Changes in the Structure of Sown Areas in Kyrgyzstan in 1942

Thanks to the selfless labor of collective farm workers, MTS employees, and state farm workers, the spring sowing campaign of 1942 was conducted successfully: the sowing of grain was completed in 35 working days compared to 50 in 1941, sugar beets in 28 days, and cotton in 23 days. The sowing area for all agricultural crops in 1942 increased by 77.1 thousand hectares in collective farms and by 4.4 thousand hectares in state farms, totaling an increase of 81.5 thousand hectares. In addition, 4,745 hectares were sown beyond the plan for the harvest to support the Red Army and assist areas liberated from German-Fascist occupiers.

Changes occurred in the structure of sowing areas. The sowing of food grain crops (wheat, corn, millet, rice) increased by 61.4 thousand hectares. The sowing areas for winter crops expanded significantly in 1942, with 587.5 thousand hectares sown in collective farms, which is much more compared to 1940 and 1941, and this was of great importance in the context of war.

The sowing of sugar beets increased significantly. On the eve of the war, collective and state farms in Kyrgyzstan had only 16.5 thousand hectares under this crop, while in 1942 it increased to 35.0 thousand hectares, more than double, and the sowing area for potatoes expanded by one-third. For the first time during the war, sugar beets were sown in the Suzak and Oktyabrsky districts, as well as in collective farms subordinate to the Jalal-Abad City Executive Committee. The areas for sowing cotton and oilseed crops remained the same as before the war.

The expansion of sowing areas in Kyrgyzstan, as well as in the eastern part of the country as a whole, was an important aspect of the reorganization of collective and state farm production for military needs, making a significant contribution to compensating for losses caused by the enemy's occupation of several western and southwestern food-producing regions of the Soviet Union.

In 1942, rural workers fought hard for a high harvest. Due to a reduction in the supply of mineral fertilizers, local organic fertilizers, primarily manure, were widely used. In the summer of 1942, 20,500 hectares of grain and 300 hectares of vegetable crops were cleared of weeds in just the Jety-Oguz district of the Issyk-Kul region.

Great importance was attached to irrigation; in May 1942, the construction of the Big Chui Canal was resumed and was mostly completed by the end of the year. Collective and state farms in the Frunze region were able to increase irrigated areas and develop more than 10 thousand hectares of virgin lands.

Selfless labor of Kyrgyz farmers in 1942