The Mive production associations, the velayat departments of the Food Industry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, continue to receive potatoes and onions grown by domestic agricultural producers.
Their cleaning was started in June and will continue until mid-July, the newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan reports.
According to the January Decree of the President of Turkmenistan, 11100 hectares are allotted for potatoes, from which it is planned to obtain 155400 tons of the crop. 3800 hectares are provided for onions, from which a harvest of 95000 tons is expected. Considering that the arid climate is not comfortable enough for the cultivation of these two crops, the state allocates additional areas for their production each year. This year they make up 2500 hectares.
As noted in the Food Industry Administration of the agroecological department, part of the harvest immediately goes to retail. The other part is sent to the facilities of a number of ministries, including education, healthcare and the medical industry, law enforcement agencies, that is, to state-funded institutions - kindergartens, schools, military units, which now receive useful root crops of domestic production of the current crop. The rest is stored. At the same time, the main filling of vegetable warehouses “in the winter” will begin in October along with harvesting carrots and cabbage. And here there are adjustable storage volumes, a strategic winter supply of over 20000 tons of potatoes and onions. In total, ten storage rooms with the ability to easily and severely freeze work in the structure of the ministry. There are such objects in all regions. In recent years, new large storage facilities have been built in the regions - in Lebap, Dashoguz, Mary - designed to accommodate three thousand tons of vegetable and melon products, and in Akhal - for 2000 tons of fruits and vegetables. In general, the Akhal oasis has areas designed to store 14 thousand tons of crops, which takes into account the supply of the capital. The state warehouses of the Balkan region are designed to store one thousand tons of vegetable crops.
The lion's share of agricultural production belongs to the private sector, however, the state controls the quality of incoming products on the market. Acceptance for storage of fruits and vegetables is carried out with the participation of quality laboratory specialists. For example, potatoes are taken a certain size, the purchase price depends on it. In addition, its chemical composition is being investigated. The contracted production volumes are defined in the annual state plan for zoning farmland, which, in turn, is based on the calculation of crop yields and the peculiarities of the soil and climatic conditions of the velayats, and is a guide for specialists from structural departments of the ministry. This document is compiled on the basis of the corresponding January Decree of the President of Turkmenistan, the implementation of which is provided on a contractual basis - tenants, daikhan associations and farms enter into an agreement with khyakimliks in close cooperation with the agroecological department. So the cultivation of the required volume of green products and root crops, including sugar beets, is a planned mechanism. At the same time, the agreement is an obligation to grow a crop, which the tenant can surrender to the state at will or sell on his own.
If necessary, the agroecological department, at the request of the velayat administration, provides the farmers with seed material, as well as the whole package of mechanized, agrochemical and technological services, along with irrigation of farmland on favorable terms. The local product is grown in environmentally friendly conditions, without GMO technology, because the consumer often prefers fruits and vegetables grown in Turkmenistan, arguing their interest in price and environmental quality.
This year potatoes will be planted everywhere again - in the second half of summer. Previously, this practice concerned individual vegetables, as well as fodder from legumes, which enriched the soil after harvesting wheat. The head of state urges us to practice crop rotation; agricultural specialists are not tired of reminding tenants who are ready to help calculate the cotton and wheat crop rotation schemes that are necessary to improve the structure and preserve soil fertility. Spring sowing of potatoes, subject to warm weather, begins in mid-February, 90 days are allowed for the maturation of the crop, although there are early ripening varieties. As seeds, an early-ripening Sante, popular in the country, gives round potatoes with a light yellow peel.