A five-day workshop titled “Piloting resource conservation agrotechnologies with demonstration of land laser leveling technology in the Republic of Karakalpakstan” will be held in the Chimbay district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan during 1-6 August, 2017.
Around 50 farmers and representatives of dekhkan communities from the Chimbay, Kegeyli and Muynak districts are invited to participate in the workshop. Similar training workshops were connducted in the Kanlikul and Takhtakupir project pilot districts in April 2017 with the participation of 120 farmers and dekhkans, of which five were female farmers.
Training workshops are initiated within the joint project of the Center of Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan (UNDP) “Developing climate resilience of farming communities in the drought prone parts of Uzbekistan” funded by the Adaptation Fund of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In practice, every farmer encounters the situation with excessive irrigation due to the land field roughness, using the traditional irrigation approach: spot depressions (holes, roughness and dimples) are flooded resulting in excessive soil wetting while convex spots remain dry. In turn, the technology of land laser leveling using an automated system allows achieving the nearly perfect surface, with 3-centimeter error at the most.
When choosing the technology, the emphasis is primarily made on reducing the volume of required irrigation water by at least 25% and increasing yield by 10% or more thanks to uniform wetting of irrigated lands. Using the land laser leveling also brings such benefits as reduced the time, energy and expenses related to delivery of the irrigation water, and, most importantly, labour-saving. It is obvious that such benefits are o relevant for the Aral Sea Region where farmers and dekhkans have been severely affected by the Aral Sea crisis.
The Republic of Karakalpakstan is characterized by small amounts of annual precipitation accompanied by high evaporation rates soil water, and therefore agriculture in the region is particularly built on irrigation. In addition to the water stress, problems arise due to inefficient use and management of water resources.
According to the agenda, the workshop is divided into 2 modules:theoretical module that will be held in the machinery and tractor depot in Chimbay district and a practical workshop with participants that would provide an opportunity to apply the new knowledge and skills to be conducted in the land fields belonging to the Juz Basy and Alimbet Kol farming communities.
The trainers-(specialists) will present to the participants the theory of operation of the land laser leveling technology, including application of the demonstrated equipment. They will show how to correctly install laser sets and specify the important components of the equipment that require particular attention. For instance, each trainee will be able to try and test the pre-commissioning procedures and equipment preparations required for initiating field works.
All pre-commissioning procedures and preparations would help the participants to learn more about design and operational characteristics of the land laser leveling equipment. Each participant will gain the first-hand experience of testing its operation in the field. The land field itself will be prepared in advance for the land laser leveling works through conducting a topographical survey and instructing the tractor driver on land laser leveling requirements. In addition, master-class on the use of the above-mentioned equipment will be delivered.
