Director
of Agricultural Policy Implementation Regulation Department of the Ministry of
Food, Agriculture and Light Industry D.Bayartulga answers questions on how
agriculture is going.

How much land is being used
for cultivation this year?

Altogether
311,000 acres, of 260,000 acres are growing grains and the rest is being used
for potatoes, vegetables, oilseeds and animal feed. We are growing more animal
feed and oilseeds.

Will the hot weather
affect the growth?

This
is the time for non-stop work as the plants are extremely vulnerable now. Of
course, the present heat is bad for them. Compared to Russia where 16 provinces
are suffering from extreme drought, the situation in Mongolia is not that bad.

The forecast is that
August will be extremely hot. What do you plan to do?

Even
though we expect the rainfall to be normal, the high temperature will cause evaporation
more quickly. In June, clouds were shot to have rainfall several times. Thanks
to that, the cultivation was not influenced by the hot temperature. Let us see
how things develop in August. It may not be all that bad for the crop.

Mongolia’s agriculture
is highly dependent on the climate. When will this change?

It
is difficult to give a time limit. We are looking for ways to bring new
technology. Cultivators harvest crops after working without a break for six
months. The danger of pests also increases at this time of the year.

Are there adequate
irrigation facilities?

Proper
irrigation can lessen dependence on the weather. About 38,000 acres of land
have access to irrigation. At one time, we had more than 90,000 acres under
irrigation but the area shrank to 5,000 acres after the transition.  MNT 6.9 billion has so far been spent to extend
the irrigation network. It is not enough to have more water. It must be used
properly. Too much watering causes rotting and a drop in the oxygen level in
the soil.