On April 11, President Rahmon visited the "Palos" Educational Zone at Khujand State University in Tajikistan.
Covering 25.96 hectares established an intensive orchard of apricots, cherries, and grapevines. Over 920 units of agricultural machinery were distributed to farms in the Sughd region.
Established in 1959, the "Palos" zone currently nurtures over 10,000 fruit and decorative shrub saplings. Various fruits like apricots, quinces, pomegranates, peaches, almonds, figs, cherries, plums, grapes, and others are cultivated in specific areas. Additionally, vegetables including potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, beets, pumpkins, and legumes are experimented with on smaller plots.
Efforts to establish new orchards and vineyards and restore old ones have been ongoing, leading to increased fruit production. In 2023, 2,500 grapevines were planted, followed by 1,700 apricot saplings in early 2024.
By April 1, 2024, a new orchard covering 113 hectares, including 23 hectares of intensive orchard, was established. Additionally, a new vineyard covering 4 hectares was created. Restoration work covered 788 hectares of orchards and 111 hectares of vineyards.
The region's apricot orchards expanded to 51,000 hectares, with 35,500 hectares being productive. Fruit production rose to 222,521 tons last year, with apricots accounting for 157,186 tons, an increase of 101,339 tons compared to 2022.
source: khovar.tj