In anticipation of our 10th anniversary, we would like to go over topics that are close to us. Show off a little of what we were able to do. Well, let's start with a topic that was one of the first in the work of the GEF SGP. This is a pistachio theme.

As we already wrote, the GEF SGP has become a trigger (a beautiful word, but foreign. Here we mean a "trigger", provoking the beginning) for many good initiatives that went far beyond the projects of our Program. One of the first topics we took on was pistachio. Much has been written. This article will be a kind of "potpourri", composed of snippets of past publications. After reading them, we hope that you will learn a lot about this noble culture.

We remind you that all this knowledge will help you in the quest game, which will be held on May 27, 2018 in the Botanical Garden of Tashkent.

Pistachio is a very interesting plant. In a nutshell, it is a nut that grows in the foothills, at an altitude of 500 to 2200 meters above sea level.

Let's better this way. We will try to outline a few facts about pistachio below, and then you decide why it is important to us and why it is interesting. So:

• It grows where practically no other fruit-bearing trees will grow without watering.
• earlier, pistachio on the territory of Uzbekistan occupied more than 2 million hectares. Now in Uzbekistan, the land areas covered with pistachio barely reach 30 thousand hectares.
• There are a lot of geographical names of localities and towns, indicating that pistachio used to grow here - Pistali-Tau, Pistali-Sai, etc.
• It grows and bears fruit for over 1000 years.
• Our scientists have collected about 30 forms and varieties of pistachios.
• Iran in 2015, made over $ 7 billion from pistachio.
• In Uzbekistan, more than 3 million hectares are suitable for growing pistachios!
• One tree at the age of 20-25 yields 6-8 kg of yield.
• The names of Uzbek pistachio heroes - Galina Chernova, Evgeny Botman, Lucian Nikolai, Bastamkul Saidkulov, Timur Tulyaganov, Lazokat Azimova (Liza)
• The GEF SGP supported the release of 3 editions - "Recommendations for the cultivation of pistachio plantations". There is also an economic analysis.
• In total, the GEF SGP spent a little more than 262 thousand dollars on the promotion of pistachios in Uzbekistan. We think that the money is not wasted, because the ratio of investing such a small amount and the effect / scope of reverse interest and the return on launching a "wave" of interest in pistachios is super positive.
• On one of the trips to the pistachios, we met a column of old English cars
• The first time we wrote an article in our newsletter, on the cover of which was the Uzbek climber Dmitry Ruch, with the GEF SGP flag on the top of Lenin Peak.
• The Latin name for pistachios is Pistacia vera
• The GEF SGP supported pistachio planting projects in Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Andijan and Tashkent regions.
• We even started celebrating the fictional Pistachio Day.