Former Soviet republics investigating native camelina as energy source

Researchers in the former Soviet Caucasian republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are reported to have expressed an interest in cultivating camelina as a biofuel. Camelina grows naturally in Europe and Central Asia, is also known as Siberian oilseed, and requires less water, fertilizer and herbicides than cotton, which is cultivated extensively in the region as a cash crop.

Energy shortages in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have caused increased use of hydroelectric dam autumn and winter discharges, impacting the downstream agriculture of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

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