Farmers are advised to plant mulberries and rose hips on poor soils

The Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry has provided information on fruit and berry crops that grow well in poor soils and arid conditions.

Apple trees, for example, are resistant to cold and disease and are suitable for processing.
Small varieties of apricot are drought-resistant and grow well on poor soils. Cherries are frost-resistant and are in high demand in the juice and food industries.

Mulberries are also drought-resistant, grow well on poor soils and are recommended for the Batken, Osh and Jalal-Abad regions. In addition, mulberries are a promising area for the revival of sericulture.

Farmers are advised to plant currants, which are resistant to drought and pests, rose hips, which have medicinal properties and are undemanding to soil, sea buckthorn, which is resistant to frost and drought and rich in vitamins, and hawthorn.

Almonds are also drought-resistant and grow well on clayey and gravelly soils. They have a deep root system and are resistant to drought and light frosts.

Pistachios grow well in arid and rocky conditions and are resistant to high temperatures.
The ministry also notes that as part of the development of low-productive pastures, support is provided in the form of preferential loans under the ‘Credit for the Agro-Industrial Complex’ (KAIK) project, directed at the ‘Fruits and Berries’ agro-industrial cluster. Under this programme, financing is available at 6% per annum for the purchase of seedlings, installation of drip irrigation systems, fencing, purchase of fertilisers, organisation of processing, construction of mini-workshops, cold storage rooms, warehouses, as well as for replenishing working capital for export activities.