DUSHANBE, April 2, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- An expansion of cooperation in the agrarian sector was a major topic of a meeting of the Minister of Agriculture Qosim Qosimov with Mr. Yoshihiro Nakayama, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Japan in Dushanbe, which took place here on April 1, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

The two, in particular, discussed issues related to cooperation in enhancing the beekeeping subsector in Tajikistan as well as using modern technologies in the country’s agrarian sector.

The sides expressed readiness to sign in the near future a grant agreement for providing Tajik vulnerable farms with agricultural machines, the source at a MoA said.

The Government of Japan has provided significant financial and technical assistance to Tajikistan’s agrarian sector in recent years.  Thus, 80 harvesters, 100 MTZ type tractors, 170 T-4A type tractors, 100 tractor plows, 100 seeding machines and other agricultural machines have been delivered to the country under financial support of Japan.

Qosimov and Nakayama also discussed establishment of service centers for the Tajik agrarian sector, launch of joint ventures for processing farm produce, development of joint investment projects as well as provision of technical assistance to local farming units.

Mr. Nakayama noted that 11 specialists from Tajik MoA took training courses in Japan in 2008-2009.