DUSHANBE, May 14, Asia-Plus – Local experts say expected shortage of water may seriously affect yields of many agricultural crops in Tajikistan, especially rice and cotton.
Maqsadullo Ismoilov, the head of the plant-growing department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP) says the most serious situation is currently in the cotton-growing farms of the Mastchoh, Konibodom, Zafarobod, and Jabborrasulov districts in northern Tajikistan, where cotton growth process is slackening because of shortage of water.
According to him, a similar situation has been reported in some districts of the Vakhsh Valley in the Khatlon province as well, in particular in Qubodiyon and Shahritus.
“Some 40%-45% of areas sown with cotton are currently experiencing shortage of water,” the MoAEP official said.
“Experts expect cotton yields to be not less that 2.0-2.3 tons per hectare this year,” said Ismoilov, “According to the preliminary data, if such productivity is provided, Tajikistan will be able to yield more than 520,000 tons of raw cotton this year.” “But if the problem of shortage of water is not tackled the cotton yields will be much lower.”
The MoAEP official added that the shortage of irrigation water might also affect productivity of rice in the country, especially in Bobojonghafurov, Jabborrasulov and Mastchoh districts in Sughd as well as Jilikul and Farkhor districts in Khatlon, which are the main producers of rice in Tajikistan.
“In order to tackle the problem of the shortage of water it is necessary to determine the irrigation water sharing schedule in the country and use the water resources more rationally,” Ismoilov said.
In the meantime, Moscow’s Delovoy Vestnik reports that an 18 percent decrease in water levels in Tajik rivers is expected this year. The shortage of water may affect many agricultural crops in Tajikistan because it will have to reduce irrigation of lands by some 30 percent. “It is not for the first time that Tajikistan faces this problem; the similar situation was reported in the country in 2000,” Delovoy Vestnik said.
We will recall that Tajik Deputy Finance Minister, Jamshed Norinov, also touched upon the water deficiency problem at the 15th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) at UN Headquarters in New York. “Water is a key factor of socioeconomic well-being of our countries and we realize that this deficiency will increase, especially with regard to the population growth and global climate change,” the deputy minister said.
