Implementation-oriented research in Uzbekistan: Project’s research innovations demonstrated to high-ranking policy-makers
Dr. Zafar Ruziev, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources of Uzbekistan, has been on mission to the region of Khorezm on April 7, 2011. In this context, he also paid a visit to one of the research and so called “intervention” sites of the ZEF/UNESCO project in this region.
The project’s scientists and students showed several achievements and innovations to the Minister and his staff. First of all, they demonstrated how the laser-guided land leveler, which was developed by the project, can be used for different purposes. On this occasion it was used - on the special request of the local hokim, Dr. Allabergan Allerberganov - for leveling the regional soccer pitch.
His excellence Mr. Ruziev was particularly charmed by the credo that laser-guided land leveling is not so much about moving soil but more about increasing water use efficiency on (leveled) cropland. He underlined that the promotion of this innovation should be accelerated.
How agriculture development in Uzbekistan can benefit from innovations such as generated by the ZEF/UNESCO project was shown by local PhD students and project staff to the high-ranking visitors using the example of optical sensors such as the SPAD chlorophyll meter and the Green Seeker. Both equipments can increase the nitrogen use efficiency of crops by matching the application rates of nitrogen with actual crop demand for nitrogen in a faster and more precise way than done so far. With such tools both expenses for farmers and the pollution of precious groundwater resources can be reduced.
In addition, the project staff demonstrated and discussed an easy-to-use and fast method to determine soil and water salinity as to combat the increasing soil salinization in the country.
The visitors were also provided with a complete set of science briefs (ZURs, see http://www.khorezm.zef.de/zur_khorezm.0.html), written by the project’s scientists.
