Kyzylorda region cuts rice area 13.5% on lower irrigation quotaThe Kyzylorda region in south Kazakhstan will reduce rice planting by 13.5% this year due to lower irrigation water allocations, regional governor Murat Yergeshbayev said on Tuesday.“This year the area under rice will decrease by 10,900 hectares from a year earlier to 70,000 hectares,” he told a government meeting.So, rice planting will decline by 13.5% this year.He said total rice area in the region has been cut by about 19,000 hectares, or 21%, over the past four years amid efforts to reduce water consumption.The irrigation quota for the 2026 growing season has been set at 3 billion cubic meters, down 650 million cubic from a year earlier.Total crop areas in the region are planned at 185,800 hectares, he said.Yergeshbayev added that part of the freed land will be shifted to less water-intensive crops, including 15,000 hectares of corn.Kyzylorda is Kazakhstan’s main rice-producing region. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX