Tajikistan 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.[1] 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).[2] In 2006 Tajikistan still had the lowest income per capita among the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) countries: $1,410 (purchasing power parity (PPP) equivalents) compared
with nearly $12,000 for Russia.[3] 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.

Contents
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 1Agricultural production
 2Land resources
 3Changing farm structure
 4Recent developments
 5References
 6See also

Agricultural production[edit]
After decades of steady agricultural growth during the Soviet 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.[1]
Cotton and wheat 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).[4] Cotton fiber is Tajikistan's
leading agricultural export commodity, contributing 16% of total exports (it is second only
to aluminium, which accounts for a staggering 60% of the country's exports).[1] Cotton requires high
temperatures and intensive irrigation, and it is primarily grown in hot river valleys: the Ferghana
Valley on the Syr Darya in Northern Tajikistan (Sughd Province), the Lower
Kofarnihon and Vakhsh valleys in south-western Khatlon, Kyzylsu and Panj valleys in south-
eastern Khatlon, and Gissar Valley stretching west of Dushanbe to the border
with Uzbekistan around the middle course of Kofarnihon River. 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 (in the Region of Republican Subordination)
another 10%.[4] 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. 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 along the southern border
with Afghanistan, which in turn relies on its tributaries Kofarnihon, Vakhsh, and Kyzylsu rivers. The
"white gold" of Tajikistan, as well as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, may well have contributed to the
catastrophic drying of the Aral Sea during the Soviet times and thereafter.
Wheat and barley are cultivated in rainfed areas, mostly in the southern plains of Khatlon
province. Rice, 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 and Fergana valleys in Sughd; another 36% is produced in the heavily
irrigated Khatlon lowlands and the remaining 20% comes from Gissar Valley, irrigated by
the Kofarnihon River.[4] Other crops include potatoes, vegetables, and melons, which are grown
across the entire country. The north of the country
produces apricots, pears, plums, apples, cherries, pomegranates, figs, and nuts. Fresh fruits are
consumed locally, whereas dried fruits are a traditional export for Tajikistan (making up more than
1% of total exports in 2005, with Russia the main destination).[1]
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.