DUSHANBE, July 14, 2013, Asia-Plus — Chinese farmers working in Tajikistan reportedly intend to apply for leasing more farmland in the country.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of Tajikistan, specialists from the subsidiary of China’s open joint-stock company Qinyang Inhai (phonetically spelled) have cultivated 280 hectares of farmland in the southern province of Khatlon. It is reportedly the only Chinese farming unit operating in Tajikistan.
“Chinese farmers are currently working in two districts – Rumi (99 hectares) and Yovon (181 hectares),” said an official source at a MoA. “In early July, Chinese farmers have expressed interest in leasing more farmland and to-date, they have seen round several areas in Khatlon. Next year, they will probably be granted a contract for cultivating more lands in Khatlon.”
Agricultural goods produced by Chinese farmers are included in Tajikistan’s general statistics publication and they are sold both in Tajikistan and outside it.
Of 181 hectares of farmland used by Chinese farmers in Yovon, 122 hectares have been sown with cotton. The cotton seeds have been delivered from China and they hope to yield up to 4 tons of cotton from one hectare, the source said. In Tajikistan, average cotton yields are 2.5 tons/ha.
The source further added that those 280 tons of farmland in Khatlon had been leased to Qinyang Inhai for the period of 49 years.
We will recall that in January 2011, Tajik authorities wanted to allow Chinese farmers to rent some fields in Khatlon”s Qumsangir district, which border Afghanistan, but because of security concerns changed their minds and proposed Rumi and Yovon instead. The Rumi and Yovon districts are good for growing cotton.
Tajik Agriculture Ministry spokesman Narzullo Dodoboyev said on January 17, 2012 that the fields which will be rented are not currently being farmed and that Chinese farmers are ready to invest money and modern technology to make the fields productive and efficient. He said that according to an agreement signed with Beijing officials, Chinese farmers will invest up to $2 million in the Rumi and Yovon districts of the southern Khatlon province and their produce would be sold in Tajikistan.
According to the MoA, China said local Tajik communities will gain from the workers who will share their farming techniques and latest irrigation technologies with them.
