Julia Eckert, Georg Elwert (1996):
Land Tenure in Uzbekistan

2.1 "Thirty km into the desert" - the plots which are privatised

The decree of the Cabinet of Ministers about "additional measures for the realisation of economic reforms in agriculture" demands the development of virgin land and the irrigation of bigger areas. But, as G. Talipov points out, 150000 ha of irrigated land lie waste or underused due to inefficient usage and damages. This land should be reclaimed before virgin land is irrigated since there is already an infrastructure of irrigation canals and streets and villages available. [FN 39] Government plans to rescue the Aral sea would also forbid the extension of irrigation.

Farmers complained that they could not apply for a certain plot and were receiving land of bad quality. Furthermore, not only did they have to farm the most unproductive land, they also had to travel up to 15 km to reach their plots. As one farmer put it: "30 km into the desert." [FN 40] In 75 % of the cases Dehkhan land was over ten km away from the village where the farmer lived.