There is a rumor that the government of Uzbekistan has passed a resolution to decrease the planting of rice throughout the country. It is said that it is done because of the water deficit that is going to be this year in the whole country. What results may it bring to the state and to ordinary people?

It is really hard to tell exactly. However, there are some presumptions concerning it. One of them is that the decrease of rice planting will certainly have a negative affect on farmers, as their income is mostly based on the rice growing. The reason is that rice, comparing to cotton that makes the majority of the agriculture in the country, is the only plant that you can sell in a bazaar for a really good price, and the government had not controlled it before. According to the resolution, there will be a special committee that will check farmers fields and decide if they can plant rice or not, and if yes, how much it should be.

Second presumption is that the decrease in rice planting is done by the government on purpose as it wants people to produce more cotton. Cotton has played one of the essential roles in the development of country economy since long ago. Cotton used to be one of the main products that Uzbekistan produced during the USSR period. Comparing to rice, the “white gold” brings more profit to the state than any other crops, and it is yearly exported to many countries abroad in large scales. Cotton and other crops, which are set as obligatory to farmers by the government, do not give much profit to farmers as their prices are really low, and the cotton industry is monopolized by the government. So they have to sell it to the government for the price it sets.

Third presumption is that it will cause the raise of the rice price in the market. The Uzbeks are fond of rice meals – plov, mastava, shavla, etc. There is no Uzbek family were plov is not made at least once in a week. So now, rice may become a delicacy for most Uzbeks.

People even joke that now they have to find out ways to make plov not with rice but with cotton. Though, cotton is also one of taboos the Uzbeks cannot keep at home. All cotton should go to the country. Farmers, who have to grow cotton in their lands, do not have other options but sell their harvest to the government. I think it is high time to make some reforms in the agriculture system of Uzbekistan. The reform should begin with giving a right to farmers to choose what crop they can plant and giving up the cotton monopoly allowing others squeeze into the cotton market.

I wish farmers a strong patience as this year is going to be really difficult for them.