VZCZCXRO4716
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0817/01 2201318
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081318Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9156
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2642
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0467
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0502
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0524
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2212
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0961
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0256
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1009
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0335
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0174
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0223
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0145
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 0159
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0184
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0497
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-2/REA/NMJIC-J2//
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5/RUE//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/A, EUR/ACE, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID AF TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  DASHOGUZ FARMERS MAKE GOOD USE OF U.S. 
ASSISTANCE 
 
 
ASHGABAT 00000817  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public internet. 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U) During his July 25 meeting with USAID Deputy Assistant 
Administrator Drew Luten, Dashoguz Hakim [governor]Saparmyrat 
Ashyrov positively assessed USAID's contributions to economic 
development in Dashoguz welayat [province] and expressed a desire to 
continue current cooperation.  In outlining the Government of 
Turkmenistan's massive plans for infrastructure projects in the 
welayat, he highlighted the importance placed by the government on 
improving rural livelihoods.  He stopped short, however, of straying 
from the party line regarding the possibility of expanded trade 
relations with neighboring Uzbekistan.  Recently appointed Deputy 
Hakim Shemshat Mamedova accompanied the delegation for the entire 
program of site visits to a USAID-funded agricultural support 
center, projects supported by USAID's Water Users' Associations 
program, and a USAID/Winrock-supported cheese producer.  Her 
positive impressions of the activities, shared with the delegation 
at the end of the day, suggest continued official support in 
Dashoguz welayat for USAID's community-level activities.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTORS GROWING IN PARALLEL 
 
¶3.  (U) Following USAID DAA Drew Luten's introduction of the 
delegation's goals and its desire to meet with officials in the 
welayats as well as the capital, Dashoguz welayat Hakim Saparmyrat 
Ashyrov offered his gratitude for their coming to Turkmenistan to 
promote economic development.  He was familiar with USAID's 
"extensive experience," and looked forward to continuing the 
projects' "good results."  The private sector was "growing in 
parallel" to the government sector, and 9,000 hectares (HA) of 
wheat, cotton, sorghum and fodder were now under private 
cultivation.  The government leased 180,000 HA of cotton, 180,000 HA 
of wheat and 6,000 HA of rice on a long-term basis, and provided a 
full range of support, including access to "sturdy and durable" John 
Deere and Case tractors.  Turkmenistan was reforming the 
agricultural sector under the president's direction with the goal of 
improving living conditions and increasing productivity. 
 
¶4.  (U) Noting the hakim's proud reference to the U.S. farm 
equipment being used in Dashoguz, Danica Starks of the Department of 
Commerce's International Trade Administration said that the DOC was 
ready to assist in increasing sales of American equipment, if the 
opportunity existed.  She then introduced the Special American 
Business Internship Training (SABIT) program, which had increased 
its funding for Turkmenistani participants this year.  Starks 
promised to provide information on the 2008 programs when the calls 
for applicants were announced. 
 
"I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE EXCITED...THE PEOPLE ARE, TOO" 
 
¶5.  (U) In response to Luten's question about what Turkmenistan's 
new strategy for rural development meant for Dashoguz, Ashyrov 
replied that social welfare programs had already been underway for 
the past seven months, and the population was grateful for the 
President's efforts.  He then listed some of the upcoming 
infrastructure projects to be undertaken in Dashoguz: a water 
purification plant, a maternity clinic/hospital, an agricultural 
 
ASHGABAT 00000817  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
institute, a sports stadium, a school for 600 students, a 
kindergarten for 160 kids, a thermal turbine electric station, two 
grain elevators, a flour mill, a recently completed asphalt plant to 
support ongoing highway construction, 30 new John Deere combines, 
and 100 Kamaz (Russian) trucks for road construction.  All these 
projects were aimed at improving the lives of the people.  "Very 
impressive," Luten responded.  "Well, I'm not the only one 
excited...the people are, too," Ashyrov quickly added. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Ashyrov was visibly uncomfortable when asked by EUR/ACE's 
Dean Fischer about the level of trade with nearby Uzbekistan.  After 
a concerned look towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' notetaker, 
he referred to the recent meeting between President Berdimuhammedov 
and Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov at the June CIS summit in Russia, and 
said  the two countries sought to pursue specific mutual benefits in 
the relationship.  To the suggestion that Uzbekistan represented a 
potential new market for various Dashoguz products due to their 
proximity, Ashyrov said that that was a "higher level issue," even 
though they already imported Uzbek fertilizers and used 
Uzbek-produced heavy machinery. 
 
¶7.  (U) USAID Country Representative Ashley Moretz thanked the hakim 
for his ongoing willingness to meet with a variety of U.S. 
delegations.  It was important for the delegation to see the results 
of our joint efforts.  USAID looked forward to sharing information 
with the hakim about its new Community Empowerment Program (NOTE: 
Known in Russian as "MIR," short for Local Initiatives for 
Development.  END NOTE.), as implementing partner Counterpart 
expanded on its past activities.  Also, when IREX's Internet Access 
and Training Program (IATP) opened its new branch in Dashoguz, 
Moretz asked for support in ensuring that the local partner received 
an internet account. 
 
TAGT COOPERATIVE: PROVIDING AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT TO LOCAL FARMERS 
 
¶7.  (U) After the meeting with the hakim, the delegation traveled to 
the agricultural cooperative "Tagt" in Gerogly etrap.  Founded in 
1997 with support from the German technical cooperation agency GTZ, 
Tagt partnered with Counterpart International in 2006 to implement 
USAID's Water-User Association assistance program in Dashoguz 
welayat.  Through this project, Counterpart International provided 
an 8-month institutional grant to establish an Agricultural Support 
Center on the cooperative's base with the goal of strengthening the 
capacity of Farmer Organizations in Dashoguz welayat and increasing 
farmers' income.  The delegation heard a presentation on the group's 
history and recent activities, and met a Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer 
volunteer on assignment in Dashoguz to increase local knowledge on 
marketing pasta products. 
 
ZAHMET: NEW FLOUR MILL IMPROVES QUALITY AND YIELD 
 
¶8.  (U) The delegation next visited the "Zahmet" farmers' group in 
Goyunly village.  First organized in 1992, twelve families belong to 
"Zahmet," which collectively have five HA of private, backyards 
plots used to cultivate wheat, in addition to 42 HA of land rented 
from the state.  Four people work at the plant: two at the flourmill 
and two in the group's new pasta-producing facilities.  The Tagt 
Agricultural Support Center assisted the farmers' group to get a 
grant of $1,300 for the flourmill facility and $1,000 for the pasta 
equipment.  Existing local mills, the nearest of which was old, had 
 
ASHGABAT 00000817  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
low productivity and was more than six kilometers away, were not 
able to process all the farmers' wheat.  The project assisted with 
building a small mill and installed pasta-making equipment that has 
increased flour yield and quality. 
 
GOKDEY: CLEANED DRAINAGE CANALS DOUBLE YIELDS 
 
¶9.  (U) Traveling to Boldumsaz etrap, the delegation met with the 
Garashsyzlyk farmers' organization, whose productivity had decreased 
considerably due to the gradual choking of its drainage canals over 
time.  The project's grant assisted with cleaning 11 kilometers of 
drainage canals and increased farmers' access to water resources. 
The productivity of another nearby group, Gokdey, decreased from 50 
to 15 centners per hectare due to problems associated with 
irrigation of their land.   The group used their grant to clean 
1,000 meters of the drainage canals, build 1.3 kilometers of 
electrical line, and install a water pump and power transformer. 
These combined improvements resulted in doubled yields from their 
wheat crops in the first year alone.  Yields are expected to 
continue to increase as the local water table further drops due to 
the improved drainage. 
 
WINROCK SUPPORTS TURKMENISTAN'S LEADING PRIVATE CHEESE PRODUCER 
 
¶10. (U) The Chowdurbayev family started its private dairy business 
in 1999 in Gubadag etrap, about 30 kilometers from Dashoguz city. 
Mr. Chowdurbayev, a 2001 participant in the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Cochran Fellowship program, originally produced 30-40 
kg of cheese per week with six employees, but has expanded to 
current production levels of 100 kg of cheese per day that is 
manually packed via vacuum machine and transferred by air to 
Ashgabat. 
 
¶11.  (U) In 2004, the host's cheese started to mold during 
production due to the lack of preservative coating, which resulted 
in significant financial losses. The plant also faced difficulties 
with storage and promotion of finished commodities.  After being 
approached by Winrock Turkmenistan regarding potential assistance, 
"Farmer-to-Farmer" (FTF) volunteer-experts helped the host to 
improve their cheese production and marketing skills which resulted 
in almost doubling of its sales.  Volunteer-experts also helped to 
develop a new logo and labels for the host's cheese products. 
Further support assisted the employees of the cheese plant to 
adequately reduce the cheese processing time, thus saving time and 
electricity, improving the cheese's body and increasing yields. 
Based on his success, Mr. Chowdurbayev now plans to build a second 
plant in another milk-producing district of the welayat due to 
strong demand in Dashoguz welayat and Ashgabat markets. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶11. (U) USAID assistance in Dashoguz welayat is having a tangible 
impact on people's livelihoods.  Welayat Hakim Ashyrov readily 
acknowledged this point during his meeting with the delegation and 
expressed his desire to see the cooperation continue.  Being 
assigned by the hakim to accompany the delegation for the entire 
visit was a good opportunity for his deputy, who admitted over lunch 
that she was already familiar with USAID's health programs 
supporting the introduction of family medicine from her previous 
post in Ashgabat, to see firsthand the scope and reach of the 
 
ASHGABAT 00000817  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
programs across the welayat.  While waiting for the delegation's 
flight to return to Ashgabat in the airport's VIP lounge, both she 
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notetaker shared their positive 
impressions of the various projects, which bodes well for 
local-level government support for future such activities in the 
welayat. 
 
¶12. (U) COMMENT CONTINUED:  That the beneficiary groups the 
delegation visited spoke positively of their relations with local 
governments, how the projects had helped them to better understand 
their respective roles in a democratic society, and their ambitious 
goals for the future demonstrated the positive results of the 
community-based approach to development adopted after the NGO law 
passed in 2003 led USAID to shift its approach away from more 
traditional NGO registration and organizational development 
activities.  Both USAID's new Community Empowerment Project and 
AgLinks projects are well positioned to build on these activities by 
supporting local economic development initiatives in rural areas. 
END COMMENT. 
 
¶13. (U) DAA Luten has cleared this cable. 
 
HOAGLAND