DUSHANBE, February 16, Asia-Plus - Last autumn, Tajikistan over-fulfilled its target on sowing winter crops by 17 percent, which is 29 percent more compared to 2004, Bobomurod Tabarov, chief specialist with the cereals and fodder crops department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said.    

According to him, during last year productivity of winter and spring crops was 2.6 tons per hectare that provided reaching 93 percent (934,800 tons) of the last year’s target on cereals that had been determined at one million tons.    

“In the meantime, it is 5 percent more compared to 2004,” said the Asia-Plus interlocutor, “This year, we intend to have brought production of cereals up to 1.12 tons.”

In 2005, according to him, the share from and farms belonging to the population dehqan (peasant) farms in the production of grain crops amounted to 81 percent – 50 percent and 31 percent respectively.  While the public sector accounted for 19 percent of the grain crops produced last year.   

“Due to reduction of areas under cotton by 38,000 hectares the areas under grain crops will have increased by 13,200 hectares this year, and this will allow increasing production of cereals,” Mr. Tabarov concluded.