EFFICIENT WATER MANAGEMENT THROUGH IMPROVED IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN A DISTRICT OF TASKENT, UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

The Republic of Uzbekistan is including 12 viloyats or provinces and the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic. Agriculture accounts for 26 percent of the country's GDP. The total land area of Uzbekistan amounts to 44.9 million ha, of which 23.5 million ha are in pasture. A total of 4.3 million ha are irrigated, of which 3.3 million ha are irrigated arable land and one million ha irrigated pasture. There is a rainfed arable area of 0.8 million ha. Yields in the rainfed area are low but the area makes an important contribution to national grain production. Prior to independence the monoculture of cotton led to problems of land degradation. Cotton production has since fallen and there has been a substantial expansion in the grain area and production. This has permitted a large reduction in grain imports. Since independence, a new agricultural infrastructure has been put into place. The family "dekhan" farms account for more than 60 percent of the agricultural production. Aral Sea's problem and its coastal area basin is widely known and do not require detailed description. The drying up of the Sea created hundreds kilometers of salty area around. The Sea has lost its fishery, transportation, biological and most important its life's natural significance as a result of unbalanced water consumption during the last 30 years. The Aral Sea has decreased in volume to one-third as much, in water surface area to half of original size and its water salinity has increased fivefold. Simultaneously, the delta of the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya Rivers has advanced into the Sea. The Sea Bottom has been converted into a source of salt and dusty storms caused by progressive accumulation on considerable distance from the former water's edge. Contamination of river water has exceeded permissible concentration limits, especially at midstream and downstream. That's why problem of Aral Sea found like one of the global problem in the world.