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<br />002393 <br /> <br />~} <br />;.,ry <br /> <br />12 <br /> <br />-" ,.~ <br />WATER. RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS <br /> <br />Thus, the inclusion of "watered" land -may account for the large rise of <br />"irrigated" land since 1941. <br />, A large part Of the irrigated land is located in the Central Asiatic and Trans- <br />caucasian Republics. (See table 1.) For a variety of reasons, including the <br />disrepair of the networks, swamPiness, and salinity, not all of the acreage classi- <br />fied as having an irrigation network is actually used. The sixth 5-year plan <br />(1956-60) calls for an increase of 2.1 million hectares of irrigated land, of <br />which, roughly, 40 percent is to be derived from improvement of the existing <br />irrigation -systems. _ <br />By far the largest single crop grown under irrigation is cotton-a total of 2.06 <br />million hectares in 1956. About one-fourth of the total cotton acreage was rain <br />grown prior to 1953. However, a decision to give up the growing of the low~ <br />yielding nonirrigated cotton was taken by the post-Stalin regime and resulted <br />in a rapid drop and then, disappearance of rain-grown cotton. .Further expan- <br />sion of cotton acreage, and consequently of irrigated acreage, is being planned. <br />An August 1956 decree dealt with the "Hungry Steppe" (Golodnaya Steppe) <br />project, Which provides for the irrigation and assimilation of 300,000 hectares- <br />two-thirds of which is in. Uzbek S. S. R. and the remainder in the Kazak S. S. R. <br />Further expansion of irrigated acreage was .mentioned at a recent meeting of <br />cottongrowers in Tashkent in Octobe.r 1957. <br />Other crops grown on irrigated land are rice, sugar beets, tea, fruit,vegetables, <br />alfalfa (grown in rotation with cotton). Little grain other than rice (which <br />accounts for 100,000 hectares). is grown on irrigated land. <br />Because of the large expanse of land with inadequate precipitation, the need <br />for irrigation is large, but the heavy capital expenditure places definite limits. <br />The "Great Stalin projects pf. changing, nature" announcing in 1950 were to have <br />provided, uPon their completion, an .additional 6 million hectares of irrigated <br />land. and were' to supply another 22 million hectares with water facilities for <br />range farming, How much of thi~ was actually accomplished is not clear. (See <br />section on hydroelectric projects..) According to the official plan-fulfillment <br />report, the irrigated acreage increased by 13 percent during the 1951-55 period <br />and the actual utilized acreage by 25 percent; the stipulated increase for these <br />years was 30 to 35 percent. <br />The current emphasis upon animal hUSbandry has made for renewed atten- <br />tion to supplying water to grazing animals, and a new push in that direction may <br />well be in the offing. <br /> <br />The State Department and 'also the Agriculture Department and <br />other Federal agencies accepted and offered for this study a Russian <br />Central Statistical Admimstration table showing advances by the <br />Soviets in all types of irrigation betwee.n January 1; 1951, and January <br />1, 1956. It breaks the U. S. S. R. program down by individual Soviets <br />and surface, underground, well, spring, and estuary irrigation, and is <br />included in the committee file. <br />Simplified and transformed into acres and compared with United <br />States irrigation progress as was done, by the United States Bureau of <br />Reclamation, on request, a revealing table shows the two nations, re- <br />gardless of dissimilarities, in virtual equality in total irrigated area, <br />with Soviet Russia again registering greater percentages increases in <br />the past 5 years. It worked out as follows: <br /> <br />Irr'gated <br />area by <br />acres, J an. <br />1,1951 <br /> <br />Irrigated <br />area by Percentage <br />acres, Jan. jnCrf\aS6 <br />1,1956 <br /> <br />g:.~: tr:::::::::::::::::::::,:::::::::::::::::::::~::::::::: <br />. I <br /> <br />24,504,7R7 <br />26.233.215 <br /> <br />30,577,391 <br />31,908,000 <br /> <br />24.8 <br />21. 6 <br /> <br />NOTE.-This result was obts"ne'i by use of the Denartmen.t of..CoTY'!merce a<a:r'cultural census figures <br />embrl;l.c!ng all U. S..irrigat"on re~ardless otwhether-'t was Buri>.au of Recls--nat'o'1 snonso~'e1 0:- non-Federal <br />irrigation." Therefore, it includes extensive s~rinklel' irrrg:ation a!1d is unlialanc'}d In that the"Russ1-an <br />fl.gur~ appareJ?tly ,do nqt. r--;flfJct s~(nkler ;rr rrat on. A Iso, no a.ttempt was n ad') atweight"ng figures to <br />reflect-major dltrerences in t'.le ateas and po~ulflt on of the 2 nat on.s. ."' . <br /> <br />,'::~_c."~::: <br /> <br /> <br />