DUSHANBE, January 11, Asia-Plus – A process of introduction of a new mechanism of funding the cotton sector is under way.
Safar Mahmadaliyev, head of the economic policy department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP), said in an interview with Asia-Plus that special commissions, comprising representatives from the ministry, banks, agency for land utilization and the state insurance company Tojiksughurta, had been set up in all cotton-growing districts for assisting farming units in concluding loan agreements with banks.
“Taking into account expenses on seeds, fuel, pesticides and mineral fertilizers, the MoAEP economy directorate has set an amount of loan for cotton-growing farms at a rate of 2,770 somonis per one hectare,” Mahmadaliyev said
He added that the new mechanism gives farmers the right to choose a cotton-ginning factory to which they will yield their harvest and set prices for the realized cotton at their own discretion.
On the farmers’ debts to futures companies, the MoAEP official noted that a special center was established in November 2007 to study the problem of debt crisis among cotton producers. “The debts will not be cleared off by the government; they will just be restructured for several years,”
As it had been reported earlier, cotton farmers now owe to the creditors $409 million.
Cotton makes an important contribution to both the agricultural sector and the national economy. Cotton accounts for 60 percent of agricultural output, supports 75 percent of the rural population, and uses 45 percent of irrigated arable land. At the national level, it is an important source of both export earnings and tax revenue. Tajikistan is the world’s fourth largest exporter of cotton, and there is strong demand on international markets for its high quality product.
