DUSHANBE, June 18, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Farmers in the southern Khatlon province have started a mass grain crop harvesting campaign, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

Khatlon farmers have produced more than 36,000 tons of wheat to this date, which is 13.9 percent of this year’s target that has been determined at more than 1 million tons of wheat.  Average wheat yields have been 2.68 tons per hectare, while last year, average wheat yields were 2.28 tons/ha.  This year, Khatlon farmers have planted wheat on some 120,000 hectares.

In all, Tajikistan has planted grains, with 95 percent of them being wheat, on 215,800 hectares this year.