Representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), including climate specialist Leo Chris Palao and consultant Johannes Kunink, recently held a series of consultative meetings with environmental management and agriculture specialists in Ashgabat. Employees from the ADB’s Ashgabat office also participated in the final meeting, according to the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
These meetings focused on developing a joint interdepartmental project that the ADB will support through a grant. The project aims to achieve several key objectives:
• Promote innovative agricultural practices.
• Green agricultural production.
• Digitize water management.
• Advance GIS technologies.
One specific area of discussion was the potential for adopting multispectral sensors used in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. These sensors, integrated with specialized GIS, could monitor the vegetation health of agricultural crops in Turkmenistan. Currently, Turkmenistan uses satellite imagery to monitor pasture lands, river deltas, desertification, and land salinization, but this technology hasn’t been applied to crop production yet.
Additionally, the project will explore the development of climate-tolerant animal husbandry practices. This component aims to improve livestock resilience in the face of changing climatic conditions.
To gain firsthand experience, ADB representatives embarked on a field trip during their visit. They toured the Karakum River section where woody plants are being planted to stabilize the banks. They also visited the educational farm of the S.A.Niyazov Turkmen Agricultural University, to observe current agricultural practices.
During the meetings, particular emphasis was placed on water management due to its critical role in agriculture. This includes water conservation, distribution, and transportation through separate irrigation and collector networks.
While irrigation networks deliver water to fields, collector networks drain excess water away from crops to prevent salinization and ensure it reaches the Altyn Asyr reservoir. Despite the multifaceted nature of the project, all parties acknowledged the paramount importance of water. After all, the health of other natural resources, economic sectors, human health, and even aesthetics are all fundamentally dependent on this vital resource.
The meetings explored innovative approaches to manage floodwaters in areas with limited regulation capabilities. One proposal involves using these floodwaters for a single, strategic irrigation of crops well-suited to sandy soils, such as melons, or vegetables grown within the existing agricultural framework. Storing these floodwaters is challenging, so the project might also explore expanding cultivation areas with drought-resistant crops like fodder, depending on the annual water availability.
The ADB representatives also proposed a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: covering water sources with solar panels. These panels would provide dual benefits – protecting water from excessive sunlight and generating clean energy. The initial proposal suggested mounting the panels on floating platforms to optimize space.///nCa, 18 July 2024