Why Uzbekistan is hoping gravity will help solve its irrigation issues
In the episode of Focus, we hear about the steps Uzbekistan is taking to modernise its irrigation system, as the country looks to improve water supply to its agriculture sector and slash carbon emissions.
Transcript
00:00 Uzbekistan is modernizing its regional irrigation system to improve water supply to the agricultural
00:07 sector. In South Karak Alpakstan, gravity is now being used instead of electric pumps
00:16 to irrigate the fields. A recent major infrastructure project is also drastically reducing losses
00:22 of a major resource - water.
00:29 You can see for yourself, here are dunes and sands. Around 50% of the water went into the
00:35 soil. Therefore, we decided to concrete the canal.
00:39 Bustan Canal is the major water artery. Before its reconstruction, it was an earthen canal
00:46 and seepage was a major problem.
00:48 Here the primary Bustan Canal begins. Water enters through the right bank canal from the
00:53 Tuyamuyen Reservoir, which is located on the territory of neighboring Turkmenistan.
00:58 The Bustan Canal is connected with a network of secondary canals. Their total length is
01:04 more than 800 kilometers. They have all been reconstructed as part of the project which
01:09 covers three regions and 100,000 hectares of agricultural land.
01:14 Here we felt an acute shortage of water resources. 35,000 hectares of irrigated land have been
01:20 taken out of circulation. We concrete canals, reduce seepage losses, we increase the efficiency
01:26 of irrigation systems and save about 300 million cubic meters of water by reducing losses and
01:32 putting these agricultural lands back into circulation.
01:38 To reduce water losses, the bottom as well as the banks of the 70 kilometer long Bustan
01:43 Canal were concreted.
01:48 It was placed on geomembrane, a special material that helps minimize water seepage.
01:55 The geomembrane is made of high-density polyethylene. Its thickness is one millimeter. It's 100%
02:03 waterproof. It's used in hydraulic works as a waterproofing layer under canals and this
02:08 helps us save water.
02:12 Previously, electric pumps were used to bring water up to the fields. Now the bottom of
02:18 the Bustan Canal is raised, so it's higher than the level of the secondary canals and
02:23 irrigated fields. That's how the gravity is used to distribute water. It just flows by
02:29 itself. This allows the state and the farmers to save around three million dollars on electricity
02:35 every year.
02:44 We are removing more than 400 farm pumps as well as 20 small and three large pumping stations
02:49 which are operated at the expense of the state budget. Thus, we reduce the emission of CO2
02:55 greenhouse gases. We reduce 36,000 cubic meters of gas.
03:02 We visited a farm that grows fruits in the Elikala region on one of the secondary canals
03:08 to see how gravity is used in action. Farmer Musafar Sapa Boyev just has to open his gate
03:15 when he needs to water his garden.
03:20 Sixteen hundred such water gates have been installed across the secondary canals in South
03:25 Karak, Alpakstan. Musafar says that his farm has saved 6,000 euros on electricity in one
03:31 year and explained the benefits of the project.
03:37 The ground on our farm was leveled with a laser as part of the project and it allowed
03:41 us to boost productivity so our income is increasing. The speed of the water flow has
03:47 increased significantly compared to last year.
03:50 Land leveling saves water that would otherwise be wasted in uneven fields and increases yields.
03:57 It's one of the elements of the vast South Karak, Alpakstan Water Resource Management
04:02 Improvement Project, which also aims to increase productivity and sustainability of agriculture
04:07 in this water-scarce region close to the Aral Sea.
04:11 The project, implemented by the government with the support of the World Bank, cost $374
04:16 million.
04:18 The project provided job security to over 38,000 people who are directly working in
04:27 irrigated agriculture. At the same time, you also have a lot of indirect jobs, employment,
04:34 climate adaptation, efficient use of water. It is extremely important and it is within
04:40 the government and the World Bank strategy.
04:44 The strategy of the state is to apply the modernised management of water resources to
04:48 the whole country, making farming, one of Uzbekistan's main employment sectors, greener
04:53 and more resilient to the problems caused by climate change.
04:56 (upbeat music)
04:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]