Heavy rains that fell on Uzbekistan in April have destroyed cotton fields in Jizak Region. Farmers say that this would not have happened if the authorities had not hastened them with sowing.

In early April the regional administration, reinforced by police, forced farmers to sow cotton in their fields in Jizak Region.

Soon after cotton was sown, heavy rains started in the region and temperatures dropped. "All seeds have rotted failing to give shorts," farmers said.

Farmers now have to sow their fields again but they do not have money for this. In order to sow cotton, they need about 60 kg of seeds per hectare and about 50 litres of fuel that cost 600 sums per kilo and 1,050 sums per litre respectively.

"Local officials are forcing us to sow cotton again but they are not giving us money," a farmer said. "Moreover, they have not fully paid us money for last year''s harvest."

Farmers said that they now had to sell their livestock to raise money for sowing cotton.

Rains damaged grain fields too. Farmers said that because of humidity fields had been infected by pest insects that eat spikes and it was hard to remove them from fields.

"It seems that we will harvest neither cotton nor grain," farmers complained.