Water on the Taman peninsula

The concept of improving the efficiency of agriculture in 
Temryuk district based on the program of land reclamation of agricultural land.

In the spring of 2011, I had a meeting with the leadership of Temryuk district of Krasnodar region. 
We discussed issues of improving the efficiency of agriculture, the use of modern efficient Israeli technologies and the need to fundamentally solve the problem of land reclamation in the territory of Temryuk district. 
Previously, I lived on the Taman Peninsula, worked there as a farmer and was well acquainted with the specific situation in the agricultural sector, and also in my practice I came up against the problem of water.
The western part of the Taman Peninsula, in terms of water supply, is approaching that in Israel. The last years are becoming more and more arid, the amount of precipitation is decreasing, the moisture reserves in the soil are drying up. Further development of this very potential for the development of intensive agriculture of the region rests on the main problem: water scarcity, and its complete absence for land reclamation in the western and northwestern part of the peninsula. 
The situation is quite strange, since the mouth of the Kuban River is located on the territory of Temryuk district, that is, it is difficult to say that there is no place to take water. There is water. No only irrigation system.

This photo shows the natural water resources, that is, the water reserves in the soil, which are formed due to the annual amount of precipitation. Red and brown are the areas with the lowest amount of moisture in the soil. These areas include almost the entire west of the Taman Peninsula, where the annual precipitation ranges from 250 to 400 mm.

The problem with irrigated agriculture has long and effectively been solved in Israel. A great experience has been accumulated here not only in creating a water supply system for the whole country, but also in a very efficient, rational and guaranteed supply of water to the entire population of the country, with quality water, perfectly purified, which IS ALWAYS but also reliably and guaranteedly provided for industry and agriculture .
Since we know all the problems and the real situation with the water supply of the Taman Peninsula, and in 17 years of living in Israel, I have studied well how water problems are solved even in the Israeli desert, we proposed a concept for solving this problem that is aimed increase in agricultural production and improvement of its quality, as well as the possibility of more full employment of the rural population of the district in the sphere of agricultural production and solving social problems in the countryside.

Brief description of the agricultural region.

Общая площадь сельскохозяйственных угодий, используемых хозяйствами Темрюкского района, составляет 93432 га, из них: 56261 га - пашни, 19704 га - многолетних насаждений, 1782 га – сенокосов, 15665 га — пастбищ.
Основной из основных сельскохозяйственных культур, являющейся базовой в экономике сельского хозяйства района можно рассматривать виноград. Общая площадь виноградников на 1 июля 2010 года составила 18200 га, а общая площадь виноградопригодных земель по району составляет 30320 га, что является важной перспективой для дальнейшего развития экономически эффективного направления хозяйствования.
Another important and promising direction is vegetable growing, melon growing, gardening, which are currently mainly concentrated in the private farms and personal backyards of the region. And despite the fact that there is a lot of vegetable production, there is no stability in its production, and the quality of vegetables leaves much to be desired. 
One of the main reasons hindering the development of the area and limiting production volumes is the lack of land improvement, that is, the impossibility of using irrigation in agricultural production.

Reclamation.

Despite the fact that the area is in very favorable natural and climatic conditions and has enormous water resources available, including the Kuban River delta and many freshwater estuaries, the area is extremely incomplete and unevenly covered by land reclamation systems that could ensure a significant increase in agricultural production .
Large areas of land were at one time reclaimed on the basis of the state program for the production of rice, this is an area more smoothly, northeast of Temryuk. We have no information about the effectiveness of the use of these lands and plans for their further use, but there is an assumption that rice sowing is probably not the most efficient way to farm and it is possible to convert some of these lands to the cultivation of vegetables and melons, primarily on lands bordering the village Kurchanskaya.

Еще один перспективный участок имеющий в наличии мелиорационные сооружения находится между поселком Стрелка и Темрюком и в районе ст. Старотитаровской.
Имеющиеся на этих частях территории района мелиорационные сооружения безусловно требуют ремонта и реконструкции, но могут стать основой для создания достаточно больших площадей, пригодных для выращивания овощных культур.

The western and north western extremities of the Taman Peninsula are in the most difficult situation. Large sources of fresh water - the Titarovsky and Akhtanizovsky estuaries are extreme points in the west of the peninsula, which are sources of fresh water. 
Further intensive development of these areas of the region without a fundamental solution to the problem of land reclamation of agricultural land and the problem of water supply to human settlements is impossible. Nevertheless, considering the unique location of the area and the presence of powerful sources of fresh water, we consider the solution to this problem quite realistic.
The experience of agricultural land reclamation in Israel shows that even in very difficult desert and semi-desert conditions, with a sharply arid climate and extremely limited water sources, it is possible to solve the land reclamation problem of all agricultural lands and ensure a very high level of agricultural production. 
We would like to draw your attention to the organization and results of agriculture as an industry in Israel, to compare the indicators and with this in mind, consider the potential possibilities of applying this experience in the conditions of Temryuk district. 
Unfortunately, we do not have all the information on agriculture of Temryuk District and comparative information may be incomplete.

A brief comparative description of agriculture in Israel and Temryuk district.

The yield of grapes in Israel is given in the table the average for several years. The maximum yield on table varieties reaches 400 kg / ha, and on technical varieties over 200 kg / ha.

The main advantage of agriculture is land reclamation. Mri minimal reserves of fresh water, managed to solve the problem globally and today almost all areas of vegetables, fruit crops and vineyards are irrigated.

Regarding the natural provision of agricultural land, Temryuk District is located in the most unfavorable natural and climatic zone of the region. The amount of precipitation and water reserves in the soil are the lowest along the edge. 
Critical water potential is primarily characteristic of the western part of the region, for the Taman Peninsula.

The project we propose should be regarded as conceptual. It allows to solve not only the problem of providing agricultural land with irrigation water, but also the global problem of water supply to settlements in the district. Inclusion in the general scheme of water intake, filtration and water treatment units for settlements will allow to solve the existing problem and drastically change the situation with water supply in the area. Taking into account the active expansion of the corort zone on the peninsula, as well as the construction of ports, water consumption has significantly increased in recent years and without reconstructing the water supply, the Taman peninsula falls into the category of extreme risks. The existing water pipeline was built in the early 70s of the last century and is almost in disrepair. Besides,
Thus, the reconstruction of the district’s water supply system is extremely urgent and this task can be solved by building a new water conduit that provides not only domestic but also industrial and agricultural needs, taking into account the development prospects for the coming decades.

Agricultural potential of Temryuk district

Temryuk district has almost a third of the agricultural land of the state of Israel, and the quality of the soil does not compare with the Israeli extremely poor soils. The area has virtually unlimited freshwater resources. Given the potential climatic and economic opportunities of Temryuk district, it has a very high potential for increasing agricultural production and, accordingly, increasing gross output, employment and living standards. In addition to the general level of growth of economic indicators, the growth of the standard of living and well-being of the population greatly reduces social tensions in the region. 
It is also necessary to take into account that the percentage of the rural population is more than 68% of the total population of the district.

60% of all vineyards of the Krasnodar Territory are located in the Temryuk District, mostly in the western, most arid part of it. From our point of view, the viticulture industry deserves special attention, which is currently leading in Russia for this region, and with the use of advanced grape growing technologies, the industry can at least double its potential in existing areas and taking into account the areas suitable for viticulture. grapes can be quadrupled. The production of wine products and the overall economic potential of the region will increase accordingly.

The main criterion for achieving such results is the use of irrigation in the vineyards. The transfer of vineyards to irrigated agriculture will require significant water resources, which will require a global solution for land reclamation, especially directly on the territory of the Taman Peninsula, where the main areas of vineyards are located, for supplying to cultivated areas. If it is hypothetically assumed that all the vineyards currently available in the area will be transferred to irrigation, then the total water demand, with the most economical irrigation systems, will be at least 18,000,000 cubic meters of water per year .
Existing water supply systems are not able to provide such a need, so there is a need to build a water supply and land improvement system capable of meeting the needs of not only viticulture but also other branches of agriculture. The most promising of which are perennial fruit plantations and vegetable growing.

The concept of the project of land reclamation "Western Taman water pipeline"

This project will require a decision on its construction at the regional, and possibly at the state level, given its strategic importance for the development of a very promising agricultural region and high economic potential. 
The basis of this project is the construction of an open conduit from the Akhtanizovsky estuary, along the coastal edge of Lake Yanovsky to the Vyshestebliyevskaya-Sennaya road, construction of a storage reservoir, pumping station, water treatment system and supplying purified water through two main water lines to irrigate.

The second part of the project consists of a water intake located near the village of Akhtanizovskaya, a pumping station and a main pipeline supplying water to the fields of the northern part of the Taman Peninsula.

This concept of solving the problem of reclamation of the western and north-western part of the Taman Peninsula can fundamentally solve the problem of water supply of agricultural enterprises and settlements with agricultural water.

Additional sources of water for irrigation need to consider the ponds (rates) on the peninsula. These are not very productive water sources, but they can provide irrigation of a certain amount of agricultural land. Several ponds are located in the vicinity of Art. Vyshesteblievskaya and pos. Grape. 
Effective use of ponds is impossible without their reconstruction, including cleaning and covering the bottom with waterproof materials to prevent the infiltration of moisture into the soil. It is also necessary to study the possibility of building new accumulation ponds designed for the collection and accumulation of precipitation in the winter period in order to use them for irrigation.

The system of water storage ponds after reconstruction and expansion can be used as reserve reservoirs to create a reserve volume of water reserves for use in the most critical periods. These tanks can be additionally replenished with water in winter and spring due to excess capacity for supplying Kuban water to the water supply system. 
It should also consider the issue of secondary water use. In Israel, for example, secondary water, that is, treated wastewater and sewage water goes to irrigation in the amount of up to 83% of all secondary water. In the mid-70s, on the Taman Peninsula, there was an attempt to build a combined wastewater treatment plant, and the project laid the idea of ​​recycling the treated effluent, but this was never achieved.

Treatment facilities near the village of Primorsky.

In addition to the treatment facilities shown in the photo, there are other similar objects in the district. After reconstruction and modernization, they can provide water with significant areas in the agriculture of the district.

The proposed concept of land reclamation of the region will allow to fundamentally solve the issue of transition from extensive to intensive farming and largely determine the main direction of the industry’s development in the coming decades.

The design of the land reclamation system should be carried out on the basis of the application of modern technologies for the construction and operation of irrigation systems. It is also necessary to take into account that the water of the estuaries contains a fairly significant amount of salt, and the flow of water into the estuaries from the Cossack Erik is difficult due to the clogging of the bed and delta, which should entail their cleaning and deepening of the bed.

Israel has perhaps the most advanced and efficient water-related technology. As a person who lived on Taman for most of my life, I sincerely are interested in implementing a truly efficient water supply system in the Temryuk district. I know not by hearsay the powerful agricultural potential of the area and our company Agrosheriff Ltd. ready to make every effort to implement this project.

Water consumption and innovative technologies.

Given the complexity of the project, its high cost and limited amounts of water that can be supplied and distributed in irrigated areas, it is necessary to initially plan to use innovative low-volume irrigation technologies based on drip irrigation systems, but it is advisable to use the latest innovative developments, such as underground drip irrigation, mulching soil, phytomonitoring systems and automatic control and management of irrigation, the central water management system.

In order to achieve high results in vegetable production, it is necessary to switch to progressive technologies of protected soil, which allow to get crops of vegetables in the range of 150-400 tons per hectare. This will make it possible to obtain high yields with the most efficient use of water, with much smaller areas and a serious saving of water resources. Irrigated plots of open ground have a higher water consumption compared to protected ground per unit area, but the yield is several times higher. Protected soil, in particular, light seasonal greenhouses and innovative development - a nethouse construction of a protected soil covered with a phytoprotective net allows not only to obtain earlier and high-quality vegetable products, but also to make the transition to organic farming and to obtain environmentally friendly products,

It is advisable to consider the issue of growing grapes in greenhouses. This is a new technology, but it allows you to get a harvest of table grapes in a much earlier period.

The use of biological plant protection products also allows us to significantly increase consumer properties and the quality of viticulture, horticulture and vegetable production.

Nursery, production of virus-free planting material on meristem technology, industrial production of seedlings of vegetable crops to provide vegetable farms with seedlings of highly productive hybrids of vegetable crops, is another factor in increasing the productivity of agriculture in the region.

Cooperation

Considering the specific climatic conditions of Temryuk District, our company is ready to offer the leadership of Temryuk District and Krasnodar Territory extended cooperation in the field of agriculture in terms of using the experience and innovative technologies used in Israel. Considering that the management of our company previously worked precisely in Temryuk district, is well aware of local conditions and needs, and our company's employees speak Russian, we believe that this is an additional positive factor for the successful implementation of land-improvement and other projects. We have the opportunity to engage the world’s leading water supply company, Mekorot, and other Israeli companies working in this area, which will enable the project to be implemented at the highest technological level.

We are ready to consider counter proposals from the Temryuk district administration and look forward to productive and successful cooperation.

PS

Unfortunately, our proposals submitted in 2011 did not receive development ... 
But they remain in force. 
I hope this article will be interesting for farmers, agricultural producers and just residents of the Taman Peninsula.