Published
06/05/2025, 13:39In Kyrgyzstan, rice cultivation is one of the most profitable agricultural sectors, despite the high water requirements of this crop. This season, rice farmers are paying only 7,000 soms per hectare for irrigation, an amount equivalent to the cost of half a bag of rice. Previously, payment was made only for the first or second irrigation. This was reported in the Ministry of Water Resources and Agriculture.
Compared to other countries, the cost of irrigation water in Kyrgyzstan remains quite low, which positively affects the profitability of cultivation. For example, farmers spend 100,000 to 200,000 KGS per hectare of rice fields, including land rent. The average yield is from 38 to 45 quintals per hectare, which gives an average of 2.5-3.5 tons of rice.
When selling rice at the price of 200-250 soms per kilogram, the income from one hectare reaches 600-700 thousand soms, and net profit is about 400-500 thousand soms. The cost of a bag of rice today is about 12 thousand 500 soms, and less than 60% of this amount is spent on water, which confirms the high economic efficiency of production.
Over the past 30 years, the area under rice crops in Kyrgyzstan has grown five times - in 2024, 12,200 hectares were under this crop. Gross rice harvest has increased 24 times and amounted to about 47.5-48 thousand tons.
The Ministry of Agriculture notes that water is a valuable resource and calls on all rice farmers in the country to be careful with irrigation and save water.
