BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 13. In Kyrgyzstan, livestock production is the main source of livelihood for poor rural smallholders and makes a major contribution to people’s incomes, nutrition and food security, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Country Director for Kyrgyzstan and Moldova Samir Bejaoui told Trend.
The IFAD project "Access to Market Project (ATMP)", launched in 2016, is strengthening livestock marketing and processing under a comprehensive approach to developing the livestock sector of Kyrgyzstan.
Bejaoui noted that in 2022, ATMP has been making strides in terms of finalizing grant proposals and starting the large-scale procurement of infrastructure, equipment and capacity-building for some 100 agro-processors and cooperatives in the meat, dairy and honey subsectors in Kyrgyzstan.
In parallel, the project is promoting accessible and relevant financial products to allow cooperative and smallholder farmers to access credit resources and increase their business activities, thus responding to the growing needs of agro-processors for quality raw materials.
"ATMP is also working to enhance the Kyrgyz farmers’ skills, which are critical to sustainable pasture management, livestock development and environmental-friendly beekeeping. Since project start-up, ATMP has delivered some 32 training sessions in six regions of the country and trained 600 people on diverse topics from pandemic management, accounting and marketing to cooperative development," he said.
By the end of 2022, ATMP will have reached a total of 1,500 agricultural entrepreneurs, who will also be trained to enhance their technical skills, which are critical to sustainable pasture management, livestock development and environmental-friendly beekeeping.