DUSHANBE, January 4, Asia-Plus - “Carrying out of reforms in agrarian sector has provided appreciable growth in gross agricultural product from all categories of farms in the republic,” Tajik economists Inom Asrorov and Mahmadsharif Nozimov noted in their article entitled “Main Directions of Extending of Economic Reforms in Tajikistan” that was published in the first issue of the monthly “Eaqtisod and Hayot”.  

The researchers noted that over the past six years (1999-2004) gross agricultural product from all categories of farms has increased by 74.3 percent including farms belonging to the population – by 90.5 percent, dehqan (peasant) farms – 5.5 times, while in traditional agricultural enterprises the agricultural product reduced by 4.1 percent.    

They stress that increase in share from personal subsidiary farms belonging to the population in the overall gross agricultural product has been provided due to president’s edict on allocation firstly of 50,000 hectares of lands and then of further 25,000 hectares of lands for expansion of farms belonging to the population.  

In the article, Asrorov and Nozimov note that one of the most important instruments for regulating revenues in Tajikistan is maintenance of socially acceptable rate of minimal wage.  

According to them, the government should prevent unjustified growth in differentiation of wages in various sectors of the country’s economy.  “In 2004, compared to an average monthly wage nominally fixed at 61.81 Somonis, the same index in industrial was 2.4 times as big, in transportation sector – 2.3 times as big, communications – 2.6 times as big, and so forth,” says the article, “At the same time, there are sectors, where this index is much fewer compared to an average monthly nominally fixed wage; thus in agrarian sector, this index is fewer by 42.5 percent, healthcare and social security – by 61.6 percent.”