Interview: Kyrgyz farmers adopt Chinese irrigation experience

BISHKEK, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz farmers adopt experience of their Chinese colleagues in the irrigation field, an expert told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Kadyrbek Smankulov, a specialist with the Agrarian Development of Chui Oblast under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Regional Development of Kyrgyzstan, told Xinhua about his experience gained in China in the utilization of drip irrigation in agriculture.

The expert said he had visited China twice. Last time he visited Yangling district in China's Shaanxi Province, professors from Northwest Agricultural University introduced him and his fellows to various irrigation techniques used in China.

"Lately, due to the lack of water in Kyrgyzstan, drip irrigation has become very important for us. Indeed, water should be saved, it should be used as we were shown at the seminar," Smankulov said.

The drip irrigation system has been used in Kyrgyzstan not long ago and in very small volumes. However, now more and more farmers are switching to this method, according to the expert.

"We were shown in China how the drip irrigation is used on perennial plantations, apple trees, and also in the fields, in particular ... corn fields," he said.

"In addition, the drip irrigation is regulated through computer systems. Unfortunately, there are no such highly developed technologies in Kyrgyzstan. We just started mastering the system of open drip irrigation," the specialist shared his impression, adding that he was also very surprised how the Chinese specialists conduct water to hard-to-reach non-irrigated lands.

Smankulov emphasized that in China new technologies and science are very well applied in agriculture, which is supported by the state.

The specialist said that he is willing to share with local farmers the experience and knowledge learned in China, adding that Kyrgyzstan should apply new modern technologies for the development of agriculture.

Concerning the cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and China, the expert said "thanks to Chinese investments, many large infrastructure projects are being implemented in Kyrgyzstan, and I think it would be good to closely develop our cooperation in the field of agriculture and develop this sector in the country."