Uzbekistan’s cotton growers are turning to Chinese technology to help boost production while using significantly less water. From irrigation and agricultural machinery to processing, Chinese expertise is being introduced across the cotton production chain. Aljosa Milenkovic reports from the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan border.
This may be the most beautiful sound in the desert – the sound of water.
Here in southern Uzbekistan, every drop matters, especially for a water-demanding crop like cotton.
And increasingly, farmers here are turning to Chinese drip-irrigation technology to make those drops go further.
SHODIYOR MINURKULOV Cotton Farmer “We expect to yield up to 9 tonnes of cotton per hectare. Our cotton is developing well. As you can see, around 50% of the cotton has already opened. I have been working with this drip irrigation system for two years. The water savings from using this system are very significant.”
Water arriving through canal is collected in this huge basin, then mixed with fertilizer and pumped through drip lines directly to the plants.
Around five thousand hectares in this area are already covered by the system. It reduces water losses while allowing farmers to control precisely how much water and nutrition their cotton receives.
But Chinese technology here doesn’t stop at the edge of the field.
In nearby Karshi, tractors, cotton planters and combine harvesters are lined up in a new assembly facility expected to begin production in two months.
WANG SHIJIE Factory Manager, FM World “Our company has been deeply rooted in China for many years and is well received by a wide range of users. So we are bringing our most advanced technology to participate in Uzbekistan’s agricultural modernization drive. We aim to support the local community with our latest technology.”
And at the other end of the production chain, another Chinese-owned facility is preparing to process the cotton harvested from these fields.
Its machinery is already installed. The factory expected to open in two months and provide jobs for up to one hundred local workers.
ALJOSA MILENKOVIC Boston, Uzbekistan “From advanced agricultural machinery and precision drip irrigation to modern processing facilities, China’s experience and expertise in cotton production are being put into practice right here in Uzbekistan, spanning almost every stage of the production chain. Aljosa Milenkovic, CGTN, Boston in Southern Uzbekistan.”
Source: https://news.cgtn.com/