FAO brings together cotton experts from Türkiye and Turkmenistan
Cotton production plays an important role in the economies of the Republic of Türkiye and many Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan. Celebrated on World Cotton Day (7 October), cotton provides the basic input for the textile industry, contributing to export revenues of those countries and the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and workers engaged in the cotton value chain.
To this end, FAO is assisting countries improve their cotton value chains and ensure sustainability of the sector. Specifically, to facilitate dialogue and explore potential collaborations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, FAO recently facilitated a visit of Turkish cotton experts to Turkmenistan. The participants made technical visits to cotton-related facilities, including to a machinery park, ginning factory, textile factory and the Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan. On the sidelines of the visit, on 8 September, FAO led a workshop at the S.A. Niyazove Turkmen Agricultural University in Ashgabat to share knowledge on how to improve cotton production and mechanized harvesting.
“FAO is very pleased to facilitate this collaboration between the two countries and recognizes that there are numerous areas where further collaboration can be developed not only on cotton improvement and mechanization but also in other areas of agriculture,” said FAO agriculture officer Fazil Dusunceli at the closing of the workshop. Dusunceli also applauded the willingness and enthusiasm shown by both parties to further improve this dialogue and develop future collaborations.
The discussions during the visits and the workshop underlined that Turkmenistan has made significant progress in the recent years in improving cotton production through the transition to from manual to mechanical harvesting, and in the development of its textile industry. To support this development, the government procured 1 000 modern harvesters, trained operators, as well as provided producers with various services, such as sowing, fertilization, weeding, pesticide spraying, and harvesting. The experience of the country in this sector can be beneficial if shared with other countries.
At the same, there is strong potential for further improvement of cotton productivity and efficiency of machine harvesters, particularly through improving crop production techniques, training, and the development of varieties more suitable for mechanical harvesting. Experts from both Turkmenistan and Türkiye expressed their willingness to collaborate in these areas and invited FAO to facilitate this work.
Workshop participant Tijen Ozudogru from the Turkish Agricultural Economics and Policy Development Institute stated that “overall planning and support services provided by the government constitute the main reason for the relatively faster introduction of mechanization for harvesting in Turkmenistan.” Serife Balci, cotton breeder at the Turkish Cotton Research Institute, further added that “the Institute is willing to share its experience to further improve the efficiency of machine harvesting in Turkmenistan and other countries” in the region. Huseyin Erdikli, another expert from the Institute, stressed that “there is enormous potential for collaboration particularly on the development of cotton varieties that are more productive and suitable for mechanized harvesting.”
Aiming to further encourage and deepen the discussions in the workshop, a delegation from Turkmenistan is currently paying a visit to Türkiye and gather first-hand experience on cotton fields being harvested by machinery and relevant establishments in the Aegean region. In addition, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan will discuss the development of a roadmap for improving the cotton harvest mechanization in Turkmenistan.
6 October 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan