How AI and Satellites Are Helping Uzbekistan Manage Its Water Resources

An international conference dedicated to World Cotton Day and food security in landlocked developing countries was held in Tashkent. Representatives of Uzcosmos presented ways satellite technology and artificial intelligence can be used to address these challenges.

How satellites help monitor crops

Satellite imagery makes it possible to identify the crops grown in fields, track their development and detect areas where problems may be emerging. Artificial intelligence helps process this data and classify crops such as wheat, cotton and other agricultural produce.

These technologies are already being used in practice. In July 2025, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reported that satellite monitoring had covered more than 4 million hectares of agricultural land over the previous two years.

How space technology helps monitor water resources

Satellite data is also used to monitor reservoirs. Combined with ground-based measurements, it helps track changes in water surface area and levels, as well as assess the condition of hydraulic infrastructure.

For example, Uzcosmos is working with the Fergana Region administration to monitor farmland, orchards and reservoirs, integrating the collected data into the Space Water Monitoring platform. Specialists also carry out measurements to determine the actual storage capacity of reservoirs and assess changes caused by sediment accumulation.

Another example is the Akhangaran Reservoir. Specialists use satellite data and bathymetric surveys to create a digital 3D model, which helps calculate the reservoir’s water volume at different water levels.

What does this mean in practice?

For farmers, satellite monitoring can help identify problems in fields earlier, assess crop conditions and pinpoint areas that may need additional irrigation. This is particularly important for cotton and wheat, both of which depend on timely watering.

For water management specialists, these technologies provide a clearer picture of available water resources, help track changes in reservoirs and support more informed planning.

For Uzbekistan, space-based monitoring offers an additional tool to address one of the country’s key challenges: understanding where water resources are located, how they are changing and how to use them more efficiently.