Agriculture

   After gaining state independence in the Republic, a partial division of mountain, as well as foothill lands, began and in 1995-1997 years around 75 thousand hectares of land were divided, which contributed to the provision of food to the population.

With the purpose of effective and rational use of land and water resources, increase in agricultural production, the corresponding document was adopted "On the reorganization of agricultural enterprises and organizations", which in the process of implementation the state order and prices for agricultural products were declared free, and contributed to the freedom of choice and growing of products by farmers.

Reform in the agricultural sector gave freedom to dehkan (farmer) households in the selection and cultivation of all types of agricultural crops as well as the possibility of re-sowing in the liberated fields in many places, at the same time, addressing the debt problems of cotton farms increased the sector's potential. The transition to new types of economic relations as well as the organization of new types of management and the privatization of property, led to a complete change in the agricultural sector.

It’s necessary to mentioned that should be noted that in recent years, despite of the damage caused by natural disasters and the impact of crisis factors, the agricultural sector is considered necessary stable and one of the sectors that develop the economy of Tajikistan, providing on average 18-21% of gross domestic production. However, the conceptual issues of agricultural policy, including the uncertainty of models for the further development of agriculture have not yet been resolved.

Weak banking system underdeveloped structure of material and technical supply of agriculture, lack of a mechanism for subsidizing agricultural production, the new system of placing orders (aggregate supply and demand) for the volume of agricultural production, the lack of a sufficient agricultural marketing infrastructure and an imperfect regulatory framework did not provide the required pace of development of the agricultural sector. The development and improvement of the marketing system was especially required agricultural market, tariffing for imports of agricultural products and systems of standards regarding production and the level of safety of agricultural products.

In this regard, in order to improve the efficiency of agricultural production

the Program of reforming agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2012 - 2020 was adopted.

This Program is designed to define the strategic direction and ways to ensure a highly profitable and export-oriented agriculture, proceeding from the general tasks of improving the living standards of the rural population of the republic, achieving food security of the state as well as strengthening its position in the regional division of labour.

Current Program is based on the strategic documents adopted in the country. The Program takes into account the significant changes taking place in recent years in macroeconomic policy and the socio-economic situation of the agricultural sector, strengthening of the impact on it of the processes occurring in the world markets, as well as the situation in the country's economy arising in connection with the global financial and economic crisis. All this determines the need to assess the capabilities of agriculture, clarify the tasks, goals and directions of agricultural policy, formulate scientifically based methods and approaches to eliminate certain issues.

The program is based on several principles, such as ensuring land use and water use rights, ensuring "Freedom of choice of cultivated crops" and ensuring market regulation, fair and sustainable supply of agricultural products and services. Based on these principles, farmers will need access to finance and credit. The program intends to solve this problem. Several NGOs were created community lending systems (microcredit organizations) that proved to be successful and can be used as examples of best practices. This Program provides for the expansion of access for dehkan (farm) households to a larger area of arable land, thus increasing production capacity, stabilizing the financial position of dehkan (farm) households and investment guarantees from the state budget. Also, the Program aims to address the acute shortage of agricultural inputs and insufficient provision of necessary services. Access to high quality seeds, fertilizers and basic chemicals as well as greater access to veterinary and agricultural extension services (plant protection, pest and disease control) will be provided by the private sector, while the state must establish appropriate market regulations and take responsibility for quality control.

During 2012-2019 about 207 million somoni from the state budget as well as with the attraction of foreign government investments 840 million somoni within the framework of sectoral programs were allocated.

As a result of cooperation with the relevant authorities on the implementation of targeted measures of the Program in 2019 the total volume of agricultural products reached 27.7 billion somoni, which is 9.1 billion somoni more than in 2012.

And until today agro-industrial capacities of the country are not fully used to ensure the food security of the country. The government of the country continues to take concrete measures and effectively use all opportunities for the successful implementation of the Agricultural Reform Program of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2012-2020.

Together with Partners for development on implementation "Programs of agrarian reform of agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2012-2020." around 6 working groups such as: agrarian reform, land reform, water sector reform, development of a new mechanism for financing the agricultural sector, agricultural management system as well as social program development groups rural areas were created.

In the beginning of 2014 with the support of the Representative Office of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) the project “Framework conditions and financing for private sector development in Tajikistan” was launched.

In order to implement the current project, there are a number of ministries and departments of the country were involved. Also, for the implementation of the component the project to compile the Matrix of Social Accounts was involved. The purpose of the project was to compile "Resources-Use" tables of Tajikistan.

This work serves as a tool for balancing the calculation of Gross Domestic Product by the production and expenditure method. In addition, it was necessary to classify production and consumption by types of economic activities and types of products (services).

Agriculture, animal breeding, processing of dairy products.

Opportunities of cooperation.

 More than 33,000 hectares of land, which were previously used for the cultivation of crops, are currently left untreated due to climate change. Tajikistan has the potential for the development of more than 800,000 hectares of land for agricultural production. Having 300 sunny days a year, the country could not only satisfy their own needs but also become a regional food supplier. Nevertheless, this requires large financial resources as well as the use of the latest and modern technologies. Using a solar energy and modern pumps could revive irrigated 800 thousand hectares of dry land. It's enough to guarantee self-sufficiency in food and as well as an achieve import substitution.  Spotted cattle, as well as the Holstein cows from Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein, are especially profitable animal species in Tajikistan. A several pilot projects in recent years led to the emergence of large agricultural holdings that took advantage of such breeds and had a positive impact on the price of dairy products. Private sector still needs to import cattle from Germany.

Establishment of joint ventures would be beneficial for the entire region. Annually, Republic of Tajikistan produces up to half a million tons of cotton. However, only 15% of cotton is processed in the country. Cotton processing and the establishment of joint textile companies is certainly another area of cooperation between two countries.