Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration reported that almost 90 percent of agricultural equipment is out of date in Kyrgyzstan. Deterioration of the equipment badly affects to the sowing and harvest seasons.

"Sowing and gathering of harvest delays for 2-2.5 months and the farmers suffer from huge losses," the report reads.

Besides, the ministry reported that the ministry works to upgrade the equipments.

According to the ministry's data, 638 tractors were bought in 2012 through grants of China and provided to farmers in leasing via "Ayil Bank", as well as 225 tractors were bought through Turkish credits and 118 tractors will be bought through Japan's grants.

Earlier it was reported that the Kyrgyz authorities have identified poor soil conditions, prevalence of livestock disease and a lack of skills among farmers as top problems in Kyrgyzstan's agricultural sector.

These problems have caused a decline in the share of the agricultural production in Kyrgyzstan's gross domestic product (GDP).

Arability and irrigation are two of the problems with land use in the country. Roughly 40 percent of irrigated land suffered from degradation in the past five years. The difficulty with the soil has led to a related problem of rural depopulation. Now, the country realizes plans to improve the quality of soil.

The country also tries to solve another acute problem in the Kyrgyz agriculture -- the lack of agriculture skills of farmers. To solve this problem, the government will allocate funds to boost farmers' skills, educate agronomists, improve the level of education at the University of Agriculture and hold training sessions and seminars for farmers and private traders.