The agriculture ministry in Kyrgyzstan has recommended local farmers to focus on growing rice, as it believes that rice cultivation is one of the most profitable sectors in the country’s agriculture.
The most profitable is the cultivation of Uzgen rice, a variety of red rice valued and beloved by the Kyrgyz and Uzbek people, who use it for making plov. Uzgen rice is a hallmark of Kyrgyzstan. Distributed throughout the Ferghana valley, this variety grows well in the country’s southern Osh region, especially in the Uzgen district.
Rice is a crop that requires a lot of water. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, Kyrgyz rice farmers now pay 7,000 Kyrgyz soms ($80) per hectare per season for irrigation water (an amount equivalent to the cost of only half a bag of rice). Compared to the cost of water in other countries in the region, the cost of irrigation water in Kyrgyzstan is significantly lower.
Farmers spend 100,000-200,000 soms ($1,143-$2,287), including farmland rent, to grow one hectare of rice. On average, 3,800-4,500 kg of rice are harvested from one hectare, from which 2,500-3,500 kg of commercial rice is produced. With a price of 200-250 soms (about $2.8) per kilogram, the income per hectare is about 600,000-700,000 soms, and the farmer earns 400,000-500,000 soms ($4,574-$5,717) of net profit per hectare.
Over the past 30 years, the area under rice in Kyrgyzstan has expanded fivefold, and in 2024, rice was grown on 12,200 hectares, and the gross harvest reached almost 48,000 tons.
According to the ministry, a center for processing, packaging and exporting rice will be built in the Uzgen district of the Osh region, which is expected to help local farmers boost the production of the famous red rice variety.
The ministry also announced the allocation of 100 million soms ($1.143 million) at an interest of 1.5% per annum for the development of rice farming in the Uzgen district. These funds will be used to purchase equipment for sowing rice, tractors, combines, trucks, and spraying drones.
Photo: agro.gov.kg
