FAO project team in Uzbekistan collected locally available best practices from the two selected CADI project pilot sites. The sites are located in Durmon village (Karakol district, Bukhara province) and Chuya village (Nurota district, Navoi province).

One of the best smallholders’ practices observed in Chuya village was the establishment of cold greenhouses by locating the cultivated plot level under the ground line. This method allows using the geothermal warmth from the surrounding soil to maintain the greenhouse temperature that is sufficient for growing horticultural crops or lemons. Such models of greenhouses not only reduce the costs, but they also help not to contribute to greenhouse gas emissions by refraining from heating the greenhouses by firewood, coal or gas.

Within the CADI project, similar approaches will be used for planned investments to reduce the pressure on ecosystems and sustain resource use in cold winter deserts.