President Shavkat Mirziyoyev congratulated farmers, dehqons, and all agricultural workers

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, for the first time in Uzbekistan's history, congratulated farmers and dehqons, cluster employees, and field workers on the creation of a cotton harvest exceeding 5 million tons, and announced the achievements made in the sector and the tasks set for the coming year.

 

According to the head of state, despite the difficulties associated with climate change, the cotton harvest was gathered without being left to rainy days, drawing on the sector's internal capabilities.

 

It was noted that in recent years, cotton yields have increased 2.7 times, rising from 21 centners per hectare to 56 centners. Thanks to the introduction of water-saving technologies, water consumption has decreased by half compared to the 1990s.

 

This year, on nearly 400,000 hectares, the average yield reached 70 centners per hectare. On almost 70,000 hectares, yields of up to 100–110 centners were obtained. Also, nearly 1,000 farms and clusters achieved average results of 100 centners and above.

 

85 percent of the grown crop was harvested within 30–35 days using more than 3,000 cotton-picking machines. In Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions, the level of mechanization reached 100 percent.

 

Also, this year farmers are expected to receive 13–14 trillion soums in net profit from cotton.

 

Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated that next year the goal is to bring average cotton yields to 65–70 centners through the use of high-yielding seed varieties, the use of agricultural drones, water- and energy-saving technologies, and the introduction of artificial intelligence.

 

The head of state also emphasized that as a result of the reforms being implemented in the cotton sector, forced labor has been eliminated, cultivated areas have been reduced, and priority is being given to modern agricultural technologies.