💧 The future of agriculture is already here! How Kyrgyz farmers are adopting Uzbekistan's experience in drip irrigation

In search of advanced solutions to improve agricultural efficiency, in April 2025, members of the “Zhar-Bashy” agricultural cooperative and project specialists from the “TES Centre” made an important visit to the Andijan region of Uzbekistan. The purpose of the trip was to study the experience of the “Vakh Imkon Rivozh farm”, which is a leader in the application of modern agricultural technologies, especially in the field of drip irrigation.

Our delegation visited the “Vakh Imkon Rivozh farm”, which is impressive in size: 2,000 hectares of land, of which 1,000 hectares are actively used for growing various crops using drip irrigation.

Our specialists saw with their own eyes how this system works in cotton and wheat fields. Particular attention was paid to the operation of the basin for filtering irrigation water, from where the purified water is then distributed to the fields through special hoses.

The advantages of drip irrigation, seen in practice:

•    Halving water consumption: this is critically important in the context of climate change and limited water resources;

•    Preventing soil erosion through targeted water delivery, no runoff, maintaining optimal moisture levels, and improving soil structure;

• Reduced mineral fertilizer consumption: nutrients are delivered directly to plant roots, reducing losses;

• Reduced labor costs: no need for manual watering, freeing up resources.

The visit proved to be extremely productive. The possibilities of testing seeds of early potato varieties grown by the “Zhary-Bashy” Agricultural Company in the Chon-Alai district on the fields of the Uzbek farm were discussed. Moreover, the director and agronomist of “Vakh Imkon Rivozh” were invited to the upcoming field day of the Aravan Agroservice Agricultural Cooperative to continue the exchange of experience.

As a result, an agreement was reached on further cooperation: members of Kyrgyz cooperatives will be able to seek advice on the installation of drip irrigation and sprinkler systems, which is particularly relevant for the “Zhary-Bashy” Agricultural Cooperative.

This exchange of experience was an important step towards the introduction of innovative solutions and increasing the efficiency of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan, opening up new horizons for our farmers!