Agriculture in Turkmenistan
Agriculture in Turkmenistan is a significant sector of the economy, in 2019 contributing 11.7% of the GDP and employing 40% of the workforce. However, only 4% of total land area is cultivated.[1][2]
Because of the arid climate, irrigation is necessary for nearly all cultivated land. The two most significant crops by area planted are
are also grown in smaller quantities.Although Turkmenistan was formerly the world's 10th largest cotton producer, exports have fallen in recent years. This is due in part to the environmental difficulties of irrigation in a desert environment. Cotton cultivation in Turkmenistan required a large amount of water to be diverted from the Amu Darya river and also introduced a great deal of fertilizer into the river. As a result, cotton cultivation in Turkmenistan is one of the factors causing the drying up of the Aral Sea. A second factor was the 2019 policy decision to halt exports of raw cotton in favor of exporting textiles and ready-made garments.[4]
Animal husbandry is important, despite the arid climate, which presents difficulties in producing sufficient livestock feed. The largest subsector is sheep herding (usually of the
Production of major field crops, such as cotton and wheat, is predominantly by state order, in accordance with central planning.[5]
Total value of production
Value of gross output of agriculture million manats[6] | ||||||
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Agricultural production | 14,216.1 | 16,136.3 | 18,411.5 | 20,390.7 | 21,778.0 | 23,377.8 |
of which crops | 5,037.1 | 5,167.0 | 5,952.1 | 7,514.1 | 8,803.6 | 9,118.7 |
of which livestock products | 9,179.0 | 10,969.3 | 12,459.4 | 12,876.6 | 12,974.4 | 14,259.1 |
Area under crops
Crop area, thousand hectares[7] | |||
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Total crop area | 1,604.4 | 1,481.6 | 1,490.4 |
Cereals and legumes | 920.4 | 796.0 | 803.9 |
of which: | |||
wheat | 884.1 | 761.6 | 761.3 |
barley | 11.5 | 8.7 | 11.9 |
maize for grain | 3.1 | 3.1 | 4.2 |
rice | 19.3 | 19.4 | 21.1 |
other cereals | 2.4 | 3.2 | 5.4 |
Industrial crops | 564.0 | 564.7 | 569.3 |
of which: | |||
cotton | 545.7 | 546.3 | 551.1 |
sugarbeet | 17.9 | 17.9 | 17.9 |
sunflower | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Potato | 23.6 | 23.8 | 24.9 |
Vegetables | 37.9 | 37.9 | 40.0 |
curcurbits | 22.7 | 22.4 | 22.6 |
Forage crops | 35.8 | 36.8 | 29.7 |
of which: | |||
perennial grasses | 21.1 | 19.0 | 20.0 |
annual grasses | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
corn for silage | 12.6 | 15.4 | 8.8 |
Production
According to official statistics, crop output in Turkmenistan from 2017 to 2019 was as follows:
Crop production, thousand metric tons[8] | |||
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Cereals and legumes | 1,767.1 | 1,245.2 | 1,841.9 |
wheat | 1,587.8 | 1,086.5 | 1,654.0 |
Cotton | 1,108.5 | 1,101.1 | 1,110.0 |
Vegetables | 839.5 | 847.0 | 882.7 |
curcurbits | 427.2 | 446.5 | 461.3 |
potato | 354.7 | 359.7 | 382.4 |
Forage and silage maize | 122.0 | 103.3 | 57.5 |
Hay from annual grasses | 7.7 | 2.3 | 4.4 |
Hay from perennial grasses | 55.8 | 46.8 | 54.8 |
Area, yield and production of fruit[9] | |||
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Area under fruits and berries, thousand hectares | 21.5 | 22.2 | 23.8 |
of which mature plantings | 14.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 |
production, thousand tonnes | 188.5 | 189.0 | 192.2 |
yield, tonnes per hectare | 13.02 | 12.21 | 12.40 |
In 2018 Turkmenistan reported production of apricot (34 thousand tons), plum (33 thousand tons) and peach (29 thousand tons). [10]
Controversy over production statistics
Opposition press reports in 2019 indicated that published official statistics may be inflated for wheat and cotton. Citing anonymous sources providing unpublished data, opposition media reported 2018 cotton production as only 450 thousand tonnes, and wheat production of only 538 thousand tonnes, of which 30% was unfit for human consumption.[11][12] These allegations of actual underfulfilment of plan targets have been indirectly supported by presidential reprimands issued to the ministers of agriculture and their colleagues in the agricultural bureaucracy for poor performance, though without specific cause.[13][14][15][16][17] The allegations were also supported by reports of shortages of food[18][19][20][21] and of fertilizer.[22]
Animal husbandry
Livestock inventory
Livestock, thousand head, as of January 1[23] | |||
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Cattle | 2,381.8 | 2,393.7 | 2,403.1 |
of which cows | 1,177.0 | 1,184.9 | 1,219.0 |
Sheep and goats | 17,858.2 | 17,984.9 | 18,092.5 |
Camels | 127.2 | 128.2 | 129.8 |
Horses | 23.8 | 24.0 | 24.4 |
Poultry | 18,789.8 | 19,629.7 | 20,375.8 |
Livestock products
Livestock product output, 2015-2019[24] | |||||
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Meat (slaughter weight), thousand tonnes | 328.8 | 333.4 | 338.2 | 340.0 | 346.6 |
Milk, thousand tonnes | 2,386.8 | 2,396.3 | 2,400.7 | 2,413.8 | 2,423.6 |
Eggs, millions | 1,181.4 | 1,207.6 | 1,293.4 | 1,391.3 | 1,438.3 |
Wool (raw weight), thousand tonnes | 41.6 | 41.7 | 42.2 | 42.3 | 42.8 |
Honey, tonnes | 815.3 | 815.5 | 839.0 | 850.2 | 853.0 |
Farm structure
Up to 1991, agriculture in Turkmenistan (then the
The 1992 constitution of independent Turkmenistan nominally recognized private land ownership. Yet the Land Code, which is the permanent law that interprets the constitution on land matters, stipulates that privately owned land in Turkmenistan is non-transferable: it may not be sold, given as a gift, or exchanged. The notion of private landownership in Turkmenistan is thus different from the accepted notion in market economies, where ownership implies full transferability of property rights. In practical terms, all land in Turkmenistan is controlled and effectively owned by the state, and the state allocates land use rights to both leaseholders and daýhan farmers. The allocation of land use rights typically involves assignment of annual production targets in cotton and wheat. Leaseholders receive land use rights from the state through the intermediation of the local peasant association (the lease term is usually 5–10 years). The lease is nontransferable: if a family cannot farm, the leasehold reverts to the association for reassignment. Daýhan farmers receive land directly from the state. Initially, the land is granted in use rights, but once the farmer has established a record of successful farming (within two to three years), the land is transferred into "private ownership" and the farmer receives a special "land ownership certificate" from the authorities. On the other hand, if the farmer fails to achieve satisfactory results, the land may be confiscated by the state, even if it has the status of private ownership.[25]
References
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 22.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 223.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 61.
- ^ "Туркменистан может прекратить экспорт хлопка" (in Russian). Central Asia News. 11 February 2019.
- ^ "В 2020 году в Туркменистане впервые снизят план по пшенице и увеличат по хлопку" (in Russian). Chronicles of Turkmenistan. 2 February 2019.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 57.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 61.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 62.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 65.
- ^ Turkmenistan production in 2018, by FAO
- ^ "В 2018 году в Туркменистане собрали в два раза меньше хлопка и в три – пшеницы, чем было заявлено" (in Russian). Chronicles of Turkmenistan. 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Туркменские фермеры собрали пшеницы и хлопка гораздо меньше запланированного" (in Russian). Fergana. 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Президент Туркменистана провёл совещание по развитию сельскохозяйственного комплекса" (in Russian). «Туркменистан: золотой век». 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Строже относиться к обязанностям" (in Russian). «Туркменистан: золотой век». 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Рабочее совещание: приоритеты развития аграрного сектора экономики" (in Russian). «Туркменистан: золотой век». 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Состоялось расширенное заседание Правительства Туркменистана" (in Russian). «Туркменистан: золотой век». 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Глава государства объявил строгие выговоры ряду должностных лиц" (in Russian). «Туркменистан: золотой век». 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Продовольственный дефицит в Туркменистане: как отличить правду от слухов? Интервью с Фаридом Тухбатуллиным" (in Russian). CAA Network. 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Туркменистан значительно увеличил закупки продовольствия в странах ЕАЭС" (in Russian). Chronicles of Turkmenistan. 27 October 2020.
- RFE/RL. 30 November 2018.
- ^ Pannier, Bruce (12 July 2019). "Food lines in a land of marble". Foreign Policy Centre.
- ^ "Недовольный работой Гарлыкского ГОК Бердымухамедов объявил последний выговор главе «Туркменхимии»" (in Russian). Chronicles of Turkmenistan. 13 March 2020.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 73.
- ^ Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 74.
- ^ S2CID 153722553. Archived from the originalon 2013-01-28.