The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan reports that farmers in the Kyzylorda region have implemented water-saving technologies, conserving 200 million cubic meters of water, which were subsequently directed to the Aral Sea, Tengrinews.kz reports.
This year, farmers in the region applied water-saving technologies on 55,000 hectares of rice fields.
As a result, during the 2024 irrigation season alone, approximately 1 billion cubic meters of water were directed to the Aral Sea—three times more than last year.
"Since the beginning of the year, about 2 billion cubic meters of water have been sent to the Northern Aral. As of today, the total volume of water in the sea has reached 22 billion cubic meters," the statement reads.
According to Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, in addition to water diplomacy and close cooperation with colleagues from Central Asian countries, the implementation of water-saving technologies plays a crucial role in replenishing the Aral Sea.
The use of such technologies helps save hundreds of millions of cubic meters of water, which can then be directed to the sea.
"To support this, we have increased subsidies for farmers' expenses on water-saving technologies from 50% to 80%. Over the next three years, the subsidies for farms using irrigation water with water-saving technologies will increase from 50% to 85%," said Nurzhan Nurzhigitov.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
October 21, 2024