Farmers may refuse growing sugar beets next year. A member of the Association for Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex, director of the Engels collective farm Anara Asadova said at a press conference.
She noted that due to drought and lack of water, farmers have suffered great losses this year.
«Many people will not be able to repay loans. This is all because of lack of water. In addition, some of the water is simply lost during its transportation. This year, we have cleared about seven kilometers of the Big Chui Canal on one side only. They say that it is planned to clear 10 kilometers next year. This is a little. On-farm networks have remained ownerless, once laid trays become unusable, no one replaces them, the water simply goes into the ground,» she said.
Anara Asadova added that in addition to the restoration of the irrigation system, it is necessary to abolish licensing of the use of groundwater for agriculture. «This water is needed now. Problems of farmers need to be solved. We have not received the planned harvest this year. But due to the fact that we are a large farm, we somehow get out of the situation. But even I, a large farmer, think whether I will grow a crop that requires a lot of water. I grow sugar beets. There are only two sugar factories in Kyrgyzstan, which provide the country with 60 percent of sugar. If I think about it, then a small farmer even more so. Then the factories will receive less beets, Kyrgyzstan will get 40-50 percent of sugar, the factories will be forced to cut jobs. It’s all interdependent,» she said.
