International experts put forward the hypothesis that “Even if the Third World War does happen, it may come from behind the water.” No matter how exaggerated this statement is, there is one truth of life at its core. Even so, the water resources on our planet are decreasing.
In fact, the water shortage observed in the world has already become one of the universal environmental problems. As the demand for water increases as a result of climate change and global warming, the sources of this blessing are decreasing more and more, which shows how urgent the issue has become. Unfortunately, the negative consequences of this are clearly felt in Uzbekistan, where natural resources are limited. This requires the wise and economical use of this priceless gift.
We are among the countries with a high water shortage
A natural question arises, since the real situation in water management is so clear, how much savings can we achieve in practice? There is a reason why we put the question so sharply, of course. The fact is that in the ranking of countries suffering from water stress published by the World Resources Institute in 2019, Uzbekistan ranked 25th among 164 countries, and the country was assessed as having a high water shortage. Yes, being among the leaders in such ratings does not make anyone happy. On the contrary, it worries even more those who are not indifferent the next day. But admittedly, the World Resources Institute’s research is not out of thin air. Judging by the data, in recent years, the years of low water have been repeated frequently in the countries of Central Asia, in particular, in Uzbekistan. If until 2000 there was a water shortage every 6-8 years, recently this situation is repeated every 3-4 years. Due to this, in 2018, the total water shortage in Uzbekistan was 3 billion m3.
The fact that by 2030, the shortage of water during the farming season will reach 7 billion m3, and by 2050, it is highly probable that it will reach 13-15 billion m3. In addition, as a result of the increase in air temperature, it is estimated that the irrigation rates of agricultural crops will increase by 5 percent by 2030, and by 7-10 percent in 2050. All this puts before us the important tasks of fundamentally changing the attitude towards water resources, intensive use of economical technologies in its use, implementation of intensive irrigation methods, and most importantly, prevention of land degradation and desertification. Sudden climate change shows that the issues of water resources management and security in the Central Asian region are of great importance.
It should be said that due to such environmental factors, the approach to water consumption and the demand have changed in the new agricultural policy of Uzbekistan. Now, it is not about how much is harvested from 1 cubic meter of water, but how much area to irrigate with that much water, and ultimately how much income is raised. As a result, the old methods of irrigation are gradually being abandoned, and its economical ways are being used, which are giving positive results. For example, in this year’s season, when the water supply is predicted to be 25 percent less than the norm, agricultural crops are preserved and the target yield is increased, it is the result of these efforts.
Salvation is in economical technologies
The 2021 United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) cites water ignorance, waste and misuse as the main causes, and despite the difficulty of objectively and uncontroversially assessing this vital resource, the scientific study of understanding the various aspects of its “value” it is emphasized that it is necessary.
As the new Uzbekistan aims for many issues in the way of its democratic development, finding a solution to the water problem should be the most important issue among them.
Uzbekistan has the largest share of irrigated agricultural land in the Central Asian region. Today, agricultural crops are planted on a total of 4.5 million hectares of land in our country. However, their irrigation is dependent on river waters formed in neighboring countries. More precisely, for the needs of our republic, only a certain part of the water resources formed annually in the Amudarya and Syrdarya basins in the Aral Sea region is used.
If at the beginning of the 90s of the last century, the population of our country was 20.3 million people, and the economic sectors used an average of 64 billion m3 of water per year, today the population has increased from 35 million, and the volume of water used for the sectors of our economy is 51-52 billion m3. just doing it. that is, as the population increases, water resources are decreasing.
It seems that salvation is only in water-saving technologies. Only by their widespread application in practice can the negative effects of water shortages, which are inevitable in the region, be mitigated.
True, there is still a lot of work to be done in this direction. Until recently, the most painful issue was the almost non-existent measurement of water consumption and measurement in cultivated areas, which is the lower link of irrigation networks. If you fall into the lower link of the chain of water consumers, we would face a needless loss of life. It reminds us of a pyramid with a widening base.
Naturally, there is no economy of something without measure. Therefore, in the future, serious attention is being paid to achieving economy in agriculture at the state level. Today, we don’t see a lot of wasted water. Every drop of life counts. It is gratifying that in irrigation, the use of underground irrigation methods through flexible pipes, laying a film on the egates, raining, drip irrigation, which have proven themselves in the world practice, is becoming more and more popular.
First of all, agriculture must change
According to the calculations of international experts, indicators of fresh water use in Uzbekistan by sectors do not differ from the norms of distribution accepted in the whole world.
According to him, more than 70 percent of water is used in agriculture, more than 15 percent in industry, and a little more than 10 percent in domestic life. In other words, 90 percent of the water used in economic sectors corresponds to the share of agriculture. Perhaps you have now understood the real reason why the government of our country pays special attention to the use of water-saving technologies, first of all, in agriculture?
In our country, the drip irrigation method of economical technology is widely used. because this method is both environmentally and economically beneficial. If we prove our point with the example of cotton cultivation, the soil does not harden due to the fact that water is supplied to the plant through hoses. Therefore, there is no need to repeatedly cultivate cotton between rows. At the same time, the fertilizer is dissolved in water, so there is no need for machinery to feed the crop.
Experienced farmers know well that in the traditional method cotton is cultivated 8-10 times during the season, so that moisture does not escape between the rows. By introducing drip irrigation, the rows are softened only 1-2 times. Water can be saved by 20 to 60 percent just by watering the crop itself.
At the same time, the consumption of seeds per hectare is on average 40 percent, and fuel and lubricants are saved by 50-60 liters per hectare. The cost of mineral fertilizers is reduced by 30% during the year, and by 50% during the growing season, and the absorption of fertilizer by the crop is higher than 90%. the period of biological ripening of cotton is accelerated by 12-15 days, and productivity increases.
What’s stopping you?
With such advantages, why has this method not become popular, you ask? The main reason for this can be explained by the limited economic opportunities of farms that were leaders in the agricultural sector until recently.
Because setting up drip irrigation does not happen by itself. Digging an artesian well or bringing water to the field, building a settling pond, buying equipment, pipes, distribution hoses to deliver water to the cultivated fields… Of course, these things require a lot of money.
With the initiative of the head of our state, the area of cotton-textile clusters has been established, and the area used by economic methods is expanding year by year. After all, the transition to full drip irrigation has become their main goal. Finally, in 2020 alone, innovative water-saving technologies were introduced on an additional 133,000 hectares.
At this point, it is necessary to recognize one more aspect. Such projects are financially supported by the state.
The decision of the President of our country on December 27, 2018 “On urgent measures to create favorable conditions for the wide use of drip irrigation technologies in the cultivation of cotton raw materials” created a legal basis for financial assistance. According to this document, subsidies from the State budget have been provided to those who want to start drip irrigation based on the area of cotton cultivation.
In addition, a certain part of the interest expenses on loans allocated for the necessary equipment and facilities was transferred to the practice of covering from the funds of the State Fund for the Support of Entrepreneurial Activities.
The main criterion for allocating subsidies is quality
According to the concept of water management development of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020-2030, it is planned to increase the total area of land covered by water-saving technologies for irrigation of agricultural crops to 2 million hectares, including drip irrigation technology to 600 thousand hectares. It is worth saying that the decision of the head of our state on December 11, 2020 “On measures to accelerate the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture” accelerated the achievement of these goals and objectives.
After all, according to this decision, from 2021, the subsidy amount will be determined based on the quality of the water-saving system. that is, when drip irrigation technology is introduced, 8 million soums for cotton cultivation, 1.5 million soums for vegetable and potato cultivation, 1.3 million soums for rice cultivation, 6 million soums for horticulture, and 8 million soums for viticulture will be allocated for each hectare. It is noteworthy that if the project is implemented according to the brochure and the introduced system has high quality indicators, the amount of the subsidy will be increased to 11 million soums.
In addition, regardless of the number of projects for drip irrigation, which does not exceed 25 million soums per hectare of cultivated area, the interest rate on commercial loans allocated in national currency exceeds the base rate of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, but does not exceed 45% of the base rate of the Central Bank, determined by commercial banks. for loans in foreign currency – a subsidy of not more than 3 percentage points of the interest rate is allocated.
As part of the implementation of the document, in 2021, 160,000 hectares of cotton, 30,000 hectares of orchards, 15,000 hectares of vineyards and 5,000 hectares of other crops will be drip-irrigated, 14,000 hectares of cereal crops, 2,000 hectares of vegetables and sugarcane, and 2,000 hectares of nutritious crops will be provided. It is planned to use sprinkler irrigation, discrete irrigation technologies on 600 hectares of cotton fields. It is noteworthy that this important task is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The era of “know-how” and innovation has begun
Despite the efforts of the government and international organizations, the water problem in our region remains acute. According to experts, the Central Asian countries will be able to eliminate the water shortage only if they coordinate their actions in two directions: technically and politically.
Igor Savin, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that there are two ways for the Central Asian republics to solve the water problem in the short term. The first is to reduce water loss by switching to “drip irrigation” mode. The second is to avoid crops that require a lot of water.
Based on the initiative of the head of our state, the Central Asian Institute was created for joint research of water problems in the region. Only a comprehensive solution to the water problem will give clear results. Therefore, it is necessary to consult and coordinate our efforts to solve the problems together – to solve the water problems in the Central Asian region.
In our country, where ensuring food security is a priority task, new cost-effective innovative technologies are being tested in order to obtain abundant harvests from agricultural crops even in any extreme conditions related to water shortage. Discrete (pulsar) irrigation system is one of them.
This automated system is characterized by high efficiency. Due to the fact that water is delivered through closed underground pipes, first of all, the loss of water observed in ditches and internal irrigation networks is prevented, the environment is saved up to 30%, and the efficiency of irrigation increases. According to the researches, due to the use of the old irrigation method in many of our regions, approximately 50-60 percent of the water taken from the river evaporates without reaching the fields and plants!
It is also worth noting that another innovative product, hydrogel, offers additional opportunities for saving water and increasing the efficiency of irrigation. Hydrogel is mainly synthesized on the basis of local raw materials available in our country and absorbs 200-300 times its own weight in water. Due to its gradual absorption by the plant, the demand for water decreases and the duration of irrigation is extended. This is especially important as it helps prevent moisture loss in sandy soils.
The method of irrigation under the soil has also started to be applied in large areas due to similar advantages. In this method, irrigation is carried out using small-diameter pipes (hard hoses) with special holes laid underground at a certain depth (0.2-0.4 m).
On the surface, the work on the economical use of water resources in Uzbekistan is not very noticeable. But people who are familiar with the field know well that large-scale work has been started in our country to prevent unnecessary loss of life, to implement cost-effective and innovative methods. More precisely, the period of “know-how” and innovation in irrigation has begun. And this will start bearing high results soon. In this process, if artesian wells are dug and the use of underground water reserves is avoided as much as possible, it would be an excellent light on light.
Muhiddin Kalonov
Director of the Scientific Research Center of the Scientific Foundations and Problems of the Development of the Economy of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor.