of grain.
Therefore, starting this year, the country has reduced land plots allocated for wheat, in favor of more economic cultivation of cotton, fruit and vegetable and forage crops.
At the same time, the grain growers has the very responsible task as it is necessary to grow a good crop of wheat, albeit a little less than in previous year, and still it is not an easy task.
“This decision, namely, optimizing the structure of the sown area of agricultural crops, is one of the most serious reforms in the agricultural industry,” Mukhtar Aliyev, ORIENT consultant on agricultural issues, PhD in Economy, Honored Economist of Turkmenistan, said.
“In order to avoid that the sown area reduce does not lead to cut in wheat production, government purchase price for wheat from agricultural producers is increased two times under the order of President of the country. And it will be an excellent motivation for the farmers to improve the agricultural technology of cultivating this crop,” the expert noted.
In his opinion, only due to this reform, which allows introduction into the circulation of additional crops of cotton and other valuable crops, and subject to competent agricultural technology, the gross production of agricultural industry in the country will increase significantly.
“Turkmenistan is located at the 38th parallel north latitude,” s Mukhtar Huseynovich added. “Parallels between 35 and 40 are considered the most favorable zone for the development of agriculture, and we are in the middle of this zone.”
At the same time, according to the experienced specialist, agricultural technology as a system of methods for cultivating crops, the precise application of which will allow avoiding severe crop losses, is of great importance.
“In the early years of independence, when there was a serious task to ensure food security and to provide a sharp increase in land plots sown to wheat, there were very few agricultural equipment in the country. For the timely completion of the sowing, we were forced to reduce some of the very important agrotechnical work as field planning and, the most important, pre-arable, pre-sowing irrigation,” Mukhtar Huseynovich said.
In those years, the land plots freed from wheat harvesting were often very dry, they were plowed, and then, furrows were cut along these withered clods for further sowing of wheat.
Of course, under such conditions, when the seeds lay for a long time between large clods of earth waiting for watering, there were large losses of seeds and uneven young growths. On the same curves and low-quality furrows, all further vegetative irrigation, up to harvesting, was carried out.
The current state of provision with machinery and technologies of agricultural work allows to fully complying with the requirements of farming techniques.
“Its quality performance is a decisive factor to gather a high harvest,” Mukhtar Aliyev underlines. “First of all, it is about careful planning and tillage, which is supported by large quantities of agricultural equipment purchased, which is equipped with telematics and a digital control system. The next stage is a full pre-sowing irrigation, fertilizing and the sowing itself.”
The task of Turkmen agrotechnicians is to ensure a heavy yield of crops with minimal labor and funds per unit of output. And, in the opinion of our expert, there are all conditions for its successful solution: geographic prerequisites, resource-and-technical base, and, the most important, the state support.
