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By Trend

FAO’s main intervention in Turkmenistan currently focuses on integrated natural resources management (INRM) in drought-prone and salt-affected agricultural production landscapes, Giorgi Kvinikadze, Statistician, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia told Trend.

"In this context, we aim to promote climate-smart agriculture practices and INRM technologies for local communities in challenging contexts, such as desert or mountainous, as well as salinized areas. The project provides practical training on new technologies to local communities in combating soil salinization in drought conditions," said Kvinikadze.

Furthermore, Kvinikadze noted that the other FAO interventions in the subregion with Turkmenistan’s involvement focus on strengthening national capacities on locust management through the delivery of training sessions on locust surveys, control, and pesticide risk reduction, as well as related equipment.

"The intervention also supports regional cooperation, which is key to successfully manage such transboundary plant pests through information and experience exchange with the neighboring countries. This is in the context of severe damages caused by locust outbreaks in the subregion jeopardizing food security, economy, and rural livelihoods," added Kvinikadze.

Besides these two fields, FAO also aims to strengthen cooperation with Turkmenistan on fisheries and aquaculture, and land administration, including land cadastres.

"In addition, a number of promising areas for further cooperation between Turkmenistan and FAO are emerging today, where work can be identified to achieve the SDGs under FAO custodianship. For example, Turkmenistan can use our organization’s rich experience in various fields of agriculture, considering the climate change trends and the COVID-19 outbreaks. This cooperation could be widely developed in livestock, given that this agricultural sector of the country is currently facing privatization. Huge opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the application of agriculture focused on digital technologies, including precise landing, use of digital approaches, and innovations in the agricultural production sector, the food processing sector, including food loss index, and in other vital areas of agriculture," concluded Kvinikadze.

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