The purpose and objectives of the project are:

• Assistance to farmers in solving their problems in the process of agricultural works
• Assistance to farmers in improving the efficiency of land use and obtaining of maximum profit from agricultural activities
• Addressing issues of secure and equitable distribution of irrigation water between farmers
• Assistance in working out the effective technological and technical solutions for improving use of water and land productivity at field level

how we do it?

We do a study of private farms, their problems and needs; observe the processes of all land-treatment operations, plant growth and the use of irrigation water and its distribution.

What do we gain from the results of these observations?

The results of the farms' study and observations provide us with an opportunity to identify the causes of reduced efficiency of agricultural farms production. The most common causes of low-effective use of irrigation water and agricultural production are:

• Unstable supply of irrigation water to the farms;
• Inappropriate schemes and irrigation technology options;
• Unnormalized use of irrigation water;
• Use of fertilizers regardless to types, timing and application rates;
• Poor quality of technical and agricultural land treatment;
• Delays in pest and diseases control.

How did the project address the existing problems?

Based on the analysis of the current situation in the farms, the following recommendations for organization and imple-mentation of agricultural operations, including the various technologies of crops irrigation and land treatment have been developed.

In what way the project recommendations and technologies are implemented in the farmers' fields

Within the framework of the project, the information and consulting centers were set up to facilitate the use of recommendations. There you can find:

• High qualified experts-consultants; agronomi-sts, hydraulic engineers, soil scientists, economists, lawyers and sociologists;
• Training centers with the qualified staff of trainers;
• Newsletters and brochures for farmers in an easy-to-interpret language.

The experts have an extensive experience in engineering and technology of irrigation, in farming practices and agriculture, in land reclamation and hydraulic engineering. The experts-consultants will provide a reasonable estimate of the productivity and potentialities of your lands. The experts-consultants will help you to reduce your costs and increase your profits.

In order to assess the conditions of each farm and its fields they can provide you with a soil-conservation certificate, which characterizes the actual state of each field, as well as with the a package of recommen-dations for the effective implementation of all agricultural operations.

What we recommend to do to obtain a good harvest and profit:

• Use effective technological scheme of irrigation, taking into account the characteristics of each field;
• Use irrigation water in accordance with the requ-irements of the crop considering the soil-reclamation conditions;
• Apply the recommended norms of mineral and organic fertilizers within the recommended time schedule;
• Use the control measures against diseases and pests effectively;
• Conduct all agronomic works on timely basis.

The achieved management results

As a result of the recommendations and technologies de-veloped by the project, the following improvements were observed in the farm lands:

• Those farmers, who processed the demonstration plots and have being supervised and consulted by the field trainers, used the irrigation water as per recommended norms and obtained the crops significantly higher than the average yield of neighboring farms. The water supply to the farm demonstration plots has been reduced by 30-50%.
• The improvement of water productivity, the amount of which in certain farms reached 1.5 kg /m³ for cotton and 2.2 kg/m³ for wheat has been achieved. This improvement was conditioned by increasing the efficient use of irrigation water and taking into account the soil-recla-mation conditions of the field as well as by growth of the raw cotton yield due to normalization of agronomic ac-tivities developed by the project.
• In terms of irrigation water reduction, the productivity was improved by 30%, in some farms – by 95%, and as for crop yield, the productivity was improved by 4% and in some farms by 54%.
• Net profit per hectare of cotton was increased by 157$ in Uzbekistan, by 508$ in Tajikistan and in Kyrgyzstan - the country with fully developed market economy – by 1002$.

Executors

Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (SIC ICWC)
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Financial support

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

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