Volume of water for irrigation in Kyrgyzstan to be reduced to 50% by 2030

Bishkek, Nov. 4, 2022. /Kabar/. The reduction in irrigation water in Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, will reach 30-50% by 2030, director of the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Irrigation, Kubanychbek Kulov told at Kabar Agency.

"For the country, this could turn into a disaster. Lack of water will lead to interruptions in irrigation and crop losses, and acute food shortages," Kulov said.

The director added that according to the results of recent studies by the Kyrgyz Research Institute, the situation with the reduction in river flow will worsen by 2028.

Many rivers are also close to shrinking after 2028.

“There will be an urgent need for rational water distribution in agriculture, the use of modern water-saving irrigation technologies to reduce irrigation losses, preserve the natural productivity of irrigated lands by developing a set of agro-reclamation methods for cultivating crops together with the Research Institute of Agriculture. Research is also needed on methods of using groundwater for irrigation where a significant reduction in reserves is predicted. Such tasks are set by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Institute of Irrigation at the present stage,” Kulov noted.