MY STAY AT THE COURT OF THE KINGDOM OF TURKEYS
Instead of a preface
This whole story began with the fact that once He appeared in this world ...
Over time, some recognized Him as a great discoverer, while others - a genius swindler.
Sitting in prison (albeit not for long), he had grown very old and did not expect that the time would come when six cities would compete for the honorable right to be called the place of His birth.
Many peoples had fairy tales about a mirror and a saucer with an apple, which could not only speak human language, but also clearly show events taking place somewhere far away. But in the era when this outstanding discoverer lived (he is also a hardened adventurer), no one believed in the possibility of such magic.
And He himself, an inexhaustible dreamer, could not even imagine that five centuries later, one of the largest film companies would be named after Him, replacing mythical mirrors and saucers with an apple in real life.
And these miracles happened when the dark Middle Ages gave way to a bright Future, and the name of Christopher Columbus began to borne not only by the Columbia Pictures studio, which penetrated with its film products into all corners of the civilized world, but also a large country in Latin America.
Now, powerful monuments and modest busts in honor of the ineradicable adventurer can be found in many metropolitan areas of Europe and America (although in some countries, due to new trends, they have already begun to be demolished).
But I repeat: this is all today.
And in the era of the great geographical discoveries, Christopher Columbus, dying in poverty, was accused of discovering a continent from nowhere instead of a new path to fabulously rich India.
The great discoverer died, not knowing that it was he who discovered America for mankind - a huge, but not the continent that he was looking for.
However, as subsequent centuries will show, this geographical part of the world will radically reshuffle the balance of power on the political map of the world.
Five centuries later, the people of the main country of the New World, historically formed on the basis of immigrants from Europe, African ethnic groups and Indian tribes, will loudly declare their national exclusiveness to the whole world.
Although some of the current politicians will call them "the descendants of bandits and pirates."
Perhaps this analogy is connected with the fact that it is due to Christopher Columbus that criminals convicted in Europe were involved in the colonization of America, who, having thoroughly ravaged the Indian tribes, firmly settled in the new lands.
Although, for the sake of pluralism, let us mention that there are other opinions on this score.
Through the fault of Columbus, such a misfortune as smoking tobacco, which he brought from hitherto unknown lands, spread almost throughout the planet.
But at the same time, thanks to Him, new crops began to be cultivated in the fields of the Eurasian continent.
Some of them - such as potatoes (sweet potatoes), corn (maize), pumpkin, etc. - eased the suffering of many commoners from the hardships of having to live from hand to mouth.
And such novelties as tomatoes (tumantla), cocoa with its derivative chocolate drink (chocolatl), beans and peppers became the favorite food of wealthy people of that time.
All colonial products brought by Columbus from America, over time, spread widely throughout the Old World, changing the taste preferences of the population of many countries.
Together with edible plant innovations, Columbus brought from Indian America living creatures, unknown in Europe, but apparently serious and very important.
And it was - a turkey! Over time, this exotic bird found its roosts in other parts of the world, occupying a worthy niche in the national cuisines of different tribes and nationalities.
In the end, a domesticated and properly selected turkey came to our Akhal valleys ...
How to Open the Business Doors of Asia
... We are driving an off-road vehicle along Akhal. The road, it seems, is not a long one, but not a short either. And so as not to waste time, Shamammad talks about a poultry farm, which is conducting a bold and potentially highly profitable business experiment.
While listening to his story, I planned to prepare a little information. But the longer I listened to the speeches of my companion, the more my idea grew into a voluminous publication.
For I realized that the experience of introducing modern technology in poultry farming, gained by Turkmen entrepreneurs, is not only valuable, but also universal. That it can be useful to both large industrialists and owners of small farms. And even to the owners of ordinary farmsteads.
My guide Shamammed Annayev, a member of the board of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in charge of the agricultural sector, is known to everyone as a specialist who pays special attention to promoting innovative management methods.
Recently, in close cooperation with Maksat Ibragimov, the head of the “Maksada okgunly” company, he purposefully introduces technological innovations in the industrial cultivation of productive turkey breeds, adapting them to the natural and climatic conditions of Turkmenistan.
And while we were talking, driving from Ashgabat to Geoktepe, and then about a dozen kilometers deep into the Akhal steppe, I realized the level of uniqueness of that very poultry farm. Although there was a lot of writing about it in the local press, no one could clearly explain what is the essence of the special originality of this business project.
The fact is that the world leaders in the poultry industry - Aviagen and Hybrid companies have developed an innovative technology for intensive turkey breeding. It covers the full cycle of poultry growing and processing of meat.
However, it was originally designed for countries with a low contrast of average monthly temperatures. Therefore, it became widespread in France, the United States of America, Canada, Turkey, in some regions of Europe with a mild climate.
Turkmenistan is the first country to test a new, low-cost and highly profitable turkey breeding technique in conditions of dry, sultry summers and wet cool winters, as well as testing their modernized breed - Bronze Cartier, or Bronze 708.
Therefore,
the poultry cluster in Akhal has no analogues not only in Turkmenistan, but throughout the entire Asian region.
Turkeys have been grown in Asia for a long time. And that is really true. But it is also true that this is done on the basis of traditional methods and existing poultry species, which are characterized by lower productivity compared to that which the specialists of the “Maksada okgunly” adapt to local conditions. In this regard,
with positive results, the experience of Turkmenistan can be introduced in the vast area of the Asian part of the continent, significantly expanding the geography of the dissemination of cost-effective technology.
For this reason, the experiment is closely watched not only by our specialists, but also by the authors of the business project. They get in touch every day online, wondering how the process of adaptation of turkeys to hot weather is going on, drawing conclusions, advising our specialists. But the most important thing is that, together with their Turkmen colleagues, they gain experience in introducing technology in regions with arid climate.
Moreover, thanks to the capabilities of digital equipment, specialists from Aviagen and Hybrid receive all data from the complex in real time not only to their computers, but also to cell phones. This is information about the state of temperature in the incubator and poultry houses, the level of humidity, the consumption of feed and water, how the chicks gain weight, what is their reaction to this or that factor, etc.
Thus, innovative monitoring allows foreign technology creators to be fully informed about the progress of the experiment on Turkmen soil, its successes and emerging problems. And their interest is quite understandable.
Why? I repeat:
in case of success, the business doors of a huge Asian region with a climate similar to the Turkmen one may open before a new development.
But that's not all. The digitalization of the complex allows not only to carry out constant control, but also to a certain extent to manage the work of the entire poultry farm.
And if in a difficult situation an employee finds it difficult to make a decision, then artificial intelligence - a computer equipped with an information and reference database comes to aid.
For example: a specialist's phone receives a message from a centralized computer that, due to the high temperature, the health of the turkey poults becomes worse and it is urgent to humidify the air in the chicken house, due to which the temperature will return to normal values.
But here the attendant has a dilemma: humidity will really lower the air temperature, but an excess of pathogenic dampness will cause intestinal problems in turkeys. For this reason, they will have difficulty digesting food, and, therefore, gain weight poorly.
How to be? That is the question!
But artificial intelligence, methodically repeating, insists on the need to raise the humidity! For it will save the lives of many chickens. And when the desired temperature is established, then it will be possible to take care of their intestines.
Thus, the digital advisor recommends that the specialist choose the least of two evils.
Or another example: if the dispatcher on duty, feeling unwell, is forced to leave work, then another employee can easily replace him, even being ... by the sea in Avaza. Since he has the ability to perform all the necessary actions from his mobile phone, this allows IT equipment to automate the management of the complex.
Here is such a poultry farm in Akhal, where the descendants of turkeys, once brought by Columbus from America, are kept!
Yes, we live in an amazing time - if digitalization has even penetrated the chicken coop!
(To be continued)
Alexander BAYRIEV
