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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151047Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9182
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0519
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0541
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2229
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RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0149
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 0163
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0188
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0501
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-2/REA/NMJIC-J2//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5/RUE//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/A, EUR/ACE, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ENRG AF TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  FARMERS SPEAK OUT IN MARY PROVINCE 
 
ASHGABAT 00000836  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public internet. 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U) During his July 27 meeting with the economic growth 
delegation led by USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Drew Luten, a 
cautious Mary Hakim Muhammet Gurbannazarov credited the 
contributions of Turkmenistan's first and current presidents for the 
"nice lives" enjoyed by population.  While outlining the Government 
of Turkmenistan's significant plans for infrastructure projects in 
the province, he highlighted President Berdimuhamedov's "huge 
efforts" to improve the lives of the local population via support 
for agricultural development.   In offering guarded support for 
USAID projects that correspond to official government programs, 
Gurbannazarov stressed the importance of following local laws and 
regulations and denied knowledge of recent obstruction of USAID 
training activities in Murgap district by local government 
officials.  Site visits to two agricultural projects supported by 
USAID's Water Users' Association program displayed the positive 
impact on local farmers' productivity from small-scale investments 
in drainage canals and water distribution systems.  END SUMMARY. 
 
HAIL TO THE CHIEF 
 
¶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, Mary Province Governor Muhammet 
Gurbannazarov welcomed the delegation and said, "if you have been 
here for a week, then you have seen happy people with nice 
lives...started by the Great Serdar [Leader] Saparmurat Niyazov and 
continued by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov."  Gurbannazarov 
proceeded to list some of the upcoming infrastructure projects to be 
undertaken in Mary welayat: a new building for the Energy Institute, 
a maternity clinic/hospital, a school for 600 students, a 
kindergarten for 150 kids, a $12 million mosque, 50 Case and/or John 
Deere tractors, 260 Russian tractors, 34 new Case and/or John Deere 
grain combines, 20 Komatsu excavators and 10 bulldozers for cleaning 
irrigation, and $2 million in pumps, engines, and spare parts for 
irrigation systems.  As a result, the "country is peaceful, people 
enjoy free gas and water, and land is available if people want it." 
 
 
¶4.  (U) While outlining the delegation's goals, Luten noted the 
importance of meeting with the local officials and population in 
addition to meeting with various ministries because it was at this 
level where people are closest to their government.  Armed with a 
better understanding of the government's priorities and how plans 
were made, USAID could better decide how to provide international 
expertise that supported these priorities.  A new program aimed at 
supporting private agriculture was good example, and USAID would 
provide information on this program to both the Ministry of 
Agriculture and to the hakim. 
 
¶5.  (U) Danica Starks of the Department of Commerce's International 
Trade Administration introduced the Special American Business 
Internship Training (SABIT) program, which had tripled its funding 
for Turkmenistani participants this year.  Suggesting that the 
planned program for water systems management would be of particular 
interest, Starks promised to provide information on the 2008 
programs when the calls for applicants were announced. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Gurbannazarov testily responded to Luten's explanation of 
USAID's procedures for notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
about training programs scheduled for the region and suggestion that 
communication problems in Murgap district were behind recent 
difficulties with several training sessions.  USAID Country 
Representative Ashley Moretz expanded on Luten's comments by 
highlighting the positive cooperation in Mary welayat on USAID's 
 
ASHGABAT 00000836  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
health programs, including tuberculosis prevention and treatment, 
and indicated that better communication and support from the hakim 
could help to resolve the matter.  First asking if he should go to 
the MFA for specific details if they could not be provided, 
Gurbannazarov then said that couldn't answer anything because "no 
one consulted with us."  Ultimately, he acknowledged the need to 
improve communication. 
 
¶7. (U) EUR/ACE's Dean Fischer said that while the government's 
program to support agriculture was impressive, the United States 
wanted to achieve the same goal through different means.  Noting 
that the United States represented the largest free-market economy 
in the world and had examples of new ways of growing produce and 
improving productivity to share, Fischer suggested that the upcoming 
program supporting private agriculture could demonstrate to local 
governments how the free-market approach could lift burdens from the 
government.  Both sides' common goal was to help Turkmenistan's 
economy to expand, and the government could decide how far to 
implement these ideas.  If Turkmenistan's government was ready, we 
could expand this program further. 
 
ILKINJILER: "GOOD SOLDIERS" NOT AFRAID TO CRITICIZE CURRENT 
POLICIES 
 
¶7.  (U) After the meeting with the hakim, the delegation visited the 
Ilkinjiler Farmers' Association in Bayramali district.  Ilkinjiler 
began in 1997 as an informal association of farmers, and was 
registered as a limited liability partnership organization in 2000. 
The mission of the organization is to help new farmers to adapt to 
the post-Soviet environment by providing economic and legal advice 
and resolving issues related to accessing credit.  In 2005, USAID 
awarded Ilkinjiler a grant through Counterpart International to 
increase farmers' legal awareness on the new land and water laws. 
Later in 2005, Counterpart expanded its institutional grant to 
establish an Agricultural Resource Center to support the public 
advocacy and entrepreneurial capacities of farmers.  Under this 
project, Ilkinjiler assisted local farmers in conducting needs' 
assessment, and provided community development and agricultural 
business training.  As a result of Ilkinjiler's activities, eight 
new farmers' groups were established, four of which implemented 
local community development projects. 
 
¶8.  (U) Following an overview presentation of the results of 
Ilkinjiler's efforts under the USAID Water Users' Association 
program, which included directly working with nine farmers' groups, 
organizing 46 training sessions and 20 roundtables and providing 
over 100 legal consultations per month, one of the Ilkinjiler 
members present described the impact on his productivity of a $4,500 
project grant to improve irrigation and drainage systems on his 300 
hectares (HA).  During the previous growing season, his yield for 
thin staple cotton was approximately 25 centners/HA, but this year, 
growing higher-cost long staple, he expected productivity to 
increase to 35 centners/HA.  He also said that stricter 
implementation the government's system under which participants that 
accepted subsidized inputs received higher prices for the 70% which 
they were able to sell through the commodity exchange (NOTE: the 
other 30% is delivered to the state at a nominal price as payment 
for the subsidies.  END NOTE.) was a "big leap forward" for farmers. 
 He suggested that farmers were invested more effort under this 
system because they received "closer to a fair price" and that 
productivity had increased as a result. 
 
¶9.  (U) To initial nods of approval by the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs notetaker, the farmer then said that he and others did not 
need financial support so much as they needed legal and technical 
assistance.   According to him, access to new technologies was 
important for the new opportunities they catalyzed, and mentioned a 
member who had traveled to the U.S. earlier this year on a USAID 
 
ASHGABAT 00000836  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
Community Connections trip focused on small business development. 
"If a soldier doesn't aspire to be a general, he's not a good 
solider," and they all wanted to be good farmers.  Because 
Turkmenistan is still a young country, though, excess bureaucracy 
caused many problems in spite of the "progressive" legal base. 
Issues of implementation of these laws were hampered by excess 
bureaucracy, and demands by the central government were sometimes 
"unrealistic." (COMMENT: By this time, the MFA notetaker had stopped 
nodding in agreement, and instead listened intently to rare direct 
government criticism with raised eyebrows. END COMMENT.) 
"Ineffective" land distribution policies had reduced plots to 2 HA 
in many cases, whereas the powerful western harvesting equipment was 
designed for 100 HA plots.  Noting that the U.S. had only 5 percent 
of its population involved in agriculture and provides for the 
entire country, Turkmenistan had half of its population engaged in 
agriculture and "still couldn't provide for all."  He closed by 
encouraging the delegation to spread these messages to relevant 
bodies during the course of its meetings.  In response, Luten 
stressed the importance of striking an appropriate balance between 
government involvement and private efforts.  USAID's role is to 
provide information at both the policy level and to farmers, and one 
of the delegations roles was to find this balance in Turkmenistan. 
 
 
ZAMAN SAMAT: INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND INCOME 
 
¶10.  (U) The delegation next visited two farmer groups in Bayramali 
district supported by the Agriculture Support Center administered by 
"Ilkinjiler" under the Water Users' Association project since 
September 2005.  The first beneficiary, Zaman Samat, used grant 
funds to assist the farmers in cleaning five kilometers of 
irrigation and 2.5 kilometers of drainage systems, and in installing 
two electric pumps and a transformer that improved irrigation in the 
planting area. As a result, sowing land was expanded by 50 Ha, and 
increased the farmer's productivity and income. This project has 
provided benefit for 57 families who work on this plot and overall 
had improved water supply for approximately 2,200 people. 
 
BURKOZ: CLEANED DRAINAGE CANALS INCREASE YIELDS 
 
¶11.  (U) The second farmer group, Burkoz, built 17 new water locks 
and repaired three old ones with project grant funds. In addition, 
they cleaned 3.3 kilometers of irrigation canals and 3.2 kilometers 
of drainage canals.  As a result, 65 hectares of land was provided 
with sufficient water, which increased the farmer's productivity by 
70 percent.  Additionally, their income increased about seven times 
due to the combination of increased yields and the higher new cotton 
purchase price introduced by state.  As the local water table 
further drops, yields are expected to continue to increase due to 
the improved drainage. As the head of farmer group, Mr. Nuryev, 
explained to the delegation, the experience of mobilizing the 
community during implementation of the project helped them to 
construct two bridges in the village with their own funds. Overall, 
this project provided direct benefit for 23 family members and 
improved the water supply for 5,000 estimated farmer-residents 
living in this area. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶12. (U) Although the Mary hakim denied knowledge of local 
interference in USAID-supported training activity in Mary welayat, 
the meeting presented an important opportunity to share specific 
information about such obstruction with the highest welayat 
official.  In Turkmenistan's vertical and hierarchical system, the 
support of the hakim is a critical step to eliminating harassment 
from those pursuing what they believe to be the party line against 
international organizations.  One local implementing partner with no 
knowledge of the conversation, separately reported to a USAID staff 
 
ASHGABAT 00000836  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
member in Ashgabat that the hakim mentioned to him last week that he 
had ordered the problems in this etrap to cease.  USAID has been 
unable to verify this independently yet, but if true, it represents 
a step forward in Mary welayat, where civil society organizations 
have always been under tight control. 
 
¶13. (U) COMMENT CONTINUED: That the farmer was openly critical of 
government policies in front of a MFA notetaker demonstrates the 
courage and independence of the Ilkinjiler group's members.  In 
spite of having one of its leaders imprisoned in late 2005 for 
charges related to a mid-1990s break-up of a collective farm, the 
group remains one of the most vocal advocates for its members rights 
in Turkmenistan.  USAID's new Community Empowerment Project and 
AgLinks projects are well positioned to continue supporting their 
local initiatives through both legal and technical economic 
assistance.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶14. (U) DAA Luten has cleared this cable. 
 
HOAGLAND