Unji Jamoat

Administrative and territorial position of the jamoat

Unji Rural Jamoat is one of the largest jamoats of Bobojon Ghafurov District in Sughd Region. Its total area is 2,537 hectares, accounting for about 23% of the district’s total area. The total population of Unji Rural Jamoat is 46,630.

The jamoat comprises 7 villages, the largest of which is the village of Unji, home to 42% of the district’s population. The jamoat has 8,316 registered households and 30 mahalla committees.

Historical and cultural background

In the works of historians, the village of Unji is described as a land of orchards and a recreation area for townspeople. The main occupations of the population were farming, cultivation and horticulture, with livestock breeding developing later. Villagers supplied the Khujand city market with grain and cotton, and from those markets they obtained the goods needed for daily life and for the development of traditional crafts.

The Unji Village Soviet was established in 1918. From the 1950s through the 1990s the Unji jamoat developed at a steady pace. During those years, under the leadership of the renowned chairman of the collective farm (later named after Saidkhoja Urunkhojaev), the twice Hero of Socialist Labour S. Urunkhojaev, exceptional results were achieved on the jamoat’s territory. In those years the collective farm was considered one of the leading farms of the region and the republic, and ranked first in the production of agricultural goods (including cotton, silk cocoons, meat and milk).

During this period the rapid improvement of the villages and the social and cultural life of the population advanced and continues to this day. The local infrastructure and social and leisure sector progressed substantially, laying the foundation for further development. For example, in 1957, on the initiative of Urunkhojaev himself, the “Arbob” palace — a copy of Peter I’s palace in Leningrad — was built. It was in this very palace that, in 1992, a historically pivotal session for the people of Tajikistan was held — the 16th Session of the Supreme Soviet, at which the esteemed Emomali Rahmon was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tajikistan. Today this beautiful palace serves as a historical landmark and a place of rest for foreign guests as well as for local residents and visitors from other regions.

Climate and natural resources

The jamoat has a dry continental climate, with annual precipitation of 200–300 mm. Average summer temperatures range from +25 °C to +40 °C; in winter they fall to −10 °C.

The productivity of the jamoat’s agricultural land depends on the availability of sufficient moisture and on the flow of the Syr Darya, which together shape the planning of crop yields. The climate is favourable for cotton, grain, melon and gourd crops, orchards, viticulture and silkworm breeding.

There are no mineral resources on the territory of the jamoat. Water sources used in the jamoat include vertical wells, partial drinking-water mains and the waters of irrigation channels and streams.

Demographic situation in the jamoat

The jamoat comprises 8,316 households. Its total population is 46,630, of whom 48.8% (or 22,330) are women. The population is multi-ethnic, with Tajiks forming the main share.

Table 1. Population and households of the jamoat

Vision for the jamoat

Unji Rural Jamoat is envisioned as one of the developed jamoats — home to agricultural and industrial processing enterprises, with a favourable investment climate, well-developed social infrastructure and a worthy living environment in which a healthy and cultured population lives and works.

SWOT analysis of Unji Rural Jamoat

Strengths

• Proximity to the regional centre
• Available workforce
• Available arable land
• Existing small enterprises
• Existing high-skill enterprises
• The “Arbob” tourist complex
• Hospitable and proactive people
• Public trust in the jamoat chairman and his administration
• High-quality raw materials for production
• A construction-materials trading hub
• Existing utility networks and infrastructure facilities
• Experienced dehkan farmers
• Social facilities (schools, health centres, a hospital)
• Favourable nature and climate

Weaknesses

• Partial lack of drinking and irrigation water supply for the population
• Electricity supply limitations
• Natural-gas supply limitations
• Poor condition of roads between farms and along streets
• Low standard of land-use culture
• Partial rise of groundwater
• Worn-out agricultural machinery
• Low public awareness and culture in ecology and health
• Public health below required standards
• Outflow of qualified personnel
• Insufficient local budget
• Degradation of agricultural land
• Low quality of seeds
• High interest rates on loans

Opportunities

• Bringing arable land into cultivation
• Favourable political environment
• Proximity to the railway and the airport
• Proximity to international roads
• Support from the district and regional leadership
• Targeted funding from the republican and regional budgets
• Lending institutions

Threats

• Natural disasters
• Presence of political radicals
• Economic crisis, inflation
• Outbreak of epidemics
• Domestic political situation
• Environmental degradation
• Drought
• Decline in remittances from labour migration