Tag: Kyrgyzstan
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MOUNTAINS, HORSES AND JAILOO
On maps, Kyrgyzstan looks like a country made of ridgelines. Landlocked, mountainous and wedged between larger powers, it had intrigued me for years. I finally visited in July 2023 to photograph alfalfa. What filled my viewfinder instead were ‘jailoo’ grasslands, towering mountains, vast skies and horses grazing as if little had changed in centuries. Kyrgyzstan is often described as the most mountainous country in the world. More than 90 percent of its territory lies above 1,500 metres. The Tien Shan range dominates the map, with peaks rising above 7,000 metres along…
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TWO STANS AND ALFALFA
The glaciers of the Tien Shan mountain range in Central Asia are receding quickly. And that’s causing a lot of concern amongst the farmers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The glacial meltwaters which allowed them to irrigate their crops are no longer abundant. And without adequate water, yields plummet. I joined a group of scientists brought together by my former employer, the Crop Trust. We journeyed to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to explore ways to grow more alfalfa (or lucerne as its known here in Australia) with less water. The scientists reckon that…
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