Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the state and collective farms into so called dekhkan farms ( dekhkanskoe khozyaystvo, DF) 78 was
developed as late as 2000 (Rakhmatilloev et al. 2003: 102). 79 All members of a former sovkhoz
or kolkhoz have the right to a share of the land. This land is still state property but the farmers
have inheritable tenure rights and complete legal freedom of independent farm management
(AAH 2003:4). The principal government agency responsible for the implementation of the
land reform is the State Land Committee (see chapter 6.1.2). As a result of the land reform,
officially there are now three types of agricultural enterprises (AAH 2003: 6f) 80 :
1) Individual farm: consists of one family, the land certificate is registered under the
head of family;
2) Farmer's farm ( fermerskoe khozyaystvo ): consists of several families, the land certificate is
registered under the chair of the farm with the names of all members listed in the
document.
Both types are also often referred to as independent dekhkan farms. Both are formed based on
the active application of the farmers and not by allotment. The individual(s) either apply to the
farm administration and the khukumat to withdraw their shares of a collective DF or they apply
for land from the special fund 81 (Art. 11, law “On Dekhkan Farms”). Independent DFs are
usually small with plots of less than 50 ha.
3) Collective dekhkan farm ( obshshestvennoe dekhkanskoe khozyaystvo ): the land certificate is
registered under the farm's name with names of all members listed in an annex. With
this type, one FSK is reorganized into one (sometimes several) DF in a topdown
process. The chief of the FSK is “elected” chief of the DF. The land certificate is is
sued under the name of the farm with a list of all the members in the annex. All
members should receive membership certificates. 82
Meanwhile a fourth type of farm is evolving, namely the association of dekhkan farms. Increa
singly, independent DFs unite to become associations with a single management responsible
for buying the necessary inputs, providing machinery, etc., and therefore taking a certain per
centage of the profit (usually between 2% and 10%). The degree of autonomy of the member
farms varies. In some cases, FSK have been transformed directly into associations of DFs,
which might only exist on paper and function like the FSK before.
All FSK were supposed to be reorganized in dekhkan farms by December, 31 st 2005 a
target which was not met. According to the National Land Committee, by 10/01/2005, 26,608
dekhkan farms were registered, of which 8,609 were collective and 17,459 independent (family
and individual) farms. 83 By 2006, still only 400 of the 600 FSK had been transformed into
dekhkan farms (MIWM, UNDP, EC IFAS 2006:37).
Official data suggest that land reform proceeded successfully albeit slower than antic
ipated. However, land reform in practice is conducted rather cosmetically. A stringent privati
zation would have challenged the interests of local networks and their resource base. By Feb
ruary 2005, only 9% of the agricultural land in Tajikistan was managed by independent dekhkan
farms (ICG 2005: 8). The collective DFs are often only quasi privatized: they are managed in
78 Dekhkan is the Tajik word for farmer.
79 Exceptions exist for about 170 state farms for seed production, livestock breeding, and research.
80 Author's interview with an agricultural specialist of GAA Aini, Aini, 09/28/2005.
81 The special fund distributes unused land of sovkhoze s and kolkhozes . This land is typically of low quality.
82 A survey by AAH of farmers in Khatlon found that only 5.6% of the interviewed collective dekhkan farm members
got a membership certificate. AAH 2003: 6.
83 Author's interview with a senoir official of the State Land Committee, Dushanbe, 11/01/2005.
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