KHUJAND, July 13, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik agribusiness company, Sughdagroserv (SAS), has expanded areas under organic cotton this year, Asia-Plus has learned from the SAS deputy director Maqsoud Buzrukov.

Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton, from non genetically modified plants, that is certified to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides.  Its production also promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles.

“This year, 448 hectares have been allocated to organic cotton in Sughd province and we expect farmers to yield more than 85 tons of organic cotton,” Buzrukov said, noting that the first phase of the project, Development of Products of Organic Origin, was launched in Sughd in 2009 with support from the Netherlands Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO) and HELVETAS (Swiss Association for International Cooperation).

According to him, 81 farmers have participated in the project.  “They planted organic cotton on 121 hectares and they yielded 39.361 tons of cotton that was successfully sold at the prices of US$1,350 to US$1,900 per ton, depending on quality of cotton fiber.  Local cotton growth, Khujand-67, has been chosen for the project.” Said Buzrukov, “Prices of biocotton are 25-30 percent higher than the prices of usual cotton.”

SAS, which is wholly owned by farmer shareholders, provides financial, marketing, retail and other services to farmers, manufacturers, and cotton and other agricultural processing firms along the entire chain of the agricultural process.  The company operates primarily in rural areas of Tajikistan, helping to promote increased income for local farmers by creating opportunities for independent production and commercial farm activity.