DUSHANBE, May 12, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has assessed the actual volume of damage caused by heavy rainfalls to the agrarian sector and will announce the findings at a briefing tomorrow, according to the MoA press service.

Torrential rain has demolished thousands of hectares of areas under cotton and the ministry is currently considering the issue of re-sowing cotton on the affects areas or replacing cotton on these areas with other agricultural crops.  Improper financing of farming units has also affected the cotton-sowing campaign in the country, the press service said.

We will recall that 200,700 hectares of lands have been allotted this year for growing cotton while farmers have planted cotton only on 162,625 hectares to this date.

In Khatlon, farmers have planted cotton 104,800 hectares so far (124,400 hectares of lands have been allotted in the province for growing cotton this year), in Sughd – on 53,600 ha (65,200 ha), and in districts subordinate to the center – on little more than 4,000 ha (11,100 ha).