DUSHANBE, April 16, Asia-Plus - Tajik cotton farmers have sown cotton on 109,681 hectares of lands so far, which is 42.8 percent of this year’s target, Saidmurod Bahriddinov, the head of the industrial crops department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP), said. 

“This year, Tajikistan plans to have sown cotton on 256,222 hectares,” he said, noting that the country is supposed to complete the cotton-sowing campaign on April 25.  

According to him, the Khatlon province has sown cotton on 76,700 hectares of lands (47.9 percent).  This year, the province is planned to have sown cotton on 160,000 hectares.

Cotton farmers in Sughd have sown cotton on 36,400 hectares (34.6 percent).  Their target is sow cotton on 76,500 hectares.

Districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) have to date sown cotton on 6,500 hectares, which is 33.2 percent of the target.  This year, they will have sow cotton on 19,600 hectares.

In all, Tajikistan is planned to sow cotton on 256,200 hectares of lands this year.  The national target for this year has been determined at 550,000 tons of raw cotton.  We will recall that Tajikistan last year yielded 447,000 tons cotton, while the national target for 2006 had been determined at 547,000 tons.