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)
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