After the training on biogas in Kashkadarya, we went to Surkhandarya region on the invitation of the local branch of the Farmers Association of Uzbekistan.
The road from Tashkent to Termez
Surkhandarya is a perfect place for growing pistachio. There are many mountains here, it is a southern part of the country where the climate is very dry. But for the pistachio these conditions are ideal.
As you probably know, the GEF SGP in Uzbekistan actively and strongly promotes the possibly widest coverage of the territory of Uzbekistan with pistachio forests. A brief article about the pistachio can be found in the 2nd issue of our newsletter. We want people of Uzbekistan to have the slopes of the foothills and mountains covered with trees instead of incused foothills. Pistachio suits best for this purpose. Firstly, pistachio is our native tree. Uzbekistan is home to many species of pistachio, and maybe it is even homeland of pistachio. Since Uzbekistan signed the UN Convention on Biodiversity, and it is a legally binding document, we must do everything possible to save our species, and prevent the introduction of alien species. That's why we do not support any projects on the landing of alien trees. Secondly, the pistachio is ideally sustainable to dry conditions. In light of the increasingly growing aridity of Uzbekistan, this feature of pistachio is very important, because it is pistachio which may become the type, around which the arid submontane biocenoses will restore. Thirdly, the pistachio is a very profitable crop, which will provide benefit both for nature and for people. Within the framework of one of our projects an excellent manual have been prepared on the creation of pistachio plantations and economic analysis, giving full information of how pistachio is economically beneficial (both publications are available on the homepage of the project).
In Surkhandarya, Farmers Association has initiated the development of the idea for the spread of pistachio in Surkhandarya, as an alternative method of obtaining a stable income for farmers. At present, a project application is almost ready. You can see the project application and give your comments here. The only thing to do is to determine the interested farmers. For this purpose, Farmers Association of Surkhandarya region announced a competition for farmers in the local media. The text of the announcement can be found here.
We kindly ask you to participate actively in the spreading of this announcement among all people you know in Surkhandarya region.
