DUSHANBE, May 8, Asia-Plus -- If the government does not pay proper attention to development of pastures, the agrarian sector will receive dozens of thousands tons of meat and milk product less, Abdullo Madaminov, leading researcher with the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.  

According to him, pastures that are the main forage resources for the livestock sector currently occupy more than 3.6 million hectares (some 25 percent of the country’s territory)  

“Over the last decade, inefficient use of pastures has led to a considerable decline in their productivity,” said Madaminov.  “The 50-year scientific practice has shown that outruns and natural meadows should be sown more with hay plants, clovers, and esparcet (holy clover).  However, because of lack of finance they do not pay proper attention to pastures and meadows.”

He noted that planting the mentioned plants on pastures and meadows will allow stopping degradation of pastures.  “Rehabilitation of outruns will promote raising their productivity,” the expert said, naming proper management of dehqon (peasant) farms, which hold some 60 percent of pastures in the country, as one key factors that contributes to rehabilitation of pastures.