DUSHANBE, May 4, Asia-Plus – A cotton-sowing campaign is nearing completion in Tajikistan; cotton farmers have sown cotton on 250,300 hectares by May 4, which is 97.7 percent of the target determined at 256,200 ha, Asia-Plus has learned at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP).
The source at a MoAEP said that cotton-growing farms in the Sughd province had completed the sowing campaign, having sown cotton on 77,000 hectares, which is 100.6 percent of the target. Under the target, cotton growers in northern Tajikistan had to sow cotton on 76,500 hectares.
Cotton farmers in the Khatlon province are also nearing fulfillment of their target. They have sown cotton on more than 156,000 hectares so far, which is 97.5 percent of the target determined at 160,000 hectares.
Cotton-growing farms in central Tajikistan (districts subordinate to the center or RRPs) that were affected by April heavy rains and mudslides are still behind with completing the sowing campaign. They have sown cotton on 17,258 hectares by May 4, which is 87.8 percent of the target determined at 19,600 hectares.
“Because of heavy rainfalls, cotton farmers across the country had to re-sow cotton on 3,048 hectares, which is 1.2 percent of the target,” said the source, “In Khatlon, cotton farmers had to re-sow cotton on 2,619 hectares and in RRPs, cotton-growing farms have re-sown cotton on 424 hectares.” In some districts, the work on re-sowing cotton is still going on. According to the source.
According to the MoAER, the cotton target for this year has not yet been determined. In 2006, the annual target was determined at 547,000 tons of raw cotton. Cotton farmers managed to yield 447,000 tons of cotton last year.
