Islam Karimov says that cotton revenues in 2011 were US$100 million short of the planned for 2011, and blamed the loss on farmers who he said had failed to fulfil the plan. Cotton producers have told Karimov to do the sums again

President Karimov spoke at a Cabinet meeting on 19th January, misstating the economic development indicators for the country in 2011, which, generally, were rather health except for the key sector in UzbekistanΆs agrarian economy – cotton production.

“In 2011, more than 3800 farms did not fulfil the targets that they had accepted regarding the production of raw cotton, as a result of which the shortfall was more than 160,000 tonnes, worth more than 120 billion sums,” said Karimov.

“If we translate this to cotton textile fibre, which is sold for export, then the losses amount to around US$100 million, not including related losses in processing oil, oilseed cake, husks and other products,” he continued.

Many Uzbek farmers say that the failure to fulfil the cotton plan for the 2011 season, during which less than 3.5 million tonnes of cotton were harvested, was easily predictable.

President Islam Karimov, for all that he wishes to show off his knowledge of agricultural economics, seems to have lost his appetite for the multi-million-dollar cotton revenues.

Farmers in one region of Uzbekistan say the services and inputs they provide, cost an average four to seven times more than they did five years ago, yet the purchase price for a tonne of cotton has gone over the same period by just over 200%. Whereas in 2006 the state paid 344,560 sums/t for first grade raw cotton, in 2011 the price had gone up to 772,700 sums/t, a 224% increase.

In January 2006 a litre of diesel cost 259.5 sums, at the end of 2011 it cost as much as 1652 sums, a 630% increase.
Over the same period, ammonium nitrate fertilizer also went up in price from 137,552 sums/kg in 2006 to 450,000 sums/kg in 2011. Electricity, heat, equipment, maintenance and banking charges are also much more costly.

Loans to farmers were free in 2006, but in 2009 interest at 2% has been charged. This is the offical rate. “In fact, they take 4%,” farmers point out.

Moreover, from October-November last year, fuel suppliers refused to sell diesel to farmers unless they paid in cash. As a result, most farmers had to leave their fields unploughed as winter approached.

“We had foul weather, incessant rain, which the president referred to in his speech, but we canΆt be blamed for that”, one farmer complained.

The discrepancy between revenues and costs for farmers is widening year on year and as a result thousands of farms are falling into debt.

For example, according to one branch of Agrobank, of 83 farmers, who held current accounts there, 77 could not service their credit at a 3% interest rate, a total of 937.84 million sums, despite increasing their cotton harvest.

One very experienced farmer says that five years ago there was nothing worse than the threat of losing oneΆs land, a fact that was fully exploited by agricultural overseers, from mayors to prosecutors. This year, this particular farmer can only dream of the chance of getting out of farming altogether.

He has, it appears, debts totalling 22 million sums to the district fertilizer supplier, 8.4 million sums for fuel supplies, 27 million sums in tax and 10 million sums to other organisations.

The farmer said that recently he has yearned to go away, perhaps to Russia, Kazakhstan, anywhere where he can escape his endless toil on the cotton harvest, the punishing labour which seems to lead only to debts and bankruptcy.

But the local authority will not accept his application to leave the farm. “I have applied three times to hand my farm back to the local authority. They say that they have shredded all the requests. ItΆs not just mine – they wonΆt accept anybodyΆs request to hand their farms back,” says the farmer.

Work in the cotton fields in Uzbekistan is worse than slavery nowadays. It requires not only that you work for free, but that in taking on that work, the producer ends up being indebted to the landlord.

As a result, noone wants to take on land to grow cotton or other crops. The farmers who decide to escape are prevented from doing so by the local authorities.

"You want to give back your land? Do you think that you are cleverer than us? Do you think that this will free you from your debts and your responsibilities so that you can just transfer these onto others? You cannot escape. Every one of you owes your suppliers 50-100 million sums. The day we receive your notice to quit, the court will immediately issue a warrant against you, you will be arrested so you cannot get away," a district councillor told one farmer.