secondary data review on the food security situation in the kyrgyz ...

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Crops yields (100 kg/ha) 2000 2006 2007Wheat 23.4 20.7 20.0Sugar-beet 191.4 167.6 180.3Potatoes 151 152 157Vegetables 157 176 178Cotton 26.0 25.7 27.4Tobacco 23.8 24.0 24.7National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan, update of 19 February 2008 Kyrgyzstan is self-sufficient in potatoes, most vegetables and fruits, milk products, meat(93%) and eggs but must import half or more of its wheat (more than 200,000 tonsannually), vegetable oil and sugar. Food aid has dropped to close to zero since 2003. Yields of rainfed wheat seemed poor (0.3-0.9 t/ha) compared to the 2.5-6.0 t/ha for theirrigated sub-sector. However, comparing 2007 with 2006, no decline of wheat yields isreported, while an increase in the yields of sugar-beet and potatoes is apparent. Yields ofthe cash crops tobacco and cotton also seem to have improved.Crops yields (100 kg/ha) 2000 2006 2007Wheat 23.4 20.7 20.0Sugar-beet 191.4 167.6 180.3Potatoes 151 152 157Vegetables 157 176 178Cotton 26.0 25.7 27.4Tobacco 23.8 24.0 24.7National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan, update of 19 February 2008 Data from NCS indicate a decrease in the production of grains (wheat especially) andsugar-beet on State farms and farm cooperatives in 2007 compared to 2006, but anincrease in the production of potatoes and vegetables. At household level, the production ofwheat and sugar-beet also decreased between 2006 and 2007, but the production ofpotatoes remained similar, while the production of vegetables increased. The production ofcash crops including cotton and tobacco decreased in all types of units between 2006 and2007. The results confirm the growing share taken by farm cooperatives in total cropproduction, with a decline of the importance of State farms and relative decrease of theshare taken by household production units.Crop (Mt) Year State farms Farm cooperatives Households2000 294.3 760.6 107.5Wheat 2006 104.1 708.3 58.22007 78.3 624.0 34.22000 82.9 194.3 33.7Sugar-beet 2006 30.0 166.6 29.42007 14.8 118.2 22.42000 72.3 457.1 592.7Potatoes 2006 10.6 876.4 367.72007 13.1 991.6 369.12000 56.4 326.4 388.0Vegetables 2006 18.4 476.5 266.42007 20.6 489.5 279.72000 22.1 80.2 0Cotton 2006 11.5 105.7 0.302007 3.5 91.6 0.032000 5.5 15.9 5.5Tobacco 2006 0.8 11.9 0.72007 0.7 13.3 0.4National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan, update of 19 February 20087
The national food balance situation did not change significantly between 2006 and 2007 interms of per capita availability of bread and bakery products, potatoes, vegetables, fruits,sugar, meat, dairy products, eggs and vegetable oil. Further agricultural growth would require increased labour productivity, either by adoptingbetter (and more costly) planting technology (high quality seed, fertilizer), or by increasingthe agriculture capital stock – both of which require investment. For the Kyrgyz farmer,higher productivity comes from investment in fertilizer, seeds, dairy cooling equipment,better breeding and vaccines. The 2005 Kyrgyz Integrated Household Survey showed that only 3% of rural householdsowned a tractor or any other agricultural equipment, while 9% of households owned a horse.The remarkably low capitalization confirms the small-scale/subsistence farming nature andlow commercialization of the agriculture. In the absence of such investment, the quality and quantity of Kyrgyz outputs is inferior,making Kyrgyz farmers uncompetitive on international markets, and forcing them to sell atthe local market price. Nevertheless, potatoes and vegetables contribute 12% to the valueof official exports 11 . Prices for some goods, such as cereals and grains, were found to be 50-80% higher inKyrgyz markets than on world markets. These high prices benefit larger scale farmers,mostly located near the Kazakh border. But the production technology does not apply forthe typical small-scale farmer, who has less than 1 ha of land. In addition, these higher prices do not necessarily raise income of Kyrgyz farmers.Incomplete and segmented markets provide arbitrage opportunities for traders, and despitegrowing competition in trading, there remains a large wedge between farm-gate prices andmarket prices across the country. Low revenues per worker are partly explained by the highratio of farm workers to land, and partly by low farm-gate prices for farm outputs. Low farm-gate prices are, in turn, an artefact of Kyrgyzstan’s geographic situation as a landlocked, mountainous country. For some goods, farmers face prices much lower than worldprices (e.g. export prices for wool are less than 1/3 rd of world prices for standard quality).But for many inputs, such as fertilizer, farmers face prices higher than the world price. An important market failure for agriculture is the lack of contract enforcement. Bothbusinesses and farmers reportedly do not honour agreements and breach contracts. As aresult, without knowing with certainty how much money will be earned after a growingseason, farmers cannot justify investments in fertilizer or seeds. Four factors reinforce a stable equilibrium in Kyrgyzstan as a rent-seeking society:1) Wage levels near poverty for civil servants: makes supplemental income essential forsurvival;2) Unstable political environment: leads to short-term outlook among politicians and theirsubordinates;3) Complicated regulatory structure, with numerous conflicting rules and by-laws:provides mid-level bureaucrats with justification for interference;4) Inconsistent level of penalties for non-compliance: making bribery an attractivealternative to paying fines. Rent-seeking state organizations lead to two distinct types: (i) very small, household-levelfarms which operate informally to avoid taxes and rent-seeking by the state; and (ii) largebusinesses which have the professional staff and resources to manage the rent-seekingstate in a cost-effective way. Most farmers (83%) are small-scale.11 Regional Market Survey for the Central Asia Region – World Food Programme, Draft, September20088
Page 1 and 2: SECONDARY DATA REVIEW ON THE FOOD S
Page 3 and 4: Food consumption, nutritional statu
Page 5 and 6: II - Demography and societyDemograp
Page 7 and 8: The country has gone through a diff
Page 9: for services and 47% for industry).
Page 13 and 14: Livestock The livestock sector suff
Page 15 and 16: Energy policies do not seem to cont
Page 17 and 18: For the 2007/08 agricultural campai
Page 19 and 20: VI - Economic situation and poverty
Page 21 and 22: of its TACIS programme), UNDP, Isla
Page 23 and 24: 4% to 5% were noted. Extreme povert
Page 25 and 26: the poor were twice higher than of
Page 27 and 28: Unemployment rose to 8% in 2005. Ho
Page 29 and 30: Many young Kyrgyz workers find it m
Page 31 and 32: oRemittances contribute significant
Page 33 and 34: largest among the poor irrespective
Page 35 and 36: destination of products purchased i
Page 37 and 38: ooochildren under 16 years (and pup
Page 39 and 40: Nonetheless, the UMB programme rema
Page 41 and 42: The main difference between them ma
Page 43 and 44: At national level, per capita calor
Page 45 and 46: o19% of the population are both poo
Page 47 and 48: There is also a need to set up a re
Page 49 and 50: Initiation (anybreastfeeding)Exclus
Page 51 and 52: health insurance (in 2006) has enab
Page 53 and 54: low in Jalal-Abad, Naryn and Talas
Page 55 and 56: A continuing surge in consumer pric
Page 57 and 58: Overall producer price inflation wa
Page 59 and 60: However, faced with the risk of foo
Page 61 and 62:
oofinancing a topping up of unit be
Page 63 and 64:
Fuel imports could be reduced by mo
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