DUSHANBE, January 22, Asia-Plus — The government has provided 100 million somonis to local banks for implementing a new mechanism of financing farming units through providing loans to them, Abdurahmon Qodiri, Minister for Agriculture and Environmental Protection, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 21.
According to him, more than 20,000 of 32,300 cotton-growing farms have concluded loan agreements with banks for totaling 157,256,900 somonis since the beginning of the year.
The minister noted that Tajikistan last year yielded cotton 18,200 tons less than in 2006, and average cotton yields were only 1.65 tons per hectares.
Qodiri attributed a decline in the cotton productivity to farmers’ debts to investors. According to him, cotton farmers now owe more than $450 million to their domestic and foreign creditors.
The minister noted that they had submitted a proposal on structuring farmers’ debts until 2021 for consideration to the government. “It is suggested that farms should begin repaying their debts only beginning from 2011,” said the minister, “Besides, farming units should be exempted from paying debt interest that will accrue during a ten-year period (2011-2021).”
Qodiri noted that farms are free to choose bank, from which they will take loan, and cotton-ginning factory, to which they will bring their cotton. .
In his opinion, the new financing mechanism will allow many labor migrants to return home. “Many stockholders of dehqan farms have left the country seeking better employment opportunities, while heads of these farming units cannot take loans from banks without their consent,” the minister said.
