16 thousand hectares of abandoned land in Khatlon

In the Khatlon region, there are more than 16 thousand hectares of abandoned land, 90 percent of which consists of irrigated land.

The press service of the President of Tajikistan reported that on April 27, 2023, Emomali Rahmon met with leaders and activists of the Khatlon region in the Dangara district and delivered a speech.

“The region has almost 16 thousand hectares of abandoned land, including 14.4 thousand hectares of irrigated land, and this situation raises great concern,” the president stated.

According to Emomali Rahmon, “the Khatlon region is located in the basin of two major rivers – the Vakhsh and the Panj,” and in Khatlon, “as the largest region in the country, especially in terms of agriculture, there are more opportunities compared to other regions of the republic.” However, due to prohibitively high taxes, thousands of hectares of irrigated and non-irrigated land have become overgrown with weeds or turned into abandoned land.

The climate in the Khatlon region, as the largest region in the country, allows for 3-4 harvests from agricultural land. However, the government’s misguided policies have led to a situation where a large part of the workforce leaves their lands and goes into labor migration to earn a living.