DUSHANBE, March 19, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) jointly with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and farming units in the Khatlon province intends to found a joint-stock company for processing cotton, Asia-Plus has leaned from Narzullo Dadaboyev, a spokesman for a MoA.
According to him, issues related to this project were discussed at a meeting of Agriculture Minister Qosim Qosimov with the ADB representatives in Dushanbe on March 18. The estimated budget for implementation of the project is some 45 million US dollars, the spokesman said.
The project provides for purchase of three cotton-ginning factories in Khatlon, modernization of them, establishment of managing company with its own circulating capital, creation of institutional, consultative and training structures as well as establishment of a seed-dressing workshop, Dadaboyev said.
Speaking at the meeting, the minister underlined the importance of support for further development of agriculture in the country. He noted that one of the main problems in the country’s cotton sector was low quality of processing of cotton by nearly 60 cotton ginneries of the country.
For his part, Hans Woldring, the ADB Rural Development Specialist, noted that the project had been submitted for consideration to four donors and expressed confidence that implementation of the project would give an opportunity to solve a number of problems facing the country’s cotton sector, the spokesman said.
Dadaboyev further added that a working group would be set up in the near future to review the project documentation for further presentation of it. The group is expected to consist of local and international experts.
