From October 14 to 17, a series of seminars on methods for improving the monitoring of irrigated lands is taking place in the city of Yoloten, Mary velayat. Participants in the events include staff from the Research Institute of Cotton Growing, specialists from its experimental base, representatives of the Land Resources Service – a division of the Ministry of Agriculture of Turkmenistan – as well as farmers and entrepreneurs in the field of agricultural production.
The sessions are being conducted within the framework of an action plan implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Turkmenistan in cooperation with its Cotton Research Institute and a team of national experts from the regional program of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) – “Climate Risk Management in Central Asia.”
The Cotton Research Institute was not chosen as a key partner by chance – the institution is the oldest scientific cotton-growing center in the country and has accumulated vast experience in breeding and cultivating cotton in the Murgab Oasis. The pilot region where the scientific and practical activities are concentrated is the Murgab River basin. As part of the program, the GIZ team regularly holds meetings, discussions, knowledge exchanges, and reviews of experiences and practices from neighboring Central Asian countries, with which Turkmenistan shares not only long-standing partnerships and geographical proximity within a formerly unified cascade of hydrotechnical structures, but also similarities in crop cultivation techniques and agricultural practices.
Among the innovative areas of focus is the development of a national methodology for assessing soil degradation, tailored to the specific conditions of this territory and taking into account natural, socio-economic, and environmental factors, as well as established farming traditions. Additionally, an assessment of soil conditions is planned to be conducted in collaboration with Institute staff. The next stage involves a second cycle of field seminar sessions, scheduled to take place from October 27 to 30, which will focus on land reclamation measures for irrigated lands.
