Turkmenistan: President orders to use ‘wisdom of ancestors’ in agricultural reform

ASHGABAT (TCA) — In the course of a video conference on January 7 Deputy Prime Minister overseeing agriculture Esenmyrat Orazgeldiev briefed President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhmammedov on the progress of seasonal agricultural works in the country, the Chronicles of Turkmenistan independent news website reported.

The head of state gave Orazgeldiev some instructions for the implementation of the agricultural reform. Among other things, the President ordered paying attention to the historical agricultural experience obtained by the ancestors and preparing a collection of proverbs and sayings as well as adages, which, as viewed by Berdymukhammedov, precisely characterize the specifics of farming.

“Farming is an ancient branch of activity of the Turkmen nation. Our ancestors have gained rich and priceless experience of cultivation of agricultural crops in arid zone. This historical practice has not lost the relevance until our days. It has been formulated in great number of phrases, proverbs and sayings, which give precise characteristic to national farming,” the State News Agency of Turkmenistan quoted Berdymukhammedov as saying.

In this regard, the head of state assigned the vice-premier to organize the work in Turkmen Agricultural University for collection and development of the vocabulary of catchphrases which absorbed the wisdom of ancestors and remained in the people’s memory. These phrases have to reflect the work of farmers, careful attitude to water and land, knowledge about the cultivation of agricultural crops, and the practice of old days farming.

A decision was made to carry out the agricultural reform after a poor wheat harvest in 2018 when, according to official data, 1 million tons of wheat instead of the projected 1.6 million was harvested. This resulted in a deficit of flour and bread in Turkmenistan.

Sergey Kwan

TCA

Sergey Kwan has worked for The Times of Central Asia as a journalist, translator and editor since its foundation in March 1999. Prior to this, from 1996-1997, he worked as a translator at The Kyrgyzstan Chronicle, and from 1997-1999, as a translator at The Central Asian Post.
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Kwan studied at the Bishkek Polytechnic Institute from 1990-1994, before completing his training in print journalism in Denmark.

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