The State Committee on Land Management and Geodesy of the Republic of Tajikistan has endorsed a new procedure for issuing, replacing and canceling the land share certificate. This move is expected to reduce the level of corruption in the land sector and restrict the rights of heads of dehqon (peasant) farms, who violate the rights of ordinary members of dehqon farms.
The document is reportedly aimed at regulating relationship related wit land shares in farming units.
An official source within the State Committee on Land Management and Geodesy says the new procedure provides favorable conditions to exercise the right to land use, establish farming units, determine the size of the land plot and land share, and overcome existing problems in this area.
The land share certificate is a document determining the share of a dehqon farm member in the dehqon farm’s total land fund.
After restructuring of agricultural organizations in Tajikistan the number of farming units has increased significantly in the country.
According to data from the Agency for Statistics under the Government of Tajikistan, there were more than 172,000 dehqon farms operating in Tajikistan as of January 1, 2023.
These farming units consist of land shares legally belonging to their all members. However, in practice, many heads of dehqon farms, abusing their positions, deprive farm members of their shares by compiling false documents, and thereby violating the rights and interests of citizens to land use.
As a result, all the former collective farm land passes into the hands of farming unit heads, while thousands of former collective farmers are left without land and leave the country seeking better employment opportunities.
