By Ulan Eshmatov,
Freelance Journalist, Kyrgyzstan
As a freelance journalist from Kyrgyzstan, I had the chance to be among a select group of passionate and mission-oriented colleagues in the Corteva Master Class 2023 of IFAJ. First and foremost, a huge thanks to the IFAJ leadership and the organization sponsors for bringing together journalists from developing countries to workshops and enabling them to be part of the largest global network of agricultural writers. Titled IFAJ “Bootcampers 2023” by Secretary General Adalberto Rossi, we spent an incredible three days learning core and new tools for agricultural journalism and getting first-hand information from hard-working farmers of Alberta and industry experts alike.
As a journalist from a country where farms are small and middle scale, it was interesting to have one-on-one discussions with farmers in Brooks Newell Region and to hear about their views on a wide range of topics: farm productivity, operating land size, public and private sector services, and their family heritage and values.
On an industrial level, to see the production of biogas from farm wastes through the use of cutting-edge technologies (thereby leading to an alternative source of energy) was also very new to me as a journalist.
On one of the incredible tours during the Master Class days, we had the opportunity to visit some water sites in the Eastern Irrigation District and get familiar with the irrigation system of Southern Alberta. I also had a chance to speak with irrigation experts of Southern Alberta with whom I discussed the structure of the irrigation systems in their region, water management, and water-usage efficiency tools. I have learned from my conversations with local experts in Alberta that the largest irrigated area in Canada had managed to increase water-use productivity several times during a historic period and is still continuing these efforts.
In light of global warming, the efficient and economical use of irrigation water is a key challenge not only for my home country but also for the whole of the Central Asian region.
As my journey with IFAJ begins, I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with my readers and local farmers.
Ulan Eshmatov was a member of the 2023 IFAJ/Corteva Master Class, the 14th Master Class sponsored by Corteva Agriscience to provide professional development and networking opportunities to journalists around the world and encourage the development of agricultural journalism guilds. For more information on Master Class, click here.
Ulan Eshmatov of Krgystan listens to Larissa Capriotti of Corteva Agriscience at the 2023 Master Class/Young Leader Boot Camp in Calgary, Alberta.