Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ASHGABAT1117
2007-10-16 06:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN COTTON HARVEST - AN EXPERIMENT IN CAPITALISM
how-toVZCZCXRO0244 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHAH #1117 2890609 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 160609Z OCT 07 FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9549 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUCNOSC/OSCE POST COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVQ RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0577 RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2880 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0701 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1153 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001117
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, EEB
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN COTTON HARVEST - AN EXPERIMENT IN CAPITALISM
REF: A) ASHGABAT 1115
B) ASHGABAT 1089
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001117
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, EEB
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN COTTON HARVEST - AN EXPERIMENT IN CAPITALISM
REF: A) ASHGABAT 1115
B) ASHGABAT 1089
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.
2. (SBU) Summary: During a recent visit to one of Turkmenistan's
top producing cotton regions, EmbOff learned that the country is
likely to be facing dramatically low cotton yields this year.
Surprisingly, the government is turning to the market to address the
problem. END SUMMARY.
3. (SBU) EmbOff traveled to Dashoguz and Ruhubelent in Dashoguz
province October 4 and 5 for meetings with local officials, farmers,
and others to learn about the cotton harvest this year. Discussions
with farmers and locals about farming conditions in the fields were
revealing. They predicted low yields this year as a result of low
precipitation and poor farming methods. The 2006/2007 season saw a
blistering hot summer with record-breaking temperatures above 115
Celsius and little to no snowfall the previous winter. In addition,
the Government planted low-grade, short-stem cotton in rows too
narrow for machine picking. Likewise, the low-grade cotton produced
leafy bolls that can only be picked by hand.
4. (SBU) The government, powerless to change the weather, is taking
positive, open-market steps to increase future yields. Cotton
buyers for the government are paying five times more per kilogram
beginning this year. The provincial government has already
announced plans to increase farming privatization with land
give-aways and low-interest loas. (NOTE: The land give-away refers
to allowing people to use a limited amount of land for private
activity. There is no fee simple ownership of land. END NOTE.)
THE ANSWER TO LOW COTTON YIELDS - RUHUBELENT
5. (SBU) These 'experimental' changes in policy are being
implemented in a sub-region of Dashoguz, Ruhubelent. In what turned
out to be a six-hour visit (including a three-hour vodka party),new
Ruhubelent Mayor Sapargeldi Tumayew explained his future plans for
his sandy desert city. Created in April 2007 and inaugurated by
President Berdimuhamedov, Ruhubelent consists of five or six
semi-finished buildings, miles of sand, and perhaps a dozen
residents, including the mayor and his staff aides. According to the
mayor's blueprints, Ruhubelent will become a virtual oasis in the
desert with more than a dozen new buildings, such as a primary and
secondary school, cultural center, and sports stadium. The desert
will be converted into farmland with water flowing 200+ kilometers
from Dashoguz. New inhabitants will be enticed to settle with offers
of free land (for private activity) and 1% interest loans for
household goods or machinery.
CHILD-LABOR BAN UPHELD
6. (U) Provincial officials seem to be implementing President
Berdimuhamedov's ban on child labor in this year's cotton harvest.
Although children may help their families with the harvest on their
small private plots, we have seen no evidence of forced child labor
in the fields (see reftels).
7. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite what one may think about creating a new
town in the middle of an uninhabited desert, creating private
enterprises, increasing the price for cotton, and developing the
rural region are steps in the right direction for improving future
cotton yields and the economy in general. END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, EEB
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN COTTON HARVEST - AN EXPERIMENT IN CAPITALISM
REF: A) ASHGABAT 1115
B) ASHGABAT 1089
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.
2. (SBU) Summary: During a recent visit to one of Turkmenistan's
top producing cotton regions, EmbOff learned that the country is
likely to be facing dramatically low cotton yields this year.
Surprisingly, the government is turning to the market to address the
problem. END SUMMARY.
3. (SBU) EmbOff traveled to Dashoguz and Ruhubelent in Dashoguz
province October 4 and 5 for meetings with local officials, farmers,
and others to learn about the cotton harvest this year. Discussions
with farmers and locals about farming conditions in the fields were
revealing. They predicted low yields this year as a result of low
precipitation and poor farming methods. The 2006/2007 season saw a
blistering hot summer with record-breaking temperatures above 115
Celsius and little to no snowfall the previous winter. In addition,
the Government planted low-grade, short-stem cotton in rows too
narrow for machine picking. Likewise, the low-grade cotton produced
leafy bolls that can only be picked by hand.
4. (SBU) The government, powerless to change the weather, is taking
positive, open-market steps to increase future yields. Cotton
buyers for the government are paying five times more per kilogram
beginning this year. The provincial government has already
announced plans to increase farming privatization with land
give-aways and low-interest loas. (NOTE: The land give-away refers
to allowing people to use a limited amount of land for private
activity. There is no fee simple ownership of land. END NOTE.)
THE ANSWER TO LOW COTTON YIELDS - RUHUBELENT
5. (SBU) These 'experimental' changes in policy are being
implemented in a sub-region of Dashoguz, Ruhubelent. In what turned
out to be a six-hour visit (including a three-hour vodka party),new
Ruhubelent Mayor Sapargeldi Tumayew explained his future plans for
his sandy desert city. Created in April 2007 and inaugurated by
President Berdimuhamedov, Ruhubelent consists of five or six
semi-finished buildings, miles of sand, and perhaps a dozen
residents, including the mayor and his staff aides. According to the
mayor's blueprints, Ruhubelent will become a virtual oasis in the
desert with more than a dozen new buildings, such as a primary and
secondary school, cultural center, and sports stadium. The desert
will be converted into farmland with water flowing 200+ kilometers
from Dashoguz. New inhabitants will be enticed to settle with offers
of free land (for private activity) and 1% interest loans for
household goods or machinery.
CHILD-LABOR BAN UPHELD
6. (U) Provincial officials seem to be implementing President
Berdimuhamedov's ban on child labor in this year's cotton harvest.
Although children may help their families with the harvest on their
small private plots, we have seen no evidence of forced child labor
in the fields (see reftels).
7. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite what one may think about creating a new
town in the middle of an uninhabited desert, creating private
enterprises, increasing the price for cotton, and developing the
rural region are steps in the right direction for improving future
cotton yields and the economy in general. END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND