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12-13-2002, 05:17 AM
COTTON HARVEST IN UZBEKISTAN COMES AT HIGH SOCIAL COST
December 12, 2002
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav121202.shtml
Officials in Uzbekistan blame poor weather conditions for a shortfall of cotton, the country’s key cash crop. The government is planning significant investments to boost profitability in the cotton sector in coming years. However, an examination of harvesting practices in Kashkadarya Province indicates that improving the efficiency of Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector will take more than money.
The Uzbek Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources says about 3.2 million tons of cotton were harvested in 2002, about 80,000 tons less than in the previous year. Heavy rains in the spring caused damage to about 20 percent of the 1.3 million hectares under cotton cultivation, keeping this year’s harvest below 2001 totals, the ministry added.
Kashkadarya Province was among those regions that hit its target, registering a cotton harvest of about 420,000 tons. But success in Kashkadarya and elsewhere comes at a significant social cost. Bringing in the crop causes widespread disruption for area residents, as citizens from all walks are life are pressed into service picking cotton. The practice is a holdover from the Soviet era.
In Kashkadarya, local officials responsible for coordinating the harvest say hundreds of thousands of residents were mobilized to pick cotton, most of them students. One individual affiliated with Karshi State University recounted that a group of students, including him, was sent to the Suleiman Muradov state farm, where they were housed in ramshackle barracks. They worked long hours and received inadequate nutrition.
Some forced harvesters complained that they were also not receiving the stipend to which they were entitled. “They do not pay us our salaries, not to mention inhuman conditions we have to live in,” one student complained. According to several students, farm officials withheld a significant portion, if not all, of the stipend to supposedly pay for board.
Farm officials told EurasiaNet that food expense withholdings were normal, with the amount dictated by either district or provincial officials. The farm officials explained that they were not in position to alter the existing system. They went on to complain that utilizing students to bring in the harvest was a money-losing arrangement, as the amount of cotton harvested by students was insufficient to balance the cost of housing and feeding them.
Temporary harvesters received about 15-20 Uzbek som, or about 1-2 US cents, per kilo of cotton picked. The state farms themselves received about 150 som, or about 12.5 US cents, per kilo from the government. What the government sells its cotton for on international markets is classified as a “secret of strategic importance.” But according to several reliable sources, the government sells a kilo of cotton for upwards of $2.
The discrepancy in costs and prices is a contributing factor to the inefficiency inherent in the harvesting system. At the same time, government officials threaten farmers with severe penalties if they fail to fulfill quotas. The reliance on coercion instead of incentives ends up encouraging corruption in the agricultural sector. Some farmers reportedly pay substantial bribes to local officials to register harvesters as having fulfilled a particular quota.
In addition, the existing system sows dissatisfaction among students. According several individuals affiliated with Karshi State University, both students and faculty members have to spend up to four months each academic year in cotton fields, including planting season in the spring. Forced harvesting is thus hampering the development of skilled professionals in Uzbekistan, some university instructors contend.
“If an undereducated teacher or economist makes a mistake, the damage can be repaired,” said a Karshi State University professor. “But if a mistake is made by the doctor who spends a significant part of his university years in cotton fields, the mistake may prove costly.”
Under a government draft program for 2003-2005, up to $1 billion may be invested in the textile sector, much of it spent on cotton processing equipment, the Itar-Tass news agency reported December 7. Under the draft plan, Uzbekistan hopes by 2005 to be able to process up to 50 percent of the cotton harvested in the country. Such investment could ultimately bring greater profits into the state’s coffers. But it does not appear to directly address the hardships experienced by many who pick the crop.
December 12, 2002
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav121202.shtml
Officials in Uzbekistan blame poor weather conditions for a shortfall of cotton, the country’s key cash crop. The government is planning significant investments to boost profitability in the cotton sector in coming years. However, an examination of harvesting practices in Kashkadarya Province indicates that improving the efficiency of Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector will take more than money.
The Uzbek Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources says about 3.2 million tons of cotton were harvested in 2002, about 80,000 tons less than in the previous year. Heavy rains in the spring caused damage to about 20 percent of the 1.3 million hectares under cotton cultivation, keeping this year’s harvest below 2001 totals, the ministry added.
Kashkadarya Province was among those regions that hit its target, registering a cotton harvest of about 420,000 tons. But success in Kashkadarya and elsewhere comes at a significant social cost. Bringing in the crop causes widespread disruption for area residents, as citizens from all walks are life are pressed into service picking cotton. The practice is a holdover from the Soviet era.
In Kashkadarya, local officials responsible for coordinating the harvest say hundreds of thousands of residents were mobilized to pick cotton, most of them students. One individual affiliated with Karshi State University recounted that a group of students, including him, was sent to the Suleiman Muradov state farm, where they were housed in ramshackle barracks. They worked long hours and received inadequate nutrition.
Some forced harvesters complained that they were also not receiving the stipend to which they were entitled. “They do not pay us our salaries, not to mention inhuman conditions we have to live in,” one student complained. According to several students, farm officials withheld a significant portion, if not all, of the stipend to supposedly pay for board.
Farm officials told EurasiaNet that food expense withholdings were normal, with the amount dictated by either district or provincial officials. The farm officials explained that they were not in position to alter the existing system. They went on to complain that utilizing students to bring in the harvest was a money-losing arrangement, as the amount of cotton harvested by students was insufficient to balance the cost of housing and feeding them.
Temporary harvesters received about 15-20 Uzbek som, or about 1-2 US cents, per kilo of cotton picked. The state farms themselves received about 150 som, or about 12.5 US cents, per kilo from the government. What the government sells its cotton for on international markets is classified as a “secret of strategic importance.” But according to several reliable sources, the government sells a kilo of cotton for upwards of $2.
The discrepancy in costs and prices is a contributing factor to the inefficiency inherent in the harvesting system. At the same time, government officials threaten farmers with severe penalties if they fail to fulfill quotas. The reliance on coercion instead of incentives ends up encouraging corruption in the agricultural sector. Some farmers reportedly pay substantial bribes to local officials to register harvesters as having fulfilled a particular quota.
In addition, the existing system sows dissatisfaction among students. According several individuals affiliated with Karshi State University, both students and faculty members have to spend up to four months each academic year in cotton fields, including planting season in the spring. Forced harvesting is thus hampering the development of skilled professionals in Uzbekistan, some university instructors contend.
“If an undereducated teacher or economist makes a mistake, the damage can be repaired,” said a Karshi State University professor. “But if a mistake is made by the doctor who spends a significant part of his university years in cotton fields, the mistake may prove costly.”
Under a government draft program for 2003-2005, up to $1 billion may be invested in the textile sector, much of it spent on cotton processing equipment, the Itar-Tass news agency reported December 7. Under the draft plan, Uzbekistan hopes by 2005 to be able to process up to 50 percent of the cotton harvested in the country. Such investment could ultimately bring greater profits into the state’s coffers. But it does not appear to directly address the hardships experienced by many who pick the crop.