Farmer Haydarali Islomov from the Kuyichirchik district in the Tashkent region, told human rights activists that despite a land lease agreement, his land was unexpectedly transferred in March this year to a local cluster for the cultivation of cotton.
On May 19, Islomov told human rights defenders Yelena Urlaeva and Malokhat Eshonkulova that this year he concluded an agreement with a Turkish company to supply 100 tons of dill and 60 tons of beans. From the beginning of this year, he cultivated a field, planted dill on 5 hectares of land and prepared the land for planting beans.
At the end of March, after he had completed sowing and investing 67 million soum of his own money, he was told that the hokimiyat had transferred his land to a cluster.
According to the farmer, he received a lease of land for 30 years to sow export products in April 2018, and planned to grow a crop of beans and dill for export valued at 130 million soum.
“In 2018, the hokimiyat made me sow red pepper which resulted in big losses for me. This year I also invested money. At the beginning of the year, no one warned me that the land would be transferred to a cluster. I cultivated the land and bought seeds. How do I now return the debt and how will I fulfill my obligations under the contract for the supply of products to Turkey?” asked Islomov.
The farmer appealed to the economic court, demanding that the land be returned and his expenses compensated. He lost the case in the first instance and filed an appeal, which was to be considered on May 2. However, on April 30 a tractor arrived and plowed the field, destroying the entire crop of dill.
The farmer showed the activists the fields of the destroyed dill where in some places cotton has already been planted.
“On May 2, an appeal hearing was to take place but they did not even wait for the court decision and plowed the field on April 30 and planted cotton.” said Islomov.
