DUSHANBE, March 31, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- A cotton sowing campaign has been launched in Tajikistan.

Farmers in the southern province of Khatlon were the first in the country to start the cotton sowing campaign.  According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), all 18 cotton producing districts of Khatlon have launched the cotton sowing campaign.

Khatlon farmers have planted cotton on some 4,500 hectares to this day; in all, 127,500 hectares have been allocated in the province to cotton this year.

In Sughd province, farmers planted cotton on only 58 hectares so far.  In northern Tajikistan, a mass cotton sowing campaign will start on April 5, the source at a MoA said.  In Sughd, nine districts are engaged in cotton production and this year, local farmers will plant cotton on 60,000 hectares.

184,000 hectares have been allocated in the country to cotton this year.

Last year, Tajikistan allocated 170,400 hectares to cotton and farmers yielded 365,000 tons of cotton in 2009.