Moving mountain communities out of poverty

Credit: Susie Emmett

Encircled by snow-capped peaks, the weekly livestock market in the valley of Kochkor is in full swing. As usual, trade is brisk. Walking between the clusters of cattle, sheep and horses, farmer Ismael Kharab enthuses about the quality of stock that the mountain pastures and farmers produce, "We love our mountains. If there were no mountains then we would not have such fine animals." However, despite fierce farming pride, there are profound problems in mountain farming communities in Kyrgyzstan.

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1995, the agricultural economy of the Kyrgyz Republic has remained the nation's main source of income (38% of GDP) and employment (55%). Production at altitude is problematic at the best of times because of the short growing season. Furthermore, there is a dearth of technical advice. Problems also arise in marketing surplus and specialist produce from the mountains. Many family farm incomes have fallen, especially in the higher and most remote valleys, and mountain morale - and the capacity to develop - is dropping away. But there is a development team in Kyrgyzstan undaunted by such difficulties.

"This is the first project that can really make a tangible impact on people's lives , not just in my work experience, but in the history of post-independent Kyrgyzstan," says Cholpon Akmatova, Deputy Team Leader of the UK's Department for International Development (DFID)-funded Sustainable Livelihoods for Livestock Producing Communities Project (SLLPC) about the work in progress since January 2002.

Credit: Susie Emmett

Fourteen settlements at altitudes of 900-2000 metres - with a total population of 28,500 - are being assisted with a range of credit, training inputs and assistance. According to SLLCP Team Leader Andrew Jones, they have started by tackling the problems at the heart of mountain farming. "Families face a great marketing problem if they produce the same products as producers on the plains. One of the things our project is trying to do is to look for unique features of the upland areas and try to identify niche markets and products they can produce that no-one else can."

Already there have been some early marketing successes: a village in the oblast (district) of Chui is now supplying exotic vegetables to the Hyatt Hotel in the capital, Bishkek, and handicraft producers in Osh and Talas oblasts have received training to improve quality and design of home-produced, wool felt goods. Now they get better prices from local traders and a contract to supply a European-based importer has been signed. As well as financial improvements to rural livelihoods, SLLCP is aiming at some fundamental changes to attitudes in the mountains so that communities can tackle many of their problems for themselves. "The problem with Kyrgyz communities is that often leadership is weak," says Cholpon Akmatova. "The nomad culture is very independent and self-sufficient but it does not always help the community these days. We want to develop the leaders in the community to mobilise people to solve problems. There are few leaders now who can convince a community that they themselves can do those things without waiting for regional authorities to come in and solve them." In most instances it seems that a little money and a lot of effort would be enough to rebuild a local school roof so classes can resume, or repair a bridge that allows trucks easy access in and out of the village.

"The message we are trying to give is, 'You can do this!'" Andrew Jones points out, "and an important aspect of the project is linkage to local administration." In practice this means extensive consultation with local people, leaders and officials to forge the connections and mutual respect from which village-based initiatives for the benefit of the whole farming community will sprout.

So are the strong green shoots of rural economic recovery in sight? Andrew Jones is quietly confident that the approach he and his team are pursuing will be successful in Kyrgyzstan and relevant to many other farming communities as well. "If the project serves as a beacon - and spreads through neighbouring areas and has an impact in other districts - then we will be achieving the beginning of a much bigger change."

Back to Menu