The Institute of Macroeconomic and Regional Studies (IMRS) has reported the study on ‘The impact of water scarcity on the agricultural sector of arid regions.’
According to data, over 1 bn people globally suffer from water shortages of varying degrees.
In the next decade, climate change and the increasing demand for water consumption in neighbouring countries will reduce water usage from Amudarya and Syrdarya in Uzbekistan which may eventually lead to drought and desertification.
By 2030, there will be a water shortage of 7 bn cubic meters in Uzbekistan which means the country will fall into the ranks of the 33 most-water-stressed countries in the world.
Therefore, Karakalpakstan and Jizzakh, Syrdarya and Khorezm regions should hasten to gradually replace crops that require a lot of water with crops that require less water.
For example, 4,124 cubic meters are needed to produce 1 ton of soybeans and 15,500 cubic meters to grow beef, 3,082 cubic meters to grow 1 ton of rice, and 2,375 to grow 1 ton of wheat.
500 cubic meters of water is sufficient to cultivate 1 ton of capers, 700 cubic meters may be used to grow desert oats (helictotrichon desertorum, fodder), and the production of 1 ton of sheep and goat meat up to 1500 cubic meters of water is needed.
It is also desirable to plant drought-resistant leguminous crops such as mung beans, beans, peas and red beans.
There are opportunities to grow drought-resistant and marketable capers in the non-irrigated desert regions of Uzbekistan and to increase its export dramatically.
According to the Customs Committee, the export volume of this product has increased from 2.3k tons ($3.8 mn) to 3.3k tons ($5.3 mn) in recent years. About 80 per cent of capers are grown in the drylands of Jizzakh region.
Comments (0)