Turkmen farmers have begun growing a Canadian modified variety of canola rapeseed, an important oilseed crop whose seeds are characterized by low acidity. On the fields of the Tejen etrap, one can observe warm yellow stripes interspersed with green ones. This is a crop of canola, a bright yellow flowering plant in the Brassicaceae family. Canola differs from rapeseed, which belongs to the mustard family, by a low content of erucic acid (less than 2%). If oil was previously obtained from ordinary rapeseed. having a pronounced mustard taste and therefore of little use for food (it was used mainly for lighting, and then for lubricating steam engines), Canadian canola oil has high nutritional properties. It is not only safe for human consumption, but also contains omega-3 fatty acids, and also serves as a preventive measure against heart attacks and strokes, as it lowers blood cholesterol levels. The worldwide recognition of this product has led to a growing worldwide demand and distribution of canola.
One of the first on the lands of the Tejen etrap in Turkmenistan, the production of the Canadian variety of rapeseed was mastered by a local entrepreneur Mukhammed Yamshchekov. Canola seeds, which were purchased in Iran and Germany, were sown on an experimental basis on 200 hectares, and received a good harvest, which was used to produce canola oil. From each hectare, the entrepreneur collected more than two tons of seeds, from which he pressed vegetable oil, the fatty acid profile of which is close to that of olive oil.
In the next season, more than two thousand hectares of land were sown under the new crop in the fields of the Tejen etrap. The experiment, which was supported by the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, currently involves more than ten private farms. This year, in September, they plan to double the area under crops of Canadian agricultural crops. The experience of Turkmen farmers has shown that canola rapeseed products can be widely used in animal feed. They rank second in the world in the use of protein ingredients after soybean meal. The new innovative product, created 3-5 years ago, will allow Turkmen farmers to make the most of it as a highly effective substitute for soy feed.
It should be noted that the main types of agricultural crops grown on the territory of Turkmenistan are wheat, cotton, rice, sugar, beet, fodder, vegetable, melon and fruit crops. At the same time, the range of cultivated crops in the country is constantly expanding. In particular, thanks to the support of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the country, private grain farms began to produce such agricultural crops as mung bean, which has already become one of the Turkmen export items. Now more than a hundred agricultural producers - members of the UIET - are participating in the Mäş Taslamasy project.
Producers of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and other food products of Turkmenistan are fully coping with providing abundance and a wide range of products in the domestic market of the country. This is facilitated by the state policy to support private farmers, within the framework of the state programs of the President of Turkmenistan on import substitution and development of the export potential of the national economy.
