DUSHANBE, October 13, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday October 13, the Zhogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyzstan’s parliament) Committee on Regional Development and Local Government considered and endorsed a draft agreement on renting pasture areas in the Batken region to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan’s news agency AKIPress reported.

Under this document, Kyrgyzstan rents 17,800 hectares of summer-autumn pastures on the territories of the Batken and Leilek districts of the Batken region to Tajikistan.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture Iskenderbek Aydaraliyev noted that regional administrations of the Batken, Osh and Jalal-Abad regions proposed to rent the pasture areas to Tajikistan for the period of one year.

Under the agreement, the cost for one conventional animal – sheep – is US$3.00 per year and a total pasture rental is 267,000 U.S. dollars, the minister said.

It is possible to extend a rent term with reviewing the rental, Aydaraliyev noted.