At a meeting of the Jogorku Kenesh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry Bakyt Torobaev announced the introduction of unique lending conditions for farmers in Kyrgyzstan. Those who switch to modern irrigation methods will be able to receive loans at an extremely low interest rate.
The minister clarified that loans with an annual interest rate of only 2% will be available for those using drip or sprinkler irrigation. These measures are aimed at more rational use of the country's water resources and will come into effect within the next month.
Special attention within this initiative is given to the ecological balance in the Pre-Issyk-Kul region. Torobaev emphasized the need for the complete transition of the Issyk-Kul region to new irrigation technologies.
He noted: "By switching to drip irrigation, more water will flow into Lake Issyk-Kul. If we continue to use traditional methods, there is a risk that the water simply won't reach the lake. Therefore, our goal is to transition the entire region to drip and sprinkler irrigation."
It is worth reminding that earlier, within the framework of the "FSH-14" project, the interest rate on preferential loans for the agricultural sector was set at 6%. Thus, the new rate of 2% for water-saving technologies will be the lowest among state support programs for farmers.
