VZCZCXRO0244
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHLA
RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1117 2890609
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160609Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9549
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNOSC/OSCE POST COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVQ
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0577
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2880
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0701
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1153
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001117 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR SOCI TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN COTTON HARVEST - AN EXPERIMENT IN CAPITALISM 
 
REF:  A) ASHGABAT 1115 
 
      B) ASHGABAT 1089 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary:  During a recent visit to one of Turkmenistan's 
top producing cotton regions, EmbOff learned that the country is 
likely to be facing dramatically low cotton yields this year. 
Surprisingly, the government is turning to the market to address the 
problem.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) EmbOff traveled to Dashoguz and Ruhubelent in Dashoguz 
province October 4 and 5 for meetings with local officials, farmers, 
and others to learn about the cotton harvest this year.  Discussions 
with farmers and locals about farming conditions in the fields were 
revealing.  They predicted low yields this year as a result of low 
precipitation and poor farming methods.  The 2006/2007 season saw a 
blistering hot summer with record-breaking temperatures above 115 
Celsius and little to no snowfall the previous winter.  In addition, 
the Government planted low-grade, short-stem cotton in rows too 
narrow for machine picking.  Likewise, the low-grade cotton produced 
leafy bolls that can only be picked by hand. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The government, powerless to change the weather, is taking 
positive, open-market steps to increase future yields.  Cotton 
buyers for the government are paying five times more per kilogram 
beginning this year.  The provincial government has already 
announced plans to increase farming privatization with land 
give-aways and low-interest loas. (NOTE: The land give-away refers 
to allowing people to use a limited amount of land for private 
activity.  There is no fee simple ownership of land.  END NOTE.) 
 
THE ANSWER TO LOW COTTON YIELDS - RUHUBELENT 
 
¶5. (SBU) These 'experimental' changes in policy are being 
implemented in a sub-region of Dashoguz, Ruhubelent. In what turned 
out to be a six-hour visit (including a three-hour vodka party), new 
Ruhubelent Mayor Sapargeldi Tumayew explained his future plans for 
his sandy desert city.  Created in April 2007 and inaugurated by 
President Berdimuhamedov, Ruhubelent consists of five or six 
semi-finished buildings, miles of sand, and perhaps a dozen 
residents, including the mayor and his staff aides. According to the 
mayor's blueprints, Ruhubelent will become a virtual oasis in the 
desert with more than a dozen new buildings, such as a primary and 
secondary school, cultural center, and sports stadium.  The desert 
will be converted into farmland with water flowing 200+ kilometers 
from Dashoguz. New inhabitants will be enticed to settle with offers 
of free land (for private activity) and 1% interest loans for 
household goods or machinery. 
 
CHILD-LABOR BAN UPHELD 
 
¶6.  (U) Provincial officials seem to be implementing President 
Berdimuhamedov's ban on child labor in this year's cotton harvest. 
Although children may help their families with the harvest on their 
small private plots, we have seen no evidence of forced child labor 
in the fields (see reftels). 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite what one may think about creating a new 
town in the middle of an uninhabited desert, creating private 
enterprises, increasing the price for cotton, and developing the 
rural region are steps in the right direction for improving future 
cotton yields and the economy in general. END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND