Agrarian Reform Plan Misses the Mark

Government efforts to make agriculture more efficient in Turkmenistan will not work unless the state allows private land ownership and creates a free market in the sector, NBCentralAsia experts say.



On March 30, the Halk Maslahaty, or People’s Council – the supreme legislative body in Turkmenistan – is to approve a strategy document envisaging radical reforms in agricultural production and processing over the period to 2030. It will also pass two new laws, one on peasants’ (“dayhan”) associations, the other on peasant farms.



The strategic programme will propose reviewing land improvement arrangements to curb salination caused by poor irrigation, instituting forward-planning for the use of farmland so that irrigation waters are preserved, and transforming small specialised farms on leased land into bigger, diversified farming units.



NBCentralAsia observers point out that the strategy does not offer radical new methods to make the agricultural sector more successful, to make it easier for farmers to access loans, or to revive barren land.



Peasant associations remain dependent on the state, since the government controls orders and prices for agricultural products. By law, peasant associations can only be established and abolished by the Turkmen president.



The state often delays paying private farmers and leaseholder landholders for their wheat and cotton, so most lack the money to buy seeds. It is extremely difficult for them to get bank loans.



As a solution, one NBCentralAsia expert based in Ashgabat recommends developing a financial scheme where peasants can get bank loans, and creating “stock exchanges” where farmers could trade their harvests.



But creating an open market will not solve the problem by itself - the way land is distributed in Turkmenistan also hampers production. Although the constitution allows private ownership of some kinds of property, land can only be held in lease from the state. If landholders fail to meet government production targets, their land can be be taken away from them and given to someone else.



When land is constantly transferred from one farmer to another, the quality of the soil deteriorates because it is never left fallow, the expert points out.



“Landholders are tired of the treatment they get from the state,” said Imamkuli Rejepov, a farmer from the Lebap region. “There are no genuine landowners in our country because the land does not belong to the peasants; it is taken away from one and given to another.”



Some local observers say that allowing private land ownership would increase agricultural efficiency, but an NBCentralAsia economic expert argues that the authorities are afraid of changing the system because land and water resources in Turkmenistan are so limited.



Instead, the expert says, land could be leased long term and subject to a fixed tax.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)