KULOB, January 6, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- On Monday January 5, one of cotton-growing farms in Khatlon’s Hamadoni district sold its tractor T-40 in order to pay off a part of its debts to Tajprombank.

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the head of Tajprombank’s branch in Kulob Yoqubjon Sobourov said after selling the tractor the farm paid off the first 3,000 somoni of a loan taken from Tajprombank.

According to him Tajprombank last year provided 3.47 million in loans to farming units in four cotton-growing districts of Khatlon’s Kulob region.  “Of this amount, more than 1.5 million somoni were provided to cotton farmers in Hamadoni,” Sobourov said, noting that the Hamadoni cotton farmers have repaid only 3.27 percent of loans taken from the bank to this date.

Property of all 18 farming units in Hamadoni that received loans from Tajprombank has been distained and it will be sold by auction if they fail to pay off their debts on time, Sobourov said.