In 2019, the planting area for vegetables in Kyrgyzstan increased by 10% compared to last year, but the area for growing potatoes decreased by 1,7%. Such data are provided by the National Statistical Committee.
In total, 679,1 thousand hectares have been sown with spring crops this year, which is 2,3% more than last year.
Sowing of perennial grasses increased by 35%, barley - 6,7%, wheat - 1,6%, corn for grain - 1,4%, vegetables - 10,1%, cotton - 6,2%.
At the same time, the planting of potatoes decreased by 1,7%, leguminous crops - by 6,1%, oilseeds - 12,5%, sugar beets - 10,6%, rice - 11,5%.
In the total sown area of spring crops, barley occupies 27,8%, wheat - 16,4%, corn for grain - 14,1%, potatoes - 8,4%, legumes - 8,3%, fodder crops - 6,3% , vegetables - 5,4%, other crops - 13,3%.
In May, the Minister of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Reclamation, Nurbek Murashev, resigned. Farmers actively criticized him for unresolved problems with the sale of potatoes. And on May 20, the National Business Club awarded him the Black Galosh anti-prize.
Murashev was appointed head of the Ministry of Agriculture at the end of 2016. As soon as he came to the post, he announced that domestic potatoes would be exported to Uzbekistan. In 2018, Uzbekistan did not purchase potatoes from Kyrgyzstan, and the price for them inside the country fell to the very minimum. Farmers still complain that the harvest they have harvested is rotting in warehouses, and nothing has been bailed out for it.
Source: https://rus.azattyk.org