DUSHANBE, June 8, 2011, Asia-Plus — Tajik farmers have begun harvesting winter crops, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
The MoA crop production department head Qutfullo Ziyodulloyev says winter crops, with some 80 percent of them being winter wheat, have been planted on 184,300 hectares.
According to him, the spring grain sowing campaign has also been completed in the country. Farmers have planted cereals on 108,700 hectares.
Specialists expect local farmers to produce at least 1.2 million tons of cereals this year.
In 2010, grain crops were planted on 333,000 hectares, including 242,200 hectares allocated to wheat. Last year, Tajik farmers yielded 1.2613 million tons of cereals, including 91,821 tons of wheat. An average yield was 2.28 tons per hectare. In 2009, Tajik farmers produced 1.4 million tons of cereals from 463,000 hectares; an average yield was 2.4 tons per hectare.
Current Tajikistan’s annual requirements in wheat are estimated at 1.429 million tons and in wheat flour at 1.043 million tons.
