The Government is not going to raise irrigation rates despite the expected rise in electricity prices, Kholmurod Rahmon, Director of the Agency for Land Reclamation ad Irrigation, told reporters in Dushanbe on July 25.
According to him, the Agency will not ask the Government to raise prices for water supply services rendered to agricultural water users.
“Since the Agency renders its services to farm producers at below-cost prices, prices for vegetables and fruits have decreased this year,” said Rahmon. “It has become possible because Government has helped our Agency, providing 26 million somoni for repayment of debts.”
“Over the first six months of this year, our pump stations have supplied 34 million somoni worth of water to farmers, while they have paid only some 26 million somoni,” Rahmon noted.
He further noted that after liquidation of the Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources the Government had written off the Ministry’s 242.8 million somoni debts for electricity. “This year, the Government has written off 71 million somoni of Agency’s debts,” Rahmon said.
The head of the Agency Pump Stations Department, Rustam Barotov, noted that irrigation rates have not changed since 2005, while electricity rates have risen 5.1 times over the past twelve years.
Today there are 388 pump stations and units in the country. 56 pump stations are reportedly not in operation because of shortage of spare parts.
Farming units now reportedly owe more than 112 million somoni to the Agency, which in turn has led to increase in the Agency electricity debts. The Agency electricity debts now amount to 104 million somoni.
