Preliminary harvest figures: 1.2 million tonnes of grain and 210,000 tonnes of potatoes
The Chu and Talas valleys have brought in one of the strongest harvests in years. Grain is up by about two-fifths on last year.
Preliminary figures from the district agriculture departments show a harvest of about 1.2 million tonnes of grain (wheat, barley and field maize) and about 210,000 tonnes of potatoes in the ISEZ this year.
The grain total is about 340,000 tonnes higher than at the same point last year, and potato output is up by more than a quarter. The departments credit a kinder growing season, steady canal rotations in Kara-Buura and Talas districts, and the second full year of lining and laser-levelling under the Irrigation Modernization Programme.
Storage capacity at the district elevators will be reviewed before the winter. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and the district departments will publish final harvest figures in November.