OREANDA-NEWS. August 14, 2009. The rush season has come for Turkmen grain growers. Farmers in Dashoguz Velayat are the first to start sowing winter grain crops thus laying the foundation for 2010 harvest. By tradition the elders blessed the sowing campaign, reported the Official website turkmenistan.gov.tm.

This year’s campaign is of particular importance for Turkmen farmers. Its results will become somewhat an examination in successful implementation of the second stage of the agricultural reform that is aimed at bringing the strategic sector of the national economy up to a qualitatively new, higher level and thus enhance the status of Turkmenistan as an economically developed, self-sufficient and prosperous state.

As is known the progress in implementing the national programmes aimed at developing comprehensively rural areas and achieving plenty of food products in the country were put on the agenda of the recent sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers chaired by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The Turkmen leader said that increasing the effectiveness of the agricultural sector and output of grain and other agricultural products were an essential condition for further enhancement of the country’s economic strength and the welfare of the Turkmen people. This priority of the national policy will be realized through supplying materials and machinery to the agro-industry sector, providing agricultural producers with mineral fertilizers, high-quality seeds, modernizing industrial infrastructure including construction of hydraulic facilities, grain elevators, etc.

Focusing on the need to take an integrated approach to fulfilling the current tasks set to the agricultural sector the Turkmen leader highlighted such factors as improvement of the farming standards through applying advanced agricultural methods, adopting science-based agricultural technologies and restoring soil fertility of unused lands.

Touching upon this year’s sowing campaign the President said that laying the foundation of future harvests it must be held in a proper manner and according to schedule that would demand maximum effort from machine-operators and effective and efficient functioning of all subdivisions engaged in the sowing campaign.

Dashoguz velayat plays an important role in fulfilling the designated plans to increase grain output. In the northern region of the country the wheat plantations occupy 180,000-heactare area. Local grain-growers prefer the domestic varieties such as Sahrayi, Juvan and Yoloten-1. Also they will sow the wheat varieties delivered from Stavropol Kray (Russian Federation) – Batko and Yubileynaya-100 that are perfectly adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of the northern region of Turkmenistan. Dashoguz grain-growers are to grow 300,000 tons next year.

On occasion of starting the sowing campaign the seminar involving the high-raking officials of the velayat and etrap khyakimliks, the subdivisions of Turkmengallaonumleri Association and Turkmenobahyzmyt Association, Turkmenstandartlary State Service, agricultural workers, machine-operators and grain-growers was held at S. Rozmetov agricultural stock joint company in S. Niyazov Etrap. Expressing sincere gratitude to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the unceasing concern for everyday concern and needs of rural workers the participants noted that the effective measures taken by the Government to encourage agricultural production in the country were of exceptional importance for further social and economic progress of Turkmenistan.

An exposition of agricultural machines and products were arranged in the framework of the seminar. The local artists and artistic groups prepared a musical present for grain-growers.

Grain-growers in other regions of the country will join in the sowing campaign on August 19.