DUSHANBE, September 12, 2012, Asia-Plus — This year, a cotton-harvesting campaign in Tajikistan has started later than usual.
A source at the crop production department of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) says that the cotton-harvesting campaign has started with a one-month delay this year because of continuous rains during the spring.
“Khatlon cotton growers, however, yielded more than 50,000 tons of raw cotton to-date,” the source said, noting that Khatlon farmers launched the cotton-harvesting campaign at the end of August.
Meanwhile, cotton growers in the northern Sughd province launched the cotton-harvesting campaign last week. To-date, they have yielded more than 5,000 tons of raw cotton.
Cotton growers in two districts subordinate to the center – Hisor and Shahrinav – have begun to yield cotton recently and they have yielded some 900 tons of raw cotton so far.
This year, Tajik farmers have planted cotton on some 200,000 hectares. Last year, 203,000 hectares were allocated to cotton cultivation and farmers produced 403,000 tons of cotton in 2011.
Dr. Saidjamol Saidov, Director of the Institute of Farming at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Tajikistan, expects Tajik farmers to yield no less than 400,000 tons of raw cotton this year.
Cotton makes an important contribution to both the agricultural sector and the national economy. Cotton accounts for some 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.
