VZCZCXRO9561
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1115/01 2881227
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151227Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9545
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 2877
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0698
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0574
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 1150
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 1823
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 001115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EAGR SOCI KPAO TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN:  LEBAP PROVINCE:  CORNERSTONE OF 
COTTON PRODUCTION, YET ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED 
 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY: During a recent visit to Lebap province, 
officials from the provincial governor's office concerned 
with the cotton harvest provided provincial harvest 
statistics and answered some questions about growing cotton 
in the region.  The carefully-orchestrated day also included 
a visit to a nearby cotton field where harvesting was 
underway and a tour through a state factory that produces 
sturdy cotton thread. Post learned much more about the city, 
about private agriculture, and the opportunities for young 
people here when we visited the American Corner and a private 
foreign language institute. The Amereican Corner is an 
example of a program that is creating an educated, savvy 
demographic who could potentially play a role in bringing 
Turkmenistan into the 21st century.  The bottom line is that, 
in spite of this province's cotton wealth, there still isn't 
much here.  Given the interest in foreign languages and 
foreign study, the best and the brightest young folk may seek 
their fortune elsewhere.  END SUMMARY. 
 
WHITE GOLD 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Poloffs recently visited Lebap province, situated 
in the northeastern corner of the country, to get a look at 
the highest-yielding cotton area in the country. The deputy 
provincial governor who is in charge of the cotton harvest 
said that about 10 percent of the province's cotton is 
harvested by machine, due to the small size of many of the 
plots, and 90 percent is picked by hand.  Hand-picked cotton 
is considered to be much higher quality and is more valuable, 
because it contains far less chaff than cotton gathered by 
machine.  According to official cotton harvest statistics, 
Lebap still exceeds nearby Mary province's harvest overall, 
despite cotton farming being far more mechanized in Mary. The 
largescale hand-picking in Lebbap still brings in more tons. 
The harvest here began a little late because of weather, and 
is expected to continue until November 20.  Normally, most 
cotton has been harvested by the end of October, but the 
current dry weather is expected to continue and give farmers 
more time to harvest.  Rain can negatively impact the 
harvest, he said, reducing it by as much as 25 percent. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) When asked about private land and private farming, 
the deputy governor was visibly tense in his responses, 
probably due to the MFA representative's presence.  He 
indicated that there was very little private land in the 
province, and private farmers still must sell their cotton to 
the state on a contract basis.  He noted the president had 
raised the price of cotton not long ago, and had worked to 
improve the availability of agricultural supplies, so that 
there was little difference between private and state cotton 
harvest yields per hectare.  When asked for the number of 
private farmers and average harvest yields of private and 
state-owned plots, he avoided answering the questions.  He 
indicated that most private land plots were in outlying 
areas, far from the provincial capital of Turkmenabat. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) When asked what the state does to stimulate higher 
production, the deputy governor said the government is 
providing more harvest equipment, fertilizers and chemicals 
to farmers and has made many agricultural supplies free or 
very inexpensive, especially at the beginning of the 
cotton-growing season.  He suggested there had been 
fertilizer shortages in the past and also indicated they were 
now making more use of manure-based fertilizers than in the 
past.  The state pays harvesters every 5 to 10 days. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) We then visited a cotton field, operated by renters 
who work the land for the state.  The family manages five 
hectares of land, and they have two shareholders.  The 
practice on this plot was to use a John Deere combine to 
harvest the cotton over three runs.  Then the renter's family 
 
ASHGABAT 00001115  002 OF 003 
 
 
and extended family harvest remaining cotton by hand. 
 
¶7.  (U) The next stop was an industrial-weight thread 
factory, one of two owned and operated by the Ministry of 
Textiles in this province.  It operates on a 24/7, two shift 
basis, with modern Italian, Turkish and Japanese spinning and 
processing technology.  There are 240 employees split between 
the two shifts, the vast majority women.  Each month the 
factory processes about 200 tons of fiber, brushing and 
softening the cotton before spinning it into sturdy thread. 
The final product is then shipped to another factory that 
manufactures finished textiles. 
 
THE NAIL THAT STICKS UP 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Once this tour was finished, Poloffs also had the 
opportunity to meet with several local fruit farmers who have 
been involved with U.S. farmer exchanges in the past, and 
they talked about some of the issues they are dealing with. 
One farmer is interested in establishing a long-term cool 
storage capacity, so that some seasonal fruits can be kept in 
a fresh state throughout the year, but bureaucratic hurdles 
relating to the licensing of this locally unfamiliar 
technology, combined with his inability to acquire small 
enterprise credit and financing is impeding his goal.  The 
other farmer is doing well and has begun growing American 
varieties of squash and gourds that his mother procured 
during a trip to the United States.  But conversations with 
these farmers made it clear that the key to agricultural 
"success" here involves activity on a private plot of land, 
and, ironically, enjoying a limited amount of success.  Too 
much success or prosperity, they said, draws the attention of 
government officials, who then seek either to acquire what 
they have or in other ways benefit from their business. 
 
THE ATTRACTION OF AMERICAN CULTURE 
 
¶9.  (SBU) While in Turkmenabat, post was also able to visit 
both the American Corner and a Democracy Commission grantee 
organization.  The American Corner, located in a dingey 
building chosen by the office of the governor, was a flurry 
of activity, with dozens of bright Turkmen teenagers 
attending group activities and seminars related to American 
culture.  The director, who was a former member of the 
faculty at the Turkmenabat Institute for Foreign Languages 
until it closed nearly five years ago, also acts as a school 
guidance counselor for many of the students.  The center was 
equipped with five or six Internet terminals, a library and 
an assortment of American movies.  Students there, most of 
whom were recent high school graduates or seniors, were a 
bright crowd and were interested to hear of any news relating 
to the government's views on broadening opportunities to 
study overseas.  At least one student had already been 
rejected by Turkmen State University in Ashgabat, and several 
others had set their sights on attending the American 
University in Kyrgyzstan, because of its proximity to 
Turkmenistan and its relatively affordable cost.  Given the 
number of talented young students and the motivated director 
who overseas its operations, this center is an example of a 
program that is creating an educated, savvy demographic who 
could potentially play a role in bringing Turkmenistan into 
the 21st century. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The final stop was the impressive Medet 
Educational Center, a private foreign-language institute for 
students of all ages.  The Center was initially organized as 
a non-governmental organization, but due to registration 
problems, it re-organized as an educational institution and 
was thereafter registered as such.  The Center has 700 
students, who study English, French, German or Russian. 
Parents in Turkmenabat pay for their children to attend 
classes here after their normal school day.  The size of the 
center's population underscores the priority parents are 
 
ASHGABAT 00001115  003 OF 003 
 
 
putting on their children acquiring a foreign language. 
Parents perceive, and rightly so, that working knowledge of 
these Western languages is a significant key to unlocking the 
limited job opportunities that exist in Turkmenistan. In 
spite of limited textbooks and materials, the students and 
teachers made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in polish. 
This center also employs many of those who lost their jobs 
when the Turkmenabat Foreign Language Institute closed in 
¶2002.  Teachers noted that the institute re-opened this year, 
but only has 12 students, so few former faculty members have 
been brought back. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Although this province leads the way in 
cotton harvest yields, it appears that the province's capital 
has benefited little from cotton profits.  The city boasts a 
modern medical diagnostic center and drama theatre, but there 
are few industries.  Housing appears rundown, and there is no 
public transportation here, giving rise to private bus firms 
who cater to the cadres of traders looking to buy and sell 
anything at the local bazaars.  Given this economic 
environment, it seems unlikely that the young people will 
have any interest in staying in a city that currently has few 
job opportunities outside of agriculture.  Given the interest 
in foreign languages and foreign study, the best and the 
brightest may seek their fortunes elsewhere.  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND