AVRDC Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Tashkent State Agrarian University and the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry set up a school garden at Bostanlyk Agricultural College in May 2010 with assistance from the local government and a regional Women’s Committee group. People living in this piedmont zone of Uzbekistan typically consume indigenous vegetables and local varieties; they seldom have access to new varieties or their seed.
An experienced home gardener shows a pupil how to prepare a seedbed.
New AVRDC vegetable varieties released in Uzbekistan were studied at the college to identify varieties best adapted for cultivation in the area. After one year, AVRDC conducted a workshop on vegetable cultivation and food preparation for college students, and also invited 20 women householders and local farmers to the event. Seed of vegetable soybean, mungbean, yard-long bean, leafy cabbage and daikon adapted to the climate and growing conditions were distributed free to workshop participants, along with recipes and healthy cooking tips.
Another year on, the collaboration has shown good results: At a workshop on “Integration of Education, Science and Production” held at Bostanlyk Agricultural College on 24 May 2012, the women householders, farmers, and heads of the college garden field groups were recognized for the strides they had made in vegetable crop cultivation and seed multiplication and distribution. They received gifts and were applauded for their effort by more than 80 participants from Parliament, environmental organizations, farmers’ associations, local government, women’s groups, the National University, Tashkent State Agrarian University, and the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry.
The award winners aren’t resting on their laurels: They transferred their experience by training a new group of women householders and students, and distributed more than 40 kilograms of vegetable seed to the new gardeners. The event drew the attention of media across Uzbekistan.
The collaboration in the piedmont area will be continued through the Education, Research and Production Integration Center established by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), AVRDC, National University, Women’s Committee, and Bostanlyk Agricultural College. Center founders will engage in joint efforts to develop vegetable production, diversify diets, promote nutrition, and increase family incomes to improve livelihoods in the piedmont.
