BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 24. Agriculture is the backbone of Kyrgyzstan’s rural economy, which employs about 40 percent of the country’s labor force.
One of the key accomplishments of Kyrgyzstan's agriculture sector was increase of state support for country's agro-industrial sector in this year.
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov announced that the volume of Kyrgyzstan's state support to the agro-industrial sector in 2022 increased by 2.5 times or by 26.6 billion soms ($323.3 million) compared to last year.
Thanks to a sharp increase in the volume of state support and the hard work of specialists in this field, agricultural production is expected in 2022 in the amount of about 366 billion soms ($4.4 billion), or almost 42 billion soms ($510.5 million) more compared to last year.
Launch of "Financing of Agriculture - 10" program
The purpose of the Project "Financing of Agriculture-10", which was approved in January 2022, is to provide state support to business entities and individuals in Kyrgyzstan for the timely conduct of agricultural fieldwork this year.
A total of 8,296 agricultural loans as part of the implementation of the "Financing of Agriculture - 10" program were issued in Kyrgyzstan as of December 22, 2022.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan, the number of issued loans for the development of Kyrgyzstan's agricultural sector under the "Financing of Agriculture - 10" project reached 4.7 billion soms ($55.2 million) this year.
During the reporting period, 2,938 loans were issued for the development of crop production in the amount of 1.2 billion soms ($14.1 million).
Kyrgyzstan provided almost 5,000 loans worth of 2.4 billion soms ($28.4 million) for the development of livestock breeding and for agro-processing activities - 359 loans in the amount of 1 billion soms ($12.7 million).
Kyrgyzstan increases supplies of agricultural machinery to local farmers
Kyrgyz Minister of Agriculture Askarbek Dzhanybekov informed that a total of 2.5 billion soms ($30 million) were allocated in 2022 for providing farmers with agricultural machinery, which is more than a twofold increase over the year - 1.2 billion soms ($15.4 million) in 2021.
In addition to leasing, support for production in this sector is also provided through concessional lending and support for Kyrgyzstan's agricultural clusters.
Volume of grain harvest in Kyrgyzstan increases over year
Minister of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan Askarbek Dzhanybekov in December this year noted that wheat and beetroot yields in Kyrgyzstan have increased this year. The areas planted with wheat and sugar beets have decreased this year, but thanks to high-quality seeds imported from Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan, it was possible to harvest a larger crop from smaller areas.
The grain harvest in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 1.9 million tons as of the end of November 2022, which is an increase of 40.7 percent over the same period in 2021 (1.3 million tons).
At the same time, the wheat harvest in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 625,200 tons as of the end of November 2022, which is an increase of 62 percent over the same period in 2021 (385,700 tons).
International cooperation: US John Deere company to modernize Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural machinery
Minister of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan Askarbek Dzhanybekov in May reported that John Deere, the world's largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery, will provide the concessional loan for the upgrade of agricultural machinery in Kyrgyzstan.
A memorandum was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan, Aiyl Bank, John Deere company and Eurasia Group as a part of a large-scale project to modernize agricultural machinery in Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan will receive the first installment of $8.5 million for the purchase and modernization of agricultural machinery in the near future. The country has set a goal of upgrading our agricultural equipment fleet by 10 percent by 2026, and the deal with John Deere is the first step in Kyrgyzstan's agricultural machinery modernization.
Kyrgyzstan exports large number of cattle heads to Azerbaijan
During the working visit of the head of the Livestock Organization and Monitoring Division of the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, Eldar Hasanov to Kyrgyzstan on June 16-19, 2022, issues of cooperation in the field of livestock were discussed.
Following the visit, the parties reached an agreement that in autumn 2022 an expert group would arrive in Kyrgyzstan to select 200 heads of yaks for delivery to Azerbaijan.
From September 23 through September 26, 2022, the leadership of the Saktan agricultural cooperative and the association of yak breeders of Kyrgyzstan visited Azerbaijan. During the visit, fieldwork was carried out in the Kalbajar and Lachin regions of Azerbaijan to study yaks housing conditions, as well as natural climate analysis.
Remarkably, a total of 100 heads of yaks were exported from Kyrgyzstan to Azerbaijan in December of this year.
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Most agriculture is family-based on small plots of land. Larger production, particularly in apples, apricots, cherries, sugar beets, beans, cotton, tobacco, and walnuts, is regional and still small-scale compared to Western standards.
Among Kyrgyzstan's agricultural products are tobacco, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, grapes, fruits, and berries. Significant animal derived products include sheep, goats, cattle, and wool. Chickens, horses, and pigs are also present. In some regions, yaks are herded and bred.