DUSHANBE, January 11, Asia-Plus -- Although some cotton-growing districts in Tajikistan have over-fulfilled their targets on stocking up cottonseeds, in all, a progress in stockpiling cottonseeds is unsatisfactory in the republic, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP).

Saidmurod Bahriddinov, head of the MoAEP department for industrial and grain crops, said that three cotton-growing districts, including Rudaki Tursunzoda subordinate to the center (RRP) and Konibodom in Sughd, had over-fulfilled their cottonseed-stockpiling targets. 

Cotton farmers in Rudaki Hissor have produced their targeted 387 tons of seeds and stockpiled additional 123 tons.  The Tursunzoda district has stockpiled 1,500 tons of cottonseeds, more than 632 tons over its target.  Cotton growers in Konibodom have exceeded their goal of 867 tons by some 20 percent, having stockpiled more than 1,000 tons of cottonseeds.

However in all, Tajikistan is running late with stockpiling cottonseeds this year.  According to the MoAEP official, the republic has stockpiled 9,209 tons of cottonseeds so far, which is only 29.2 percent of the target that has been determined at 31,547 tons.  

Bahriddinov noted that in the territorial cross section the percentage the target reached are: districts subordinate to the center – 78.7% (2,000 tons), Sughd province – 53% (5,118 tons) and Khatlon province – 10.8% (2,091 tons).

We will recall that 262,887 hectares of farmland are scheduled to be sown with cotton this year.