A roundtable on modern agriculture development was held on October 25 in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China, as part of the 33rd Yangling Agricultural High-Tech Fair.

The roundtable focused on promoting practical cooperation in water-saving agriculture in the arid regions of member states by leveraging the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) agricultural base platform.

Jambaltseren Tumur-Uya, State Secretary of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, presented Mongolia’s policies, challenges, and potential solutions for conserving water and increasing food production across the country, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.

He noted that approximately 76% of Mongolia’s territory consists of arid and semi-arid areas, while only 45–50% of its 112 million hectares of pastureland has access to water. The concentration of livestock in areas with adequate water supplies leads to overgrazing and accelerates land degradation. The state secretary emphasized that this long-standing challenge cannot be resolved simply by drilling more deep wells. Given the limited groundwater resources and the high economic costs of drilling, energy supply and maintenance, he called for a shift from seeking new water sources to conserving existing water resources.

Four Areas of Cooperation Proposed

State Secretary Jambaltseren proposed four areas of cooperation to SCO member states:

Sharing proven water-saving technologies suitable for arid regions;
Implementing joint pilot projects in Mongolia;
Developing human resources through training and specialist exchange programs for engineers, technical personnel and herders;
Expanding successful pilot projects into tangible investment projects with the participation of the public and private sectors and financial institutions.
He stressed that water is not an unlimited resource for countries with arid regions and water scarcity. Every drop saved can contribute significantly to food production, pastureland protection, and strengthening the resilience of rural communities to climate change.

He also expressed Mongolia’s readiness to work with SCO partners to turn water-related challenges into opportunities for innovation and sustainable agricultural development.

National Initiative Planned

Mongolia is developing a national initiative to improve water supply for pasturelands through water storage technologies. The initiative aims to promote environmentally friendly solutions on a wider scale, including the construction of small reservoirs and ponds, the protection of springs, and the installation of water supply systems powered by solar and wind energy in remote pastures.

Under the initiative, Mongolia plans to develop a five-year program to improve pasture water supply through water storage technologies and to identify at least 500 potential sites nationwide using geographic information systems, and construct 20–30 pilot facilities in desert, steppe, forest-steppe, and mountainous regions.

The pilot projects will help determine which technologies are most effective, their costs and benefits for herders, while also strengthening the skills of engineers, technical specialists, and herders, and encouraging the participation of women and young people.

Published Date:2026-10-28