DUSHANBE, November 13, Asia-Plus — Tajik cotton growers have got no chance to fulfill this year’s national target that has been determined at 550,000 tons of cotton, Tohir Sodiqov, the head of the industrial and grain crops department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP) said.
According to him, the results of the cotton-harvesting campaign are usually summed up by December 1. “Despite favorable weather conditions, we have got no chance to gather more than 140,000 tons of cotton during the remaining period,” the MoAEP official said, noting that the main reason for non-fulfillment of the target is poor cotton productivity and low weight of cotton bolls.
He attributed poor productivity and low weight of cotton bolls to shortage of mineral fertilizers. “This year, cotton farms’ requirements in mineral fertilizers have been met for only 50 percent,” Sodiqov said.
The republic has yielded 408,992 tons of cotton by November 13, which comprises 74.4 percent of this year’s target. Last year, Tajikistan had yielded 435,372 tons of cotton by November 13, which was 79.8 percent of the 2006 target that had been determined at 547,000.
The southern Khatlon province has pledged to produce 330,500 tons of raw cotton this year. They have gathered 250,863 tons of cotton to this day, which is 75.9 percent of the target.
Districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) have yielded 34,902 tons of raw cotton by November 13, which is 72.4 percent of the target. Their target is 48,200 tons of cotton.
Cotton growers of the northern Sughd province have yielded 123,227 tons of cotton by November 13, which is 71.9 percent of its target determined at 171,300 tons of cotton.
