Agriculture in Tajikistan
Encyclopedia
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
is a highly agrarian country, with its rural population at more than 70% and agriculture accounting for 60% of employment and around 30% of GDP. As is typical of economies dependent on agriculture, Tajikistan has low income per capita: back in the Soviet period (1990) Tajikistan was the poorest republic with a staggering 45% of its population in the lowest income “septile” (Uzbekistan, the next poorest in the Soviet ranking, had 34% of the population in the lowest income group). In 2006 Tajikistan still had the lowest income per capita among the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
(CIS) countries: $1,410 (purchasing power parity
Purchasing power parity
In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
(PPP) equivalents) compared with nearly $12,000 for Russia. The low income and the high agrarian profile justify and drive the efforts for agricultural reform since 1991 in the hope of improving the population’s well being.
Agricultural production
After decades of steady agricultural growth during the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
period, with the volume of agricultural output trebling between 1960 and 1988, independent Tajikistan, similarly to most CIS countries, suffered a precipitous transition decline as the index of Gross Agricultural Output (GAO) dropped by 55% between 1991 and 1997. Agricultural production has shown remarkable recovery since 1997 and today GAO is almost back to the 1991 level after more than doubling from the lowest point in 1997.
Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
are the two main cash crops in Tajikistan, cultivated on nearly 70% of the cropped area (30% under cotton, 36% under wheat, 9% under other cereals). Cotton fiber is Tajikistan's leading agricultural export commodity, contributing 16% of total exports (it is second only to aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, which accounts for a staggering 60% of the country's exports). Cotton requires high temperatures and intensive irrigation, and it is primarily grown in hot river valleys: the Ferghana Valley on the Syr Darya
Syr Darya
The Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...
in Northern Tajikistan (Sughd Province), the Lower Kofarnihon
Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River or Kofirnihan is one of the major tributaries of Amudarya...
and Vakhsh
Vakhsh River
The Vakhsh has been intensively developed for human use. Electricity, aluminum, and cotton are the mainstays of Tajikistan’s economy, and the Vakhsh is involved with all three of these sectors. Hydroelectricity provides 91% of the country’s electricity as of 2005, and 90% of that total comes from...
valleys in south-western Khatlon
Khatlon
Khatlon Province , sometimes misspelt Khatlan, one of the three provinces of Tajikistan and is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor Range in the north and the Panj River in the south and borders on...
, Kyzylsu
Kyzylsu River
Kyzylsu River rises on the southern slopes of the Vakhsh Range in the north-east of Tajikistan's Khatlon Province and runs south-west for a length of 230 km until joining Panj River on the border with Afghanistan. Merges with Yakhsu River as a major left tributary south of the town of Kulyab...
and Panj
Panj
Panj is a city in southern Tajikistan which is situated on the Afghan border, some south of the capital Dushanbe. It is located along the banks of the Panj River, from which it derives its name....
valleys in south-eastern Khatlon
Khatlon
Khatlon Province , sometimes misspelt Khatlan, one of the three provinces of Tajikistan and is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor Range in the north and the Panj River in the south and borders on...
, and Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley in Tajikistan runs east-west along the southern slopes of Gissar Range and on the northern border of Khatlon Province...
stretching west of Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
to the border with Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
around the middle course of Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River or Kofirnihan is one of the major tributaries of Amudarya...
. Khatlon Province is the main cotton growing area in Tajikistan, contributing 60% of the cotton harvest; Ferghana Valley in the north of Sughd Province contributes 30% and Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley in Tajikistan runs east-west along the southern slopes of Gissar Range and on the northern border of Khatlon Province...
(in the Region of Republican Subordination
Region of Republican Subordination
Districts of Republican Subordination is a region in Tajikistan, consisting of 13 districts which are directly under central rule.-History:...
) another 10%. The Tajik part of Zeravshan Valley in the south of Sughd Province is too cold for cotton, which grows only further west in the Uzbek part of the valley near Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. The intensive irrigation of cotton in Tajikistan's valleys reduces the flow in the two large rivers feeding the Aral Sea: the Syr Darya in the Ferghana Valley in the north and the Amu Darya
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
along the southern border with Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, which in turn relies on its tributaries Kofarnihon
Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River or Kofirnihan is one of the major tributaries of Amudarya...
, Vakhsh
Vakhsh River
The Vakhsh has been intensively developed for human use. Electricity, aluminum, and cotton are the mainstays of Tajikistan’s economy, and the Vakhsh is involved with all three of these sectors. Hydroelectricity provides 91% of the country’s electricity as of 2005, and 90% of that total comes from...
, and Kyzylsu
Kyzylsu River
Kyzylsu River rises on the southern slopes of the Vakhsh Range in the north-east of Tajikistan's Khatlon Province and runs south-west for a length of 230 km until joining Panj River on the border with Afghanistan. Merges with Yakhsu River as a major left tributary south of the town of Kulyab...
rivers. The "white gold" of Tajikistan, as well as Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, may well have contributed to the catastrophic drying of the Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
during the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
times and thereafter.
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
are cultivated in rainfed areas, mostly in the southern plains of Khatlon province
Khatlon
Khatlon Province , sometimes misspelt Khatlan, one of the three provinces of Tajikistan and is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor Range in the north and the Panj River in the south and borders on...
. Rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, on the other hand, is grown in river valleys, where paddies can be easily created by flooding. The main rice producer in Tajikistan is Sughd Province. Fully 44% of the rice harvest comes from Zeravshan
Zeravshan
Zeravshan River is a river in Central Asia. Its name, "sprayer of gold" in Persian, refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. To the ancient Greeks it was known as the Polytimetus...
and Fergana
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
valleys in Sughd; another 36% is produced in the heavily irrigated Khatlon lowlands and the remaining 20% comes from Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley
Gissar Valley in Tajikistan runs east-west along the southern slopes of Gissar Range and on the northern border of Khatlon Province...
, irrigated by the Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River
Kofarnihon River or Kofirnihan is one of the major tributaries of Amudarya...
. Other crops include potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, vegetables, and melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
s, which are grown across the entire country. The north of the country produces apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s, pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, cherries
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
s, fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, and nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
. Fresh fruits
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
are consumed locally, whereas dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
s are a traditional export for Tajikistan (making up more than 1% of total exports in 2005, with Russia the main destination).
Animals raised in Tajikistan include (in descending order of importance) chickens, cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. Beef, mutton, and poultry are the most important meat products; cow's milk, goat's milk, cheese, and wool are also important. Silk production exists, but remains a comparatively minor industry.
Land resources
Only 28% of Tajikistan's territory of 14.3 million hectares is agricultural land. Of the total area of agricultural land (4.1 million hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s in 2006), 21% is arable land, 3% is under perennial crops (orchards and vineyards), and 76% is pastures and hay meadows. Arable agriculture in Tajikistan relies heavily on irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
. The irrigated area increased steadily during the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
period from 300,000 hectares in 1950 to 714,000 hectares in 1990, on the eve of independence. There has been little expansion of irrigation after 1990, and the irrigated area in 2006 is 724,000 hectares. Nearly 70% of arable land is irrigated.
Changing farm structure
Up to 1991, agriculture in Tajikistan (then Tajik SSRTajik SSR
The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Tajik SSR for short, was one of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. Located in Central Asia, the Tajik SSR was created on 5 December 1929 as a national entity for the Tajik people within the Soviet Union...
), as in all other Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
republics, was organized in a dual system, in which large-scale collective and state farms coexisted in a symbiotic relationship with quasi-private individual farming on subsidiary household plot
Household plot
Household plot is a legally defined farm type in all former socialist countries in CIS and CEE. This is a small plot of land attached to a rural residence. The household plot is primarily cultivated for subsistence and its traditional purpose since the Soviet times has been to provide the family...
s. The process of transition to a market economy that began in independent Tajikistan after 1992 led to the creation of a new category of midsized peasant farms, known as dehkan farms , between the small household plots and the large farm enterprises. As of 2006, around 25,000 peasant farms control 60% of arable land, or 530,000 hectares (the remaining 40% is split evenly between household plots and farm enterprises). The efficiency of peasant farms, however, is relatively low, as they accounted for only 34% of the value of crop production in 2006, while household plots with less than 20% of arable land produced 45% of the value of all crops. Still, peasant farms harvested 50% of all cereals and nearly 60% of cotton in 2006. Household plots are an undisputed dominant force in the livestock sector, with 89% of cattle and 94% of cows. They accordingly accounted for 90% of the value of livestock production in 2006. The large farm enterprises that dominated agriculture during the Soviet period are of marginal importance today.
Recent developments
In November 2004, Deputy Prime Minister of Agriculture Qozidavlat QoimdodovQozidavlat Qoimdodov
Qozidavlat Qoimdodov is a Tajikistani agrarian and politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Agriculture in Tajikistan.In November 2004, Qozidavlat Qoimdodov noted that economic growth and enhancement of quality of agricultural output were the key components of the national policy of...
noted that economic growth and enhancement of quality of agricultural output were the key components of the national policy of Tajikistan. According to him, dehqan farms (farming units) had been established in all districts of the republic and 75,000 hectares of land has been distributed to farmers under his regime.
In March 2008, the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
announced that Tajikistan had drawn between 2004 and 2006 more than US$47 million from the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility on the basis of inaccurate information regarding government debt and National Bank reserves. The National Bank of Tajikistan had guaranteed loans to the cotton sector, thus increasing government obligations without telling the IMF. The IMF ordered the country to repay this amount in six monthly installments during 2008-2009, while taking action to improve and strengthen the monitoring of data reported to the Fund. BBC reports an IMF source characterizing this as one of the worst cases of misreporting to the Fund.
See also
- Agriculture in Central AsiaAgriculture in Central AsiaAgriculture in Central Asia provides a brief regional overview of agriculture in the five contiguous states of former Soviet Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan...
- AgricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...