Farmer A, aged 64, was interviewed by project researchers on 25 May 2022.176 His farm was established in 2003 when he was allocated a total of 84 hectares of land, with the right to permanent use under a 49-year lease. Farmer A says that he has consistently fulfilled the grain, cotton and silk-worm cocoon quotas set by the state. Farmer B states that he does not believe he can seek remedy through the courts as they are not fair or trustworthy. He is currently working as a brigadier for the Indorama Agro cluster and says his salary is very low. However, he depends on the company for work as there are limited employment possibilities in the district. According to farmer A, his land, along with that of other farmers, was illegally confiscated by local authorities when the Indorama Agro Cluster came to Akaltin district in the Syrdarya region in 2018. He told monitors that in December 2018, the hokim of Akaltin summoned him and other farmers to a meeting at the district hokimiyat. They were then forced to write an application consenting to the transfer of their land to the district land reserve. Farmer A states that the hokim received the applications from all the farmers within a day. They were told that the concept of the cluster system was now being implemented. Farmers were not asked for their consent to hand over the land and due to a lack of legal knowledge, the farmers did not protest and took no legal action. Farmer A is now retired. Farmer C was interviewed by project researchers on 25 May 2022.178 He was the head of a farm in Akaltin district that specialised in the production of grain and cotton, covering an area of 52 hectares. According to the farmer, he consistently fulfilled the quotas set by the government throughout the tenure of his farm. Farmer B was interviewed by project researchers on 25 May 2022. He jointly owned a 50-hectare farm with his brother in Akaltin for which they had a 49-year lease.177 Farmer B told project researchers that in late November 2018, the Akaltin district hokim, D.T. Fazilov, issued a decision (details not known) to cancel the land lease on the basis that the brothers had submitted an application consenting to the termination of their lease. However, farmer B alleges that he was forced to submit the application in December 2018 by the district hokimiyat and that the land was confiscated against his will. He also claims that he was not issued with any written notice, was not consulted and received no compensation. Farmer C told project researchers that in 2018, like most farmers in Akaltin district, his land was confiscated after hokimiyat officials called them to a meeting in December 2018 and announced that they had to hand over their land to the district reserve. They were forced to file an application on the same day transferring their land to the Akaltin district land reserve. The farmer says that officials told him that due to the optimisation policy driving the cluster system, the state no longer needed farmers. According to farmer C, in just one day, years of work he had invested in his land, along with his rights, were declared null and void. He further states that he was not provided with any documentation by the authorities about the seizure of his land. Farmer C said that in his case his land was actually transferred to the Sangzor Poultry Cluster, and that he had not been offered any compensation to cover losses or debts incurred. According to the farmer, he is currently working as a brigadier for the Indorama Agro Cluster for a small salary that is not enough to feed his family. He says that he makes a living by selling the equipment he bought when he was a farmer (Personal Communication, 25 May 2022). A False Sense of Legality 55