Tajiks reward outstanding woman farmers The country honours women responsible for feeding its citizens. DUSHANBE – Hard-working Tajik women who help grow the nation's food took the stage in an April 4 award ceremony in Dushanbe. The competition, "Woman Are the Masters of the Land," awarded diplomas and valuable prizes to 30 Khatlon Oblast women during the ceremony. The prizes included cash awards, 3G modems with a year's free internet service, notebook-computer bags, and other items. "This competition revealed examples of successful and rational land use by woman holders of land certificates in Khatlon oblast," said Nasibakhon Aminova, executive director of The National Association of Small and Medium-Sized Business of the Republic of Tajikistan (NASMB RT). The competitors were women who grow crops or operate food-processing plants. Women play a large role in Tajik agriculture, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tajik service reported earlier in April, citing the departure abroad of many male migrant workers. About 18,000 women work on Khatlon Oblast farms, according to the report. The contest's aim was to attract more women into managing farms and to increase their entrepreneurial activity by awarding usage rights for plots of land. NASMB RT, Oxfam, the Tajik government's Committee on Women's and Family Affairs and the private sector co-operated in organising the contest. Recognising female farmers encourages them to manage farming resources intelligently, Aminova said. "Taking part in the competition makes women think about forming small farms, applying to land committees and obtaining certificates for the land," she said. "This [remote] farming region needs support," Aminova said. The selection process Local government representatives in Khatlon Oblast helped the contest organisers publicise the event in remote villages. Competitors had to be older than 18 and Khatlon Oblast residents. They had to possess a valid land certificate or to have applied for a certificate before the competition was announced in October. Besides farmers, women who had opened food-processing plants were eligible. "More than 400 women applied," Aminova said. The judges narrowed the competition down to 30 finalists over several months: 19 competing to be "Best woman farmer of a land plot" and 11 competing for "Best woman farm director." Aminova explained the judging criteria. The judges considered statistics like area of farm, yield per hectare, and efficiency of water use. "Other factors ... included the number of employees, the wages paid and even the extent of charity work," she said. Winners work hard, have ambitions Jami District's Azizmokh Makhmadiyeva was one of the finalists for "Best woman farm director." "A woman does more farm work than a man," she said. Tajikistan needs more female farm directors with so many men working abroad, Makhmadiyeva said. She founded her own farm in 2005 and primarily hires women whose husbands too are working abroad. Safargul Kurbonova of Khuroson District was a finalist for "Best woman farmer of a land plot." Her husband and nine children help her. "By competing, we rural women were able to know each other better," she said. She has plans. "I want to open small stalls for selling agricultural produce and other consumer goods," she said. The contest, she said, had widened her horizons and enabled her to discuss experiences with women from other parts of Khatlon. http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/business/2014/04/21/feature-01 Khatlon Oblast woman farmers and an official (far right) at the April 4 award ceremony for ''Women Are the Masters of the Land,'' an oblast-wide contest in Dushanbe. The ceremony honoured 30 outstanding female farmers from the southern Tajik oblast. [Jamila Sujud]