Correspondents of Chronicles of Turkmenistan report that land tenants from the agricultural association Azatlyk located in Sayat etrap, in Lebap velayat, complain about the lack of action undertaken by the executives of the association to supply irrigation water for rice fields.
One of the tenant famers said that the water reaches the plots of land located in the upper part of the canals but fails to reach the others due to the shortage of water in the canal. As a result, the rice crops wither.
� After we harvested the wheat crops from the plot of land which we lease and handed it in to the state, the neighbours and I decided to sow the field with rice. We made arrangements with the Chairperson of the agricultural association. After receiving his consent, we plowed the fields, purchased seeds and sowed the field at our own expense. However, he is not doing anything to distribute the water fairly. According to the neighbours, if you pay a bribe of 200 manats per hectare to the Chairperson, water will be supplied. This is approximately the amount I had been paid for the wheat harvest, � the farmer said.
Those who are employed by agricultural associations to fulfill the government contracts in wheat and cotton harvests, earn small amounts of money and try to use the leased plots of land in a most efficient way. However, this is prevented by the system of rigid regulation, control and bans.
Let us recall that in 2018 the rice field owners in the farming district of Shaksenem experienced a similar problem. In July there was almost no water in the canals and the locals had to re-plow the crops.
Last September it became known that rural inhabitants of Dashoguz velayat failed to grow the second harvest. The local authorities barredthem from irrigating the land plots and confiscated pumps and bulldozed the vegetable gardens of those who had violated the requirement.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan