BERDIMUHAMEDOV AIMS TO BOOST TURKMEN AGRICULTURE BUT

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001069 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB ANKARA FOR AGRICULTURE COUNSELOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR TX SUBJECT: BERDIMUHAMEDOV AIMS TO BOOST TURKMEN AGRICULTURE BUT NEGLECTS PRIVATE SECTOR ¶1. (U) Sensitive, but unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On August 18, President Berdimuhamedov made a working visit to the eastern province of Lebap. The President checked the status of the province's cotton-growing campaign by visiting two cotton farms and a new cotton-producing village. He also took a tour of a new textile factory. Berdimuhamedov's focus on state-run cotton farms is a good illustration of the neglect of private farms, despite the fact that private farms would diversify the country's agricultural sector and benefit the population. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) During his working visit to Lebap province on August 18, President Berdimuhamedov visited two state cotton farms run by contract farmers. These farmers pay a small amount of rent for the land they farm and receive half-price seeds, fertilizer and other inputs on the condition that they sell their crops to the government at fixed prices. Referring to high yields that Lebap farmers achieved during past wheat and cotton seasons, Berdimuhamedov recommended building on the experience of successful farmers and applying modern agricultural techniques to increase the province's potential. In 2008, the province harvested 300,000 tons of cotton. ¶4. (U) According to a government press report on the President's visit, the two farmers who met with the President were well-known in the province for achieving high yields, and this year they were expecting to harvest an average of six tons of cotton per hectare. (NOTE: The average yield for cotton in the country is two tons per hectare. END NOTE.) The farmers thanked the President for "the deep reforms in the agrarian sector," noting the increased state purchasing prices for wheat and cotton. These prices had grown five times in 2007, and are now $366 for a ton of short-staple cotton and $528 for a ton of medium-staple cotton. ¶5. (U) During a tour of current projects in the province, Berdimuhamedov visited an almost completed textile factory in Turkmenabat, the administrative center of the province. The textile factory would replace an old Soviet-era factory that lacked modern equipment. The new factory will provide 500 jobs and produce 17,700 tons of high-quality yarn a year. The President also visited a new farmers' village, opened in 2007 on virgin land, that is supposed to boost cotton production in the province. ¶6. (SBU) In addition to wheat and cotton, Lebap farmers grow fruit and vegetables to sell at the open market to supplement their modest earnings from sales to the state. A farmer from Lebap told Pol/Econ Locally Engaged Staff member that the majority of farmers agree to produce wheat and cotton for the state-run farms in order to have access to land, which is in short supply in densely populated Lebap, and irrigation water. However, farmers use the edges of their state farm plots, as well as their own backyards, to grow fruit and vegetables. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Historically engaged in agriculture, the population of Lebap Province has great potential for fruit tree husbandry, orchard development and livestock breeding. Currently, this potential is limited by the shortage of land suitable for farming and the government's prioritization of cotton, which can be sold for cash, and wheat. If the government were to rent arable land to farmers and allow them to grow what they chose, the poor sectors of the population, in particular, would benefit from the increased availability and thus lower prices of fruit, vegetables, and meat. END COMMENT. MILES