KHUJAND, September 18, 2008, Asia-Plus — Farmers in the Sughd province have yielded only 14,466 tons of raw cotton by September 17, which is 8.41 percent of this year‘s target and 17,000 tons fewer than by the same date of last year, the Sughd agriculture directorate head Bobojon Domulloyev said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, one of the main reasons for such slow pace of the cotton-harvesting campaign in the province is shortage of irrigation water. “Because of an acute shortage of the irrigation water we have been forced to reduce areas under cotton by 13,000 hectares,” Domulloyev said, noting that electricity shortages have also affected the cotton-picking campaign.
Electricity rationing was lifted only on May 15, and therefore, irrigation work in the cotton fields was behind the schedule, he said.
The Sughd cotton farmers have pledged to yield 172,100 tons of raw cotton this year. Last year, they reached 72.9 percent of the target, yielding 124,833 tons of cotton.
