DUSHANBE, July 28, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Cotton remains the most profitable agricultural crop in Tajikistan, Saidmurod bahriddinov, the head of the crop production department within the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“However we are rethinking the cotton economy and the ministry has suggested that the practice of forcing unproductive farming units to grow cotton in order to fulfill the government quotas should be abandoned,” said the MoA official, “Farms producing 1.0-1.5 tons of cotton per hectare should not be compelled to grow it.”

“We should help such farmers help make the change from cotton to other crops more suitable to their circumstances.  Growing grains, fro example, would be more profitable for them,” Bahriddinov said, noting that farmers have planted cotton on an area of 173,000 hectares this year.  According to him, maturation of cotton on 171,000 hectares of lands has been going well.

“Of course, there some shortcomings, especially in the provision of farmers with mineral fertilizers; however, land treatment has been conducted in accordance with schedule,” he said, adding that farms that last year reported cotton yields of less than 2.0 tons/ha have been recommended to make the change to other agricultural crops.

This year, Tajik farmers were expected to plant cotton on 200,000 hectares of lands, but because bad weather conditions they have planted cotton on 173,000 hectares.

Cotton makes an important contribution to both the agricultural sector and the national economy.  According to specialists, cotton accounts for 60 percent of agricultural output and supports 75 percent of the rural population.  At the national level, it is an important source of both export earnings and tax revenue.  Tajikistan is the world’s fourth largest exporter of cotton, and there is strong demand on international markets for its high quality product.