Cotton growers of the Khatlon region have started harvesting cotton. About 1 thousand tons of "white gold" have already been received at the reception points of Kubodien, Shakhritus and other southern regions of Tajikistan.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan, unlike last year's agricultural season, this year the area of cotton crops was increased by 8.6 thousand hectares and amounts to 175 thousand hectares.
According to farmers, the hot weather this year has had a good effect on the growth of cotton, so there is hope that forecasts for the volume of the harvest will be fulfilled without losses.
Cotton farming is one of the important sectors of Tajikistan's economy. It provides employment for almost 20 percent of the country's population and is considered an important source of raw materials for the textile industry.
It should be noted that last year, due to various reasons, the country's agricultural enterprises could not fulfill their forecast plans for cotton production. About 350 thousand tons were harvested, with a forecast of 430 thousand tons per year.
According to experts, there are several reasons for the decline in cotton production. Among them are unfavorable weather conditions, unsuccessful experiments with foreign seeds, low wholesale prices for raw cotton, lack of incentive for producers, reduction in the area of cotton sowing, etc.
This year, Tajikistan's farms intend to catch up and harvest more than 430 thousand tons of raw cotton.
