January 17, 2011
Tajikistan may be grain self-sufficient by 2015
After harvesting a record grain crop last year, Tajikistan plans to become self-sufficient in cereals by 2015, although drought could trim its 2011 harvest, said a senior government official.
The Central Asian state harvested 1.26 million tonnes of grain in 2010, or 70% of its domestic needs, and imported the remainder from Kazakhstan, said Kutfullo Ziyodulloyev, head of the crop department at the Agriculture Ministry.
He forecast Tajikistan could produce slightly less this year than last, given that drought in the past few months has threatened the winter crop.
"If there's a drought, crop yields will fall sharply. But snow fell today, giving us hope for a harvest of between 1.20 million and 1.25 million tonnes this year," said Ziyodulloyev.
He added, "If the weather is good, we might even exceed this number. There's no way back – only forward."
Tajikistan is the poorest of five former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Its 7.5 million people consume around 1.8 million tonnes of grain annually.
By comparison, Kazakhstan, the largest producer in the region, harvested 12.2 million tonnes of grain in clean weight last year.
Ziyodulloyev declined to give details about the state investment that would enable Tajikistan to raise its harvest by 2015, but he said the country planned to achieve its target by increasing yields, rather than the sowing area.
Last year's grain crop was marginally higher than in 2009, the first year that production exceeded one million tonnes. Wheat production in 2010 totalled 911,821 tonnes, up 5.5% from the 864,000 tonnes harvested in the previous year.
