On November 20, 2012, a training seminar for farmers of this and neighboring districts was held in Mingbulak district of Namangan region. The training was part of a field laser leveling project in Namangan region. Farmers gathered at a college in the area learned more about laser leveling as an effective way to combat land degradation, save water and increase productivity. The seminar was organized by the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology, which is the main partner of our project. In addition to installing in 3 local MTPs, the project will also provide the institute with a single set of equipment that will continue to disseminate knowledge about this amazing technology in the future.

A project to popularize the technology in Namangan region is nearing completion, while in Kashkadarya it is just being launched. The first introductory training seminar was held on November 28, 2012 in Karshi. The workshop was attended by farmers from 6 districts of the region, where a joint project of the UNDP Climate Risk Management and PMGEF conducted a set of 12 laser planners. Interestingly, although laser leveling technology has been used in Uzbekistan in the past, farmers are now less aware of it. When asked who knows the technology, none of those present raised their hands. These are. for many farmers, this is a new, unfamiliar technology.

Oybek Egamberdiev, KRASS NGO Khorezm region, participated in both seminars as a chief technology expert. KRASS NGO (www.krass.uz) is one of the initiators of the nationwide distribution of this technology with the support of PMGEF. The seminar raised a number of hot questions from farmers. It was a heated discussion. Oybek brought a set from Khorezm, where the first laser project was implemented, and showed how the equipment works.

- Oybek's presentation on laser planning

Note on laser procedure

Laser leveling is a method of leveling the ground with special equipment using a laser. A special emitter device mounted on the field generates a laser signal at a pre-calculated and selected field level. The bucket (long wheelbase) tractor is equipped with special equipment. This device reads the level indicated by the laser and automatically adjusts the level at which the bucket is raised or lowered while the tractor is moving. Thus, when the tractor is moving, the bucket is automatically raised and lowered depending on the topography of the field, all the lows or hills are leveled. Finally, the difference in roughness on the field surface does not exceed 1-2 cm - the area is almost perfectly flat. By getting rid of irregularities, no additional water is lost to fill the gaps in the field, and there is no need to waste excess water to moisten the hills. When the field is perfectly leveled, the soil moistens quickly, evenly. At the same time, water savings are 20-30%. Fertilizers are evenly distributed. Due to the uniformity of soil moisture, the same distribution of fertilizers, the same germination of crops occurs. Yields increase by 5-10%. Irrigation time is also reduced, labor costs for irrigation, pump operation and mechanization costs are reduced.

In general, it should be noted the leading role of Khorezm in the spread of this technology. It was there that a joint project of the University of Urgench with ZEF-Bonn University and UNESCO began to spread the practice among farmers in Khorezm region. An excellent edition of the manual on the use of this technology has been published. Excellent economic analysis, you can find it in our №2 newsletter. According to this economic analysis, if the technology is widely used by farmers in Khorezm region, the region will receive an additional net profit of more than $ 18 million. every year. Within the framework of the project, a number of introductory lectures were given in Khorezm by KRASS NGO specialists in Namangan, Andijan, Kashkadarya and Syrdarya regions. Following these reports in Namangan and Kashkadarya, there were also initiatives to spread the technology. This is how projects in these areas started earlier in Namangan and later in Kashkadarya.

A laser leveling project has already been launched in Karakalpakstan, and 12 sets of equipment will be purchased for distribution to 9 regions of the country together with the UNDP project on the Aral Sea region.

If the initiators of the distribution of this technology among farmers in other regions of the country (khokimiyats, Farmers' Councils, water utilities)

PMGEF is ready to support this initiative. Read more about the terms of the grant on our website - in the "How to get our grant" section.

About joy ...

The seminars in Namangan and Kashkadarya were not only interesting but also fun. There were funny moments along the way that made the time fun and uplifting for a long time.

Everyone called me in Namangan, Alexey Volkov, Alexey Volkovich.

On the way from Namangan, another funny incident happened. We stopped at a workshop to ask for a fuel hose. A workshop worker who didn't really look at our area looked at me and asked Oybek:

"Are you German?"

- Why German? russian.

"Aaaaa, it looks like French ..." he said after a short pause.

After that we laughed for a long time.

The seminar in Karshi was held at a hotel located on the outskirts of the city, where some building materials warehouses and spare parts market is located. In the morning we (myself and our intern Katya Liang) went to the hotel along a road that could be called the front line ... A man was standing by one of the gates of some base and apparently had breakfast - he had a cake in his hand ... he watched us for a while as we walked down the road .. I don’t know how he felt, but for some reason he came up to us and tore a piece from each of us. said Marhamat, leaving us to think