Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek - On August 8, in the Chui region, representatives of the Kyrgyz Government, the public and the media were familiarized with the results of the project to rehabilitate water channels, restore abandoned agricultural lands and install drip irrigation on the territory of pilot Water Users Associations (WUAs). The project “Increasing economic independence and improving the status of women in Central Asia through access to irrigation water and infrastructure” , focused on rational management of water resources in the region, covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and is implemented by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) with financial support from the international foundation “ The Coca-Cola Foundation ” and Coca - Cola Company Kyrgyzstan.
The event was held with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic, members of the pilot Water Users Associations, local aiyl aimaks of the Alamedin district, and the international foundation " The Coca-Cola Foundation ”, CAREC and Coca-Cola Company in Kyrgyzstan.
“In the Kyrgyz Republic, the project began in November 2023 and over the past period has helped solve the problem of water shortages through the introduction of new irrigation methods and technologies with increased crop yields. Farmer agricultural enterprises were able to reduce their dependence on irrigation water shortages, increase productivity and generally improve the sustainability of agriculture in the region where the WUA is located. To achieve our goals, we worked closely with local communities and government water agencies to identify areas of WUAs most in need of irrigation water and infrastructure,” said Kuban Matraimov is the director of the branch of the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan.
As a result of the project, more than 220 farmers received support, more than 100 of whom were women. In total, more than 2,000 people benefit from the project. Drip irrigation installed on an area of 1 hectare will save 7,200 m3 of irrigation water annually.
In the Ak-Chii WUA, irrigation has been restored to more than 30 hectares of land by cleaning and strengthening a 2,600-meter-long canal and constructing two water distribution structures. In WUA “Ta-Bek”, canals with a length of more than 330 meters have been rehabilitated, and 7 water distribution structures have been built.
Thanks to the implemented water-saving technologies , agricultural yields are expected to increase by 2.5-3 times. Watermelons, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, wheat, sainfoin, strawberries and raspberries are grown in the project area.
For reference:
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) is an independent, non-political, non-profit international organization that was established in 2001 by the governments of five Central Asian countries, namely the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the European Union and UNDP in accordance with the decision of the 4th Pan-European Conference, held in 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark. CAREC has a unique mandate received from five Central Asian countries, and its mission is to assist Central Asian countries in solving their national and regional problems in the field of environmental protection.
"Coca-Cola Foundation" ( The Coca - Cola Foundation) is an international charitable foundation whose mission is to promote positive change in communities in all countries where The Coca-Cola Company operates. The Foundation funds organizations and projects around the world that make lasting and measurable contributions to solving global challenges in areas such as sustainable access to water, climate change, the circular economy, economic empowerment, and disaster management. To support initiatives in these areas around the world, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 billion in grants since its founding in 1984.
More about the Foundation on the website https :// www . coca - colacompany . com / social / coca - cola - foundation