Farnico – the future of organic farming in Tajikistan

Farnico Tajikistan is an organization that started its activities in 2020 with the aim of developing organic farming. The only organization that develops this area with good intentions, helping farmers by providing various training sessions on organic farming, also in the acquisition of organic fertilizers micro earth and biohumus.

Organic farming maintains ecological balance and preserves natural resources. This approach ensures that the fields can continue to be used and are productive over the long term. In this respect, organic farming methods echo those of sustainable agriculture:

• Completely banning and replacing chemical-based mineral fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
• Increase the biodiversity of ecosystems
• Conserve energy and resources and oppose their overuse
• Apply non-chemical methods of pest and weed control

Organic farming has a number of advantages for both producers and consumers,as well as some challenges for beginners.

The following are opportunities for producers and consumers of organic agricultural products. The benefits of organic farming are:

• Avoidance of health-threatening chemicals
• Saving money on expensive synthetic fertilizers
• Guaranteed quality and certification of products
• Environmental protection; Recycling and composting of organic waste to fertilize the fields
• Improvement of soil quality; Receiving organic bonus for certified products

For achieving the above-mentioned goals, Farnico started its activities in one of the sunny and beautiful countries of Central Asia – Tajikistan, opening Farnico Tajikistan. The company is passionately mission and purpose-driven in that they work with underserved smallholder farmers to improve their quality of life and revitalize nature surrounding their communities. In a short time Farnico Tajikistan was able to show great indications for the development of organic farming in Tajikistan by expanding its activities in the field of cotton growing.

Below we will tell you about the success stories of farmers from Farnico Tajikistan network in the transition to organic farming in the cultivation of organic cotton.

Sohibov Rajabali is an interesting man with extensive experience in farming and horticultural activities. A man who always tries to help everyone with the available knowledge and experience for the development of cotton growing and horticultural activities in his area. A man with good intentions and respected by all, called Hoji Rajabali. He began his farming and horticultural activities after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Having many years of experience in farming after Farnico’s training he decided to switch to organic cotton farming.

“When representatives of Farnico approached us offering to work with them in growing organic cotton, after a few days of thinking I agreed. Since I had an idea about organic farming and knew that many farmers from the Sughd region have moved to it and in our region in Khatlon were not yet who moved, and no one even initiated it. Farnico approached us with such initiative. We are the first farmers who started working with them in this area”

Sohibov Rajabali

According to him, he grows cotton in an area of 15 hectares. And he hopes to get a yield of three to three and a half metric tonnes of seed cotton per hectare. He told us about the advantages of organic cotton growing and the disadvantages of non-organic.

Advantages of organic cotton:

• Getting a high quality crop
• Clean ecological product
• Very low growing costs
• Ecology protection
• Bonuses in raw material yields if the product meets international standards
• Efficient use of water resources in irrigation
• Obtaining double yields from land – First – barley or wheat – The second is cotton

Disadvantages of conventional cotton:

Getting a poor quality crop because there are chemicals in the composition, meaning the cotton was grown using chemical fertilizers

• A lot of expense in growing it
• Bad for the environment
• Uses a lot of water for irrigation
• Reduced income

When he switched to growing organic cotton many of his fellow villagers did not believe in this approach and told him that it does not work and accordingly his profits will decrease significantly. But after he showed the effectiveness of growing organic cotton at low cost, some of them began to believe in him and became interested in organic farming.

“My neighbors, acquaintances and farmers from other areas have been following us for 2 years, about how we work, what are our costs in growing organic cotton, what is the yield, also accordingly the price of the product. Some of them after the first year with Farnico began to be interested in organic cotton and were already in the process of transitioning to it. The advantages of organic cotton growing is that we no longer buy chemical fertilizers. This is one of the advantages, because due to inflation and the current international situation, many chemical fertilizers have become more expensive, and they are harmful. Because the productivity level of the land will go down several times with chemical fertilizers. With organic growing we use only organic fertilizers such as biohumus, micro earth, also composts, which are prepared by ourselves. They cost us cheaper and more useful for the land. If we talk about the harvest, we can say that with a non-organic approach, we got four to four and a half tonnes, and in the organic we get three to three and a half tonnes. But the level of profitability increased significantly with the organic approach, as fertilizers will cost us cheaper and we get a bonus for the organic product “

Rajabali has three sons. At the moment two of them live with him. Last year he was able to build a new home for his eldest son from the income he received, and this year he is going to marry his youngest son. Currently, his sons are planting and growing organic cotton, using his father’s advice. Rajabali also consults as a field agronomist for Farnico, assisting local farmers who work with the company. He always tries to help everyone and always follows up on inquiries. He is sure that his sons will become professional farmers in the future, who will become pioneers of organic farming.

According to Rajabali, after he started working with Farnico, the quality of his life and the life of his community has increased significantly. Since the working conditions are more ecologically safe and the level of profitability has increased from the previous years. Judging from the above opinions, we can conclude that organic farming has many useful sides to ecology, to people and Farnico Tajikistan in the expansion and development of this area has contributed and will contribute.