ASTANA, Jan 15 (NNN-KTA) – Kazakhstan saved 874 million cubic metres of water last year, by introducing water-saving technologies in irrigated agriculture, the Kazinform news agency reported today.
Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, said, 678 km of irrigation canals were reconstructed, cutting water losses during transport from about 50 percent to 25 percent.
All nine water-management measures planned for 2025 were completed, including establishing a national water resources information system, and signing an agreement with Uzbekistan on managing transboundary water resources, he added.
The ministry also assessed nearly 2.4 million hectares of irrigated land, and trained more than 700 water-sector specialists. Facing growing water shortages, Kazakhstan plans to adjust crop planting by reducing water-intensive crops such as rice and cotton, particularly in the south, which relies heavily on the transboundary Syr Darya River, with a declining water level.– NNN-KTA