DUSHANBE , May 11, Asia-Plus -- A unit for settlement of cotton farmers’ debts to creditors has been set up in Tajikistan . 

The director of this unit is Kholmat Kholboyev, who had previously been the head of the agriculture and land-tenure regulations department within the President’s Executive Office. 

Qodir Qosimov, Deputy Agriculture Minster, has told Asia-Plus that a special government commission continues working on the problem repayment by cotton farmers of loans. 

Local experts estimate that as a result of falling harvests in recent years and rising fuel prices as well as lack of subsidies on cotton production and wrong land reform, Tajik cotton farmers now owe some US$300 million to domestic and foreign creditors.  

Analysis of the cotton farmers’ debts and proposals on resolving this problem are expected to have been submitted for consideration to the government by the end of June.  

We will recall that the services of the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have been enlisted to study this problem.  The government commission has already conducted a number of negotiations with experts from these banks on a strategy of development of cotton sector and clearing up the reasons for appearance of the cotton farmers’ debts.