DUSHANBE, December 4, 2008, Asia-Plus — By government’s instruction the ministry of agriculture (MoA) has set up a working group for working out the program for bringing the cotton sector out of crisis, the MoA grains and industrial crops directorate head Muhammadi Ormonov told Asia-Plus today.
According to him, the program will be designed for the period till 2015 and Deputy Agriculture Minister, Shukrullo Rahimnazarov, heads the working group that is to submit the program concept for consideration to the government next May.
The working group consists of 18 specialists from the ministry, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tajik Agricultural University, and the Institute of Plant Growing at the Academy of Sciences.
Ormonov noted that the national budget for 2009 earmarked 352.818 somoni for the agrarian sector. Of this amount, 6 million somoni will go to purchasing high-quality grain and cotton seeds.
According to the MoA specialists’ estimates, local cotton-growing farms still keep 30,000-50,000 tons of raw cotton and they intend to realize it after rise in cotton fiber prices.
Cotton makes an important contribution to both the agricultural sector and the national economy. Cotton accounts for 60 percent of agricultural output, supports 75 percent of the rural population, and uses 45 percent of irrigated arable land. At the national level, it is an important source of both export earnings and tax revenue. Tajikistan is the world’s fourth largest exporter of cotton, and there is strong demand on international markets for its high quality product.
