Low cost technology boosts farm incomes in Kazakhstan
Abstract
More than 150,000ha of land of southern Kazakhstan of Central Asia has been affected by high levels of magnesium that leads to soil degradation and reduces crop yield such as cotton. Addressing this issue, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) have developed a low cost technology called phosphate gypsum (PG). By the application of this new technique, it quickly restores soil quality and makes it more productive. It also has the potential to increase cotton yield to three tons/ha. With the good yield brought by this technique, farmers have voluntarily adopt the PG technology.