Southern Farmers Switch Away From Cotton
Farmers hard hit by rains and mudslides earlier this year are growing more vegetables and less cotton as a survival strategy.
Southern Farmers Switch Away From Cotton
Farmers hard hit by rains and mudslides earlier this year are growing more vegetables and less cotton as a survival strategy.
Many were hoping that once they had replanted their fields bad weather in spring and early summer, they would now be well on their way towards harvest time. However, further rain and hailstorms forced them to re-sow crops repeatedly.
Khurshid Durakhsh reports from Shaartuz district in southern Tajikistan, where farmers switched away from cotton after earlier seedlings were destroyed by hail.
“Previously we planted up to 80 per cent of all land under cotton, but this year we’ve reduced it to 50 per cent,” said Anvar Kholmatov, the head of Shaartuz district agriculture department. “On the rest of the land we’ve planted vegetables and other crops.”
Farmers are hoping that growing vegetables will help them recoup their costs, but many are planning to raise the price at which they sell to local markets.
Khurshid Durakhsh reports from Shaartuz district in southern Tajikistan, where farmers switched away from cotton after earlier seedlings were destroyed by hail.
“Previously we planted up to 80 per cent of all land under cotton, but this year we’ve reduced it to 50 per cent,” said Anvar Kholmatov, the head of Shaartuz district agriculture department. “On the rest of the land we’ve planted vegetables and other crops.”
Farmers are hoping that growing vegetables will help them recoup their costs, but many are planning to raise the price at which they sell to local markets.
