Ashgabat hosted a seminar on improving cotton production and mechanized harvesting in Turkmenistan with the participation of experts from the Republic of Turkey.
The seminar, aimed at exploring potential cooperation between Turkmenistan and Turkey, is organized with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He brought together representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, the Turkmen Agricultural University named after S.A. Niyazov, as well as specialists from the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policy of Turkey and other specialized organizations.
As noted, at present, almost all cotton in Turkmenistan is harvested by modern combines, which are distributed among machine parks in 38 settlements of the country. Since 2017, the possibilities in the field of mechanized harvesting have expanded.
Turkish colleagues noted the significant progress made by Turkmenistan in recent years in improving cotton production through the transition to machine harvesting, as well as in the development of the textile industry. The country has gained considerable experience in this sector, which can be useful to other countries. For example, Ticen Ozudogru from the Institute for the Development of Economics and Agricultural Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey emphasized that effective planning and additional opportunities provided by the government are the main reason for the faster introduction of harvesting mechanization in Turkmenistan.
At the same time, there are great opportunities to further increase the cotton yield and the efficiency of harvesting by machine combines, in particular through the improvement of crop production techniques and the development of varieties more suitable for machine harvesting. In this regard, the parties expressed their readiness for fruitful cooperation in these areas.
Cotton breeders from the Turkish Cotton Research Institute also expressed their willingness to share their experience to further improve the efficiency of machine harvesting in Turkmenistan and other countries in the region.
As part of the visit, the experts visited the machine park in Ak Bugday, the cotton gin in Gökdepe, and the Ashgabat textile factory.
Cotton production plays an important role in the economy of both Turkmenistan and Turkey. As the primary raw material for the textile industry, cotton contributes to the country's export earnings and improves the lives of the thousands of farmers and workers involved in its value chain.
