MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – Rising temperatures in Uzbekistan may cause the nation’s agricultural output to fall by up to a third over the next three decades, according to a World Bank report published Wednesday.
Farms in the Central Asian country are not prepared to handle climate change, especially with regard to supply of irrigation water, the report said, and crop production may fall by 10 to 30 percent by 2050 as a result.
Experts estimate the average temperature in Uzbekistan to rise by two to three degrees Celsius in the next 50 years, compared to a rise of only 1.5 degrees Celsius over the previous half-century. Rainfall will be more erratic as a result of the warming, the report said.
The World Bank said that yields of wheat and cotton – Uzbekistan’s key cash crops – will drop along with apples, potatoes and tomatoes. Grazing pastures and alfalfa, however, are expected to benefit from the change.
Grain and cotton dominated Uzbekistan’s agricultural industry in 2013, respectively occupying 1.64 million hectares and 1.31 million hectares of the country’s total 3.6 million hectares of farmland.
Grain output in Uzbekistan this year rose 12 percent from 2012 to 7.6 million tons, while the cotton harvest stayed about the same at about 3.4 million tons.
