Entrepreneur Batyr Ravshanov, who produces strawberries in Turkmenistan under the Tudana brand, has received support and grant incentives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU), the EBRD said in a press release on Tuesday.
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On the photo: Spouse of the Founder of Turkmen strawberry business Tudana Bahara Ravshanova receives an Award at the BigBoss Global Business Forum in Glasgow, UK for outstanding services to the Tudana business.
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In 2020, Tudana received a loan from the EBRD and a grant from the EU, which allowed it to expand its production area by 1.5 hectares and gain valuable knowledge and advice.
As part of this program, international consultants worked with Batyr Ravshanov, the owner of Tudana, to improve the irrigation system of the greenhouses and promote sustainable water use practices. They also conducted a thorough analysis of water availability, climate conditions and light conditions to propose appropriate changes to the composition of fertilizers.
Batyr Ravshanov noted that thanks to these changes, they were able to almost double their strawberry production - from 56 to 100 tons per year, reduce the use of pesticides by 95% and use more effective pest control methods. Their greenhouses now use 20 times less water to produce 1 kg of strawberries compared to open-field cultivation.
Tudana, the leading strawberry producer in Turkmenistan, supplies its produce to more than 300 retail outlets across the country. In addition, it is also expanding its borders by exporting strawberries to neighbouring countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.