OREANDA-NEWS. May 30, 2011.  The crop harvest campaign, one of the most important agricultural campaigns, the beginning of which was blessed by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the recent government meeting, has started throughout Turkmenistan this week. The Turkmen leader instructed to launch the agricultural work with the blessing from the elders.

In accordance with the Order of the Turkmen leader farmers in Ahal, Lebap and Mary Velayat started the crop harvest campaign that had been blessed by the elders. Following the good national traditions, the elders offered up the prayers for the prosperity and wellbeing of the Motherland and the Turkmen people. Having mowed the first wheat ears wishing rich harvests to farmers, the elders handed over symbolical bundles to machine operators, who started up combine harvesters. Farmers in Balkan and Dashoguz Velayat will start the harvest campaign in the first decade of June.

The complex nature of the fundamental agricultural reform implemented in the country on the initiative of the Turkmen leader had a critical impact on successful development of the grain sector in Turkmenistan in the epoch of new Revival. Its priority aspects include application of latest achievements of world and Turkmen science in industry, putting into operation and construction of new grain elevators and flour mills that provide the necessary conditions for grain storage and handling. The issues related to creating incentives for productive labour and using the effective mechanism for settling accounts for harvests reaped by Turkmen grain growers are of particular concern for the Turkmen leader. The National Programme for improvement of the social and living conditions in villages, settlements, towns in etraps and etrap centres for the period till 2020 aimed at improving the welfare and the standards of living of rural people plays a specific role in this context.

This year Turkmen grain growers are to reap 1.6 million tons of grain from the area of about 860,000 hectares. Of them, 450,000 tons in Ahal Velayat, 380,000 tons in Mary Velayat, 350,000 tons in Lebap Velayat, 300,000 tons in Dashoguz Velayat and 120,000 tons in Balkan Velayat are to be harvested.

Soil and climatic conditions of each of the regions of the country are taken into consideration by Turkmen grain growers. This year they have sown seeds of the best ak bugday varieties including such high-yield varieties as Sahrai, Yubileynaya-100, Juvan, Yoloten-1, Batko, Turkmenbashi-1 and Bitarap in fertilized tilled soil.

According to the Turkmenobahyzmat Association, over 2,000 combine harvesters, including 270 John Deere, Case and Kaas machines, a new consignment of which have been recently delivered to Turkmen machine operators , will be engaged in the 2011 harvest campaign. The necessary conditions are created to ensure uninterrupted functioning of the grain harvest conveyer, including maintenance service and organisation of grain growers’ recreation.

7,000 trucks will deliver grain to 156 receiving points that have been prepared and equipped by the beginning of the harvest campaign. Each of the points has a laboratory where specialists of the Turkmenstandartlary State Service will test the quality of grain delivered.

Grain elevators throughout the country have been prepared and equipped with winnowing machines, computer-aided scales and other special devices. Among them are the grain elevators with the capacity of 50,000 tons in Ruhubelent Etrap in Dashoguz Velayat, Altyn Asyr Etrap in Ahal Velayat and Yoloten Etrap in Mary Velayat and the grain elevators with the capacity of 30,000 tons in Kaakha Etrap in Ahal Velayat built in accordance with the Resolutions of the President of Turkmenistan and at the request of the Turkmengallaonumleri Association. The processes of weighing, testing the quality and methods of grain storage are controlled by the integrated autoimmunization systems.

The seminars timed to the beginning of the harvest campaign were held in farmers associations Bereket in Serahs Etrap in Ahal Velayat, Bereket in Karabekavul Etrap in Lebap Velayat and Atabaev in Vekilbazar Etrap in Mary Velayat. The seminar participants considered the progress in implementing the ongoing agricultural reforms and the approaches to carrying out this year’s harvest campaign without loss and in a timely manner, storing this year’s grain harvest in a proper manner and ensuring round-the-clock and efficient operation of machines and equipment and settlement of accounts with tenant farmers and grain growers in a timely and proper manner and the other issues related to this important agricultural campaign.

Speaking at the seminars, the participants including heads and specialists of velayat and etrap khyakimliks, divisions of the Turkmengallaonumleri Association and the Turkmenobahyzmat Association, the Turkmenstandartlary State Service, the Dayhanbank State Commercial Bank, public organisations of the Galkynysh Movement, the elders, tenant farmers, machine operators and drivers expressed profound gratitude to President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for his tireless efforts to speed up development in rural areas and improve the working and living conditions of Turkmen farmers and assured that they would apply knowledge, experience and effort to promote the ongoing large-scale reforms so that the results of farmers’ diligent labour would become the wealth and adornment of plentiful sachak of citizens of Turkmenistan, a guarantee of prosperity, wellbeing, stability and of course a symbol of generosity of the ancient and eternally young Turkmen land.

The expositions of agricultural equipment and products of the agricultural processing sector were arranged in the framework of the seminars. Popular artists, singers and folk and dance groups from velayats prepared a musical present for grain growers.