DUSHANBE, January 9, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan plans to have increased annual production of tobacco up to 12,000 tons by 2015.
Saidmurod Bahriddinov, head of the industrial crops department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP), said the government last year projected a special tobacco-growing development support project that will be launched this year.
“For shortage of technical means, rising prices of fuel and mineral fertilizers the country’s tobacco-growing sector over the years has been on the decline and areas under tobacco have been reduced,” Bahriddinov said.
The MoAEP official said that tobacco growing had brought in good revenues and the government plans to develop the tobacco-growing sector. According to him, the lowest tobacco yields were reported in 2003, when only 744 tons of tobacco were produced from 795 hectares.
“In 2006, Tajikistan produced 1,168 tons of tobacco with average yields of 1.25 tons per hectare,” Bahriddinov said. This year, Tajikistan plans to have sown tobacco on the area of 1,700 hectares and increase average tobacco yields to 2.3-2.5 tons/ha. The tobacco target for this year has been determined at 3,375 tons.
In Tajikistan, tobacco is grown in the Sughd province and Gorno Badakhshan
