LocationsAuthor: Ikhtiyor Abdurakhmanov
A Garden Powered by Solar Energy: Sahobat's Life and Aspirations
November 8, 2024
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
As Sahobat picks ripe mung bean pods from the green bushes at the edge of her 800-square-meter homestead, she has already started preparing mashkhurda (a national dish) for dinner. Cooking a dish from mung beans she planted in June brings her special joy. Meanwhile, her children gather ripe figs, baskets in hand, in their kitchen garden. Previously, almost nothing grew on their land— even weeds could barely break through the dry soil. However, this year, the harvest has been abundant.
Sahobat Ahmedova works as a nurse at the Akkurgan Medical Association, and spends most of her days caring for patients. However, her responsibilities do not end at the hospital doors after her shift. In addition to her main job, Sahobat supports her family by engaging in agriculture and entrepreneurship on her homestead. Over the past seven years, she has expanded her activities by baking yupkas - national flatbreads and weaving mats to sell at the market, which provides extra income. This money helps her provide her children with better education opportunities, as she and her husband dreamt of.
Sahobat usually finishes her work at the hospital after lunch. She has time to work on her kitchen garden and pursue her business activities. There has been particularly much to do on the land this year, as water finally arrived to the land that had suffered from water scarcity for years. This year has been a turning point for the Ahmedov family—they have solved their irrigation problem entirely.
Sahobat lives with her husband and four children in the Beghubor neighbourhood of Akkurgan, where residents have faced water challenges for many years. Water in the irrigation ditches would only arrive after the farmers finished irrigating, which prevented locals from planting crops on time, and the planted seedlings often dried out without watering. However, starting this year, ten houses in the neighbourhood, including the Ahmedovs’, no longer depend on leftover farm water.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
For the Ahmedovs’ family, irrigating the land has always been difficult despite all their efforts.
"We used to struggle to water our plants on time," Sahobat recalls. "My husband was busy with work, and I couldn't manage the watering alone. The tomatoes and cucumbers we planted would dry out before the water reached the neighbourhood. We couldn't use our backyard effectively."
The lack of water forced families to spend a lot of time and energy to search for water and carry it home for household needs from distant sources. These time-consuming chores often fall on women and children’s shoulders.
However, last summer, life changed for the Ahmedovs. Specialists came to their makhalla and installed solar panels and pumps for a vertical well that draws water from a depth of 180 meters. Water from the well now irrigates the homesteads of ten houses in the Beghubor neighbourhood, including Sahobat's 0.8-hectare plot. Moreover, a drip irrigation system was installed for each plot.
For Sahobat and nine other households, this project has been a key to transformation.
"At first, we doubted whether water would reach our home. But this system completely met our expectations," she says.
The drip irrigation system installed on the plot has allowed Sahobat's family to farm more effectively, spending less time and effort on watering. The solar-powered drip irrigation system, implemented by the joint project of UNDP and Ministry of Agriculture, funded by the European Union, has significantly impacted farming in these households. Previously, Sahobat could only harvest once a year if she was lucky. Now, she can get two or even three harvests.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
"Even when water reached us before, it was scarce, and disputes arose over who would get it first. Now, my neighbours and I don't have such problems. This year, we had an excellent harvest. We are currently preparing the plot for the third planting—we will be planting garlic. We didn't have to buy tomatoes and cucumbers at the market in the summer—all were grown in our garden. This has significantly helped our household, and the money saved is spent on our children's education,"she emphasizes, explaining how the irrigation system has changed her and her family's lives.
Beyond economic benefits, Sahobat noted that these changes allowed her to spend more time with her children and expand her entrepreneurial activities. "This system has brought us not only water but also hope. Our lives have become simpler, and we can use our time more effectively. I am now confident that my children will be able to seize opportunities that were unavailable to me," she proudly states.
Sahobat's story illustrates how sustainable agricultural solutions, such as solar-powered drip irrigation systems, can change the lives of entire communities. By efficiently using water, people like Sahobat can realize their dreams for their families and future generations.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
The solar-powered drip irrigation implemented by the Innovation Group on Introduction of drip irrigation at water scarcity conditions in household areas using alternative energy established by the project "Support for Inclusive Transition of the Agricultural and Food Sector to a “Green Economy” and Development of Knowledge and Innovative Client-Oriented Agricultural Systems (EU-AGRIN)", funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The project involves leading specialists from the Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems, the Research Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops and Potatoes.
