At the Information Center of the “Bereketli Garagum” State Nature Reserve on September 12, as well as in the mountain village of Konnegumbez on September 14-15, FAO/GEF specialists conducted a series of seminars on sustainable management of desert pastures and irrigated agriculture in a changing climate. This was reported by the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

Representatives of the agro-industrial, water management and forestry complexes of the Baharden etrap, specialists from the livestock, water management and forestry sectors, as well as representatives of local communities, shepherds, school teachers, and reserve workers took an active part in the training.

The training participants learned about the types of pasture rotations that can be used in the territories of the peasant associations “Erbent” of the Ak Bugday etrap and “Yenish” of the Baharden etrap, discussed the development of plans for the rational management of an invaluable natural resource - water, on sufficient volumes of which the well-being of 60 to 70 percent of rural areas depends residents of these farms.

The topic of wool processing and the development of production of various products aroused great interest and discussion. Discussions were also held on the issues of watering desert pastures and involving local administrations and communities in this process.

On September 20 and 21 in Dashoguz, within the framework of the activities of farmer field schools, a training was held on the features of irrigated farming on salinity-prone agricultural land.

The training participants learned about the technology to combat salinity and methods for improving the reclamation state of irrigated soils, including by growing salt-tolerant crops and fruit trees. They also learned how to use salinity maps and conduct agrochemical analysis of soil composition to select the most suitable crops for cultivation.

All training events were conducted within the framework of the FAO/GEF project “Integrated natural resource management in drought- and salt-affected agricultural production landscapes of Central Asia and Türkiye” (CACILM-2) and are aimed at increasing the capacity of villagers in the field of sustainable management of desert pastures and irrigated agriculture in changing climate.