From February 27 to March 1, 2013, UNESCO organized three training seminars in Karakalpakstan for farmers, agricultural specialists and rural residents on the current conditions of the Aral Sea to increase the capacity of the population to grow and cultivate agricultural products. basin. The seminars were attended by more than 100 farmers, specialists and villagers from three districts of South Karakalpakstan, including Beruni, Ellikkala and Turtkul. The trainings were conducted by the staff of the KRASS NGO (Khorezm Agro-Consultative Support Center established under the ZEF project) in cooperation with the UNESCO Office in Tashkent within the framework of the United Nations Joint Agricultural Program of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Living conditions of the population affected by the Aral Sea crisis.
In the Aral Sea region, the Center for Development Studies at the University of Bonn (ZEF) in cooperation with the UNESCO Science Sector and Urgench State University in Khorezm conducted a series of studies in Germany with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Science and Education (PROON). modern technologies of cultivation of agricultural crops in degraded and infertile lands and effective management of water resources became the main topics.
In the seminars held in each district, experts from KRASS and Urgench State University presented the following topics and developments related to 10 years of research and successful experience in this field: agricultural innovations, new commodities, modern technologies for growing crops. degraded and remote lands, rational use of water resources. During the training, farmers learned about new agricultural and technical crops and their advantages over traditional crops.
Cultivation of the Indigofer Tinctoria plant can be used as one of the real ways to restore and / or improve the fertility of degraded soils prone to salinization and loss of yield. The Latin name Indigofera tinctoria or Indigofera tinctoria is a plant belonging to the legume family, a genus of the genus Indigofera that originated in India and is grown in many tropical countries to obtain blue dye. Indigo was presented at the trainings by Ergashev Abdukodir, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Adviser to the UNESCO Office in Uzbekistan, author and supervisor of the project "Introduction and cultivation of indigofera biomass technology in disturbed areas." Seeds of Feruz-1 variety ”.
Harvesting of green biomass of indigofera variety "Feruz-1"
It is a high-yielding, drought-tolerant plant that grows in saline soils in the northern regions of Uzbekistan and other land-degraded districts and regions. The training organizers hope that the knowledge and skills gained will help farmers increase their capacity to learn the most effective methods of growing and cultivating crops. Participants will learn about available agricultural information materials and gain a deeper understanding of the types of support services that the centers can provide to them. In addition, participants were presented with several publications (in Uzbek and Russian) on the results of research conducted by ZEF / UNESCO project "Land use and economic and environmental reconstruction of water resources in Khorezm region."
The overall goal of these trainings was to advance a single concept of land and water reconstruction. UNESCO assists in the development of options for the safe and sustainable use of natural resources, which are decision-makers and caregivers for farmers who depend on these resources.
-download the publication "Cultivation of the Indigofera Plant, Natural Dye Biotechnology and Improvement of Degraded Lands"
