DUSHANBE, November 20, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik farming units are taking measures to gather cotton on time.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the country’s cotton growing districts have yielded more than 322,000 tons of raw cotton by November 20, which is nearly 81 percent of the preliminary forecast.

More than 56,000 people are now engaged in the cotton-harvesting campaign and they currently pick more than 1,100 tons of raw cotton per day.  

An official source at a MoA says that under the preliminary cotton crop forecast Tajik cotton growing districts are expected to yield 399,000 tons of raw cotton this year.

Cotton growers of the southern Khatlon province have yielded about 241,000 tons for raw cotton by November 20 (87.5 percent of the target).  The Sughd cotton growing districts have yielded nearly 75,000 tons of raw cotton by November 20 (66.8 percent of the target), and the cotton growing districts subordinate to the center have yielded more than 6,500 tons of raw cotton by November 12 (59.9 percent of the target).

This year, Tajik farmers have planted cotton on nearly 180,000 hectares.

Last year, Tajik cotton growers produced nearly 399,000 tons of raw cotton from 178,000 hectares.