Drought, water shortages, and mudflows are constant challenges for the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan. However, in the Nookat district of Osh region, a way has been found to cope with climatic difficulties, demonstrating successful results!
The editorial team of 24.kg visited Nookat to see firsthand how the modernization of the irrigation system restored local residents' confidence and improved their incomes.
Sweet apples of Nookat
These positive changes became possible thanks to the implementation of the project "Enhancing Water Resource Resilience," which not only updated agricultural equipment but also trained farmers in new working methods.
Meerim Egemberdieva, an accountant from the "Mutual Aid Group" in the village of On iki mojnok, happily shares her impressions of the project: "We previously lacked sufficient knowledge in agronomy and suffered from water shortages. Now everything has changed. The harvest has increased, and we were able to sell apples for 40–80 soms per kilogram. The project has significantly improved our lives."
Meerim's story illustrates the successes of the program, under which 20,000 farmers were trained and new technologies were implemented. On demonstration fields where drip irrigation and optimized watering were used, the harvest increased by 50–100 percent.
Women on the front line: 20,000 soms in six months
Aman Yuldashev, an agricultural project specialist, emphasizes that one of the significant achievements was the creation of "Mutual Aid Groups."
"The groups were formed based on water user associations, with a total of three groups of 10–15 participants each. Many women in the region manage households as their husbands work abroad. We provided them with motor blocks, hand seeders, and drying machines for processing the harvest — grapes and apples," he adds.
One of the group members shares her experience: "In six months, we earned 20,000 soms and plan to use this money to purchase additional equipment. Now we have enough water, and we have eliminated our previous problems," says Meerim, whose group opened a joint account for maintaining the equipment.
Moreover, the women not only use the equipment but also rent it out to local residents.
Project implementation results
The success of the project is also linked to the modernization of infrastructure, particularly the Saparbai channel.
Ulukbek Isakbaev, the director of the Nookat District Water Management Department, explains: "Previously, if 8 cubic meters of water were supplied at the beginning of the channel, only 3–4 cubic meters reached the end. Thanks to the project, moisture losses have been reduced to almost zero. Now water reaches the end of the channel in just 2 hours, allowing for the irrigation of over 5,600 hectares of land."
Aman Yuldashev also emphasizes that the reconstruction of the Saparbai channel is one of the most striking examples of success: "In Nookat, we created two experimental plots of one hectare each: a demonstration and a control plot. New methods were applied on the first, while traditional approaches were used on the second. As a result, the harvest on the demonstration plot was 50–100 percent higher, which made a great impression on local farmers."
Investing in resilience: results and achievements
The modernization of irrigation systems in Nookat is part of a large-scale project "Enhancing Water Resource Resilience to Climate Change and Natural Disasters."
As part of the project, 92 kilometers of channels were modernized across the country, increasing their efficiency by 30–40 percent, and 276 hydraulic structures were built, including aqueducts and sluices.
From irrigation water to economic growth
The experience of Nookat confirms that sustainable agriculture not only protects against climate threats but also becomes an important driver of economic growth. Protecting 110,000 families from mudflow threats and increasing their incomes by a third represents significant investments in the future of Kyrgyzstan.
