Water-Saving Technologies - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan Boosts Subsidies for Farmers Using Water-Saving Technologies

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has announced an increase in state subsidies for farmers employing water-saving technologies, raising support to 85% for irrigation water costs. This move aims to encourage the widespread adoption of modern water-saving methods, which are expected to reduce water consumption and expand agricultural land. Berikbol Mandibayev, Director of the Ministry’s Department for the Development of Water-Saving Technologies, highlighted the initiative’s potential impact. “The increased subsidies will motivate farmers to adopt modern water-saving technologies, saving 20–30% of irrigation water and enabling the expansion of the country’s agricultural land by 1.3 million hectares by 2030,” Mandibayev said. Subsidies for the purchase and installation of water-saving systems were also raised this year, increasing from 50% to 80%. The Ministry has outlined a Roadmap for Water Conservation for 2024-2026, which includes measures to improve water legislation, digitalize the water sector, and implement advanced water metering and conservation technologies. Additionally, master plans for introducing water-saving systems through 2030 have been approved. Kazakhstan’s agricultural land spans 23.3 million hectares, of which 1.9 million hectares are irrigated, primarily in the country’s arid southern regions. However, the adoption of water-saving technologies remains limited. In 2023, only 17% of irrigated land (312,000 hectares) utilized such technologies, with drip irrigation employed on just 84,000 hectares. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has criticized the slow pace of progress in adopting water-saving practices, citing annual water losses of up to 40% in some regions. The agricultural sector’s inefficiency prompted calls for urgent reforms earlier this year.

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Kazakhstan Increases Water Allocation to Restore the Aral Sea

Kazakhstan plans to direct an additional 1.6 billion cubic meters of water to the Aral Sea by April 2025, announced Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. This initiative builds on efforts from October 2023 to April 2024, during which 1.3 billion cubic meters were allocated, bringing the total water volume in the Northern Aral Sea to 22 billion cubic meters as of early 2024. Minister Nurzhigitov emphasized that adopting water-saving technologies is essential for restoring the region’s water balance. In 2024, farmers in the Kyzylorda region conserved 200 million cubic meters of water, enabling additional flow into the Northern Aral. These technologies also facilitated the allocation of 1 billion cubic meters to the Aral Sea during the 2024 irrigation season, a threefold increase compared to the previous year. The preservation of the Aral Sea is a national priority, addressed through regional collaboration and strategic planning. At the 87th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia (ICWC) in Turkmenistan, agreements were made to channel 11 billion cubic meters of water to the Shardara reservoir by April 1, 2025. This move aims to ensure sufficient irrigation for southern Kazakhstan’s 2025 growing season.

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Uzbekistan Wants To Produce Drinking Water From the Air

Uzbekistan has tested an innovative unit for extracting moisture from the atmosphere to create drinking water. Sergei Dorzhiev, head of the Russian company Aquagenica which developed the technology, states that it was previously utilized in Russia and African countries, but more difficult climatic conditions were required for the final test of the equipment, which is why the Kyzylkum desert was chosen. The plant, which was launched in the Navoi Free Economic Zone (FEZ) in July, has now completed its tests, and according to FEZ director Habib Abdullayev, the equipment can produce up to 1,000 liters of clean water daily. “The machine works in extreme conditions of hot-dry climate with water content from 4 g/m3 and higher in atmospheric air and in the temperature range from 10-70 degrees Celsius. At the same time, foreign analogs extract water from the air at a humidity of 8-10 g/m3 of air and above in the temperature range of 20-40 degrees Celsius. We expect our installation will help solve problems with access to good quality drinking water,” said Dorzhiev. The unusual installation is expected to begin serial production in 2025. More than 30 African and Asian countries have already expressed interest in producing equipment for extracting water from the air. In various countries, atmospheric moisture extraction technologies are becoming an important solution to freshwater scarcity. One of the most promising approaches is using atmospheric water generators (AWGs), capable of producing potable water from moisture in the air. In the United States, such plants have been successfully used to help provide clean water to communities. Similar technologies have also been implemented in the United Arab Emirates.

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200 Million Cubic Meters of Water Directed to the Aral Sea

In 2024, agrarians from the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan introduced water-saving technologies on 55,000 hectares of rice fields, saving over 200 million cubic meters of water. These saved resources were directed to the Aral Sea, helping to improve its water levels. During this year's irrigation season, about a billion cubic meters of water were delivered to the Northern Aral, three times more than last year. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of water sent to the sea has reached 2 billion cubic meters, and the total water in the sea has reached 22 billion cubic meters. Kazakhstan's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, emphasized that this result was made possible not only by effective water diplomacy with neighboring Central Asian countries but also by actively using water-saving technologies. To encourage their use, the government has increased subsidies to farmers. In 2024, subsidies rose from 50% to 80%, and in the next three years, will be brought to 85% for small-scale farms using efficient irrigation methods. These measures aim to further restore the Aral Sea's water level, which is one of the region's leading environmental objectives. Successes in water conservation demonstrates that innovative technologies can be crucial for addressing perennial water scarcity and ecosystem restoration. Water diplomacy in Central Asia plays a crucial role in solving the problem of water level reduction in the Aral Sea. Uzbekistan is actively cooperating with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan on the rational use of water resources in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. One critical steps was the signing of an agreement on the exchange of electricity between the countries, which has allowed the volume of water used for irrigation to be regulated, and improved the state of the region's ecosystem. In addition, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are actively introducing water-saving technologies to optimize water consumption in agriculture, which is freeing up resources to replenish the Aral Sea. These measures have helped to increase water inflow to the Northern Aral Sea in recent years, maintaining its level and improving conditions for local ecosystems.

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Tajikistan Sending Higher Volumes of Irrigation Water to Kazakhstan

Since June 1, Tajikistan has sent 488.6 million cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan via the transboundary Dostyk canal. This is 40 million cubic meters more than in the entirety of last year, and is already 45 million cubic meters more than the volume planned for this year, the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced on August 27. During his state visit to Tajikistan on August 22, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the importance of cooperation with Tajikistan in the water sector and the rational use of resources of transboundary rivers of Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s agriculture, especially in the dry southern regions, depends on irrigation water supplies from upstream Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, since April 1, Uzbekistan has sent over 4 billion cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan via the Syr Darya River. Kyrgyzstan has committed to supply Kazakhstan with 180 million cubic meters of water via the transboundary Shu River, and 380 million cubic meters via the Talas River.

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Israeli Companies Ready to Invest in Construction of Reservoirs in Kazakhstan

Israeli companies have expressed interest in participating in the construction and reconstruction of reservoirs in Kazakhstan as well as their readiness to provide the country with modern flood forecasting and protection systems. The announcement was made during a meeting on August 8 between Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, and a consortium of leading Israeli companies in the field of water resources management, headed by Managing Partner of Value LBH and Chairman of the Board of the investment company Dan Capital, Shimon Ben-Hamo. Discussions focused on potential cooperation in various areas of the water industry, from the construction and reconstruction of water facilities to joint personnel training, as well as the introduction of water-saving technologies, water purification and reuse, drinking water quality control, and automation of water distribution and metering. Reporting on the meeting, Minister Nurzhigitov commented: "Israeli companies have extensive experience and modern technologies for high-quality water management. Some companies have been successfully operating in Kazakhstan for a long time. We intend to achieve the most efficient water use in all sectors, so we count on mutually beneficial cooperation.” The Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation plans to build 20 new reservoirs with a 2.5 billion cubic meters capacity by 2030. Once completed, the project will reduce the country’s dependence on water flowing from upstream Kyrgyzstan and China by 25%, help combat drought in southern Kazakhstan, and reduce the threat of flooding in 70 rural settlements with a total population of nearly 140 thousand people. In addition, irrigation will be provided for a further 250 thousand hectares of farmland. Plans are also in place to reconstruct 15 existing reservoirs with a total capacity of 1.9 billion cubic meters.