Old Farming Habits Leave Uzbekistan a Legacy of Salt

Far less money is spent now on maintaining the vast networks of water drainage and irrigation that crisscross the country than was expended under Communism. Authorities spend about $12 per hectare on maintenance (a hectare is around two and a half acres), down from $120 per hectare in Soviet times, according to the International Water Management Institute. Blocked drainage pipes push salt levels up, damaging the land and dragging crop yields ever lower.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/world/asia/15uzb

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