26.04.2014:  

Our region was represented by the President of the Academy of agricultural sciences of Georgia, academician Guram Aleksidze and Executive Secretary CACAARI, GFAR Steering Committee member Dr Alisher Tashmatov.

Key Outcomes – Members of the GFAR Steering Committee decided that:

• GFAR and CGIAR renewed their commitment to working in close partnership across programmes and to ensuring a shared vision and implementation for a successful GCARD3 process. To this end, the GFAR Steering Committee and CGIAR Consortium, in consultation with their constituencies, will prepare and submit a revised GCARD3 concept note for consideration by the CGIAR Fund Council meeting in May.
• The Committee agreed to practical, time-bound steps for improving the transparency, accountability and efficiency of the governance of the Global Forum, and in turn, that of the regional fora and other stakeholder groups represented in GFAR Steering Committee.
• The Committee fully endorsed the establishment, through GFAR, of an Integrated Agricultural Innovation Investment Facility to promote and increase investment and capacities in national agricultural research and innovation systems. The Facility will integrate national demands and innovation platforms, IFAD and funding partners, and international supporting mechanisms.
• Members reported on the actions they had taken to implement the GFAR Medium Term Plan and their plans for future work in their particular areas of responsibility.
• The Committee determined financial and technical support to catalyze partners’ actions and agreed to new working principles for implementing the GFAR Medium Term Plan (2014-2017).
• The Committee reviewed the Terms of Reference for the upcoming External Evaluation of GFAR and agreed to build on previous external evaluations of GFAR Governance and GCARD2. The External Evaluation will take place after the Constituent Assembly scheduled in November 2014, and be completed before mid-2015.
• The Committee adopted a gender strategy based on that of FAO.
• The Committee noted progress in developing a robust and layered Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Forum and agreed that it must be fully implemented by the end of 2014. Members agreed to fully document and share progress in their work, including through contributions to the GFAR website and communications.

GFAR Vice- Chair, Hon. Prof. Ruth Oniang’o, who Chaired the meeting, welcomed the strong unity of purpose shown and positive outcomes of the meeting “GFAR is renewed and re-energized; we have shown that together we can realize our joint purpose and meet the expectations of those we work to serve. It has been a great meeting and I thank us all for the enthusiasm and renewal of purpose”

Source: http://www.cacaari.org

1.04.2014:  

The exhibition’s mission is to provide a platform for efficient communication between agrarians and leaders of processing equipment and agricultural machinery sectors, as well as related industries experts and government bodies.
Participation in AgroWorld Uzbekistan is a strong marketing tool for presenting your products and competitiveness, for studying market demand and extending business contacts.

Make Connections
- Interact with industry experts all in one place
- Make lasting professional contacts
- Learn about new business opportunities firsthand

Source: http://www.ite-uzbekistan.uz/

13.03.2014:  

5.03.2014:  

Member of the Steering Committee of the Central Asia and the Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions, the famous scientist, best live example for young generation, a person with great energy and love of the cause, a true patriot and fighter for the progress and development of agricultural research Zakir Khalikulov pass away suddenly at 62. It was truly a gifted and talented person, the indomitable will of the academic researcher, the talented Organizer, teacher, one of the founders of the Association of agricultural research institutions in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

He was well known in many educational, scientific research institutions and organizations in our 8 countries of the region of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and in many countries of the world, where he worked and was in official missions.

Zakir Khalikulov made a significant contribution to the formation and development of our regional association that he wanted to convert to a forum, which is currently represented by other regional and continental forums on agricultural development in global agricultural development platform.

He supported the formation of the Association, among which the 8 national systems of Agriculture consortia’s of Agricultural universities, NGOs and farmers ' organizations, which were created with his active and determined participation. Among them, he has gained the high respect and admiration.

Member of the Steering Committee of the Association of agricultural research institutions in Central Asia and the Caucasus on behalf of the international research organizations participation Zakir Khalikulov always generate ideas and deeds, through which our representatives participated at the Global Conference in Montpellier in France 2010, continue this process was continued in Punta Del Este, in Uruguay, in 2012.

One of the first in all international forums and events he insisted and sought the participation of our region and our representatives in the global process of agricultural research for development. He was well known and remembered in the Secretariat of the global forum agricultural research for development (GFAR).

Zakir Khalikulov was convinced that the region needs to cooperate closely with international agricultural research organizations and managed to convince others as ICARDA, IFPRI, IRRI, CIMMYT, and AVRDC are associate members of the Association.

Among the particular merit was closely associated with the agricultural center of MSU (Eurasian Centre on food security).

Zakir Khalikulov firmly believed in the importance of partnerships, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building and strengthening national agricultural systems of the countries in the region.

His passing is a great loss for the scientific community of the countries of our Association. His case and undertakings will continue to benefit our region of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Source: http://www.cacaari.org

3.03.2014:  

It said that the Cabinet of Ministers approved a plan on dividing the garden to 13 sectors (74 areas), which were allocated to the ministries and departments of Uzbekistan.

The committee noted that it is important to preserve uniqueness of the garden and ensure it meets modern requirements.

Tashkent Botanical Garden is a unique object of Uzbekistan. It has plants, flowers and threes from Eastern Asia, North America, Central Asia, Europe, Far East, etc. It has largest collection of flora in Central Asia.

The plants were collected over 70 years and among them are exotic, rare, herbal and decorative plants.

Source: http://www.uzdaily.com

1.03.2014:  

“The record trade figures reflect the strong growth in aquaculture output and the high prices for a number of species such as salmon and shrimp,” said Audun Lem, Chief of FAO’s Products, Trade and Marketing Branch. “This is underpinned by firm underlying demand for fish products from world markets.”

Aquaculture production is expected to hit about 67 million tonnes in 2012 and projections for 2013 point towards fish farmers producing 70 million tonnes – 44 percent of total fishery output and 49 percent of fish for direct human consumption.

“The proportion of fish production being traded internationally is significant, at around 37 percent in 2013,” said Lem. “This makes the fisheries sector one of the most globalized and dynamic industries in world food production.”

Support for small-scale fishers

Developing countries continue to play a major role in supplying world markets, accounting for 61 percent of all fish exports by quantity and 54 percent by value in 2012. Their net export revenues (exports minus imports) reached $35.3 billion, higher than those for other agricultural products combined including rice, meat, milk, sugar and bananas.

But benefits from international trade are not always trickling down to small-scale fishing communities, even though small-scale fishers and fish farmers constitute about 90 percent of the sector’s global workforce, FAO said.

The Organization is urging countries to assist small-scale fishers and fish workers – around half of whom are women – to overcome a number of barriers such as lack of bargaining power and access to credit, difficulty in meeting market access regulations and poor trade-related infrastructure, so that they can access local, global and especially regional markets.

“There are exciting opportunities in regional markets at the moment as emerging economies such as Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia want more fish and are looking to their neighbours to supply it,” Lem said. “At the same time, this growing demand is stimulating new investments in local aquaculture production, including in Africa.”

Countries need to provide small-scale fishers with access to finance, insurance and market information, invest in infrastructure, strengthen small-scale producer and trader organizations, and ensure that national policies do not overlook or weaken the small-scale sector, according to FAO.

Uses for by-products

As greater quantities of fish are processed for export, more by-products such as heads, viscera and backbones can potentially be turned into valuable products also for human consumption, FAO said.

“We must ensure that these by-products are not wasted from an economic but also a nutritional point of view,” Lem underlined. “By-products often have a higher nutritional value than fillets, particularly in terms of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and can constitute an excellent means of combating micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries.”

New markets for by-products are already opening up, he said, noting growing demand for fish heads in some Asian and African markets, while there is also potential to use fish heads and bones to meet the rising global demand for fish oil and mineral supplements.

Greater potential also exists to use by-products to make the fishmeal and fish oil used as feed in aquaculture and for livestock, indirectly contributing to food security, according to FAO. This would allow some of the whole fish utilized today for meal and oil production to be used for direct human consumption.

Source: http://www.uzdaily.com

25.02.2014:  

Meanwhile, SPINNA, a UK-based non-profit organization, has been working with a United Nations (UN) project in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan since 2009 to increase the competitiveness of the clothing and textiles sector. The project seeks to help women entrepreneurs in the fashion and textile industry. Seeing significant potential in the region, SPINNA is now planning to set up hubs in each Central Asian country, as well as in Afghanistan.

Studies by the International Monetary Fund, the UN and the World Bank show that women who work can make a substantial contribution to economies, producing long-term benefits to GDP growth and enterprise development. However, levels of women’s economic engagement remain low in a number of developing countries. Many economists and other experts believe this signals a missed opportunity.

Untapped potential

Central Asia is a case in point. According to World Bank Indicators (2009), women make up 44.1 per cent of the labor force in Tajikistan and 42.2 per cent in Kyrgyzstan. Despite this relatively high share, figures from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) show that in most Central Asian countries, less than one-quarter of all small and medium-scale enterprises are owned or managed by women.

One reason for women’s under-representation in the business sector is their lack of knowledge, skills and financing, caused by poor access to education and credit. Yet evidence shows* that increasing women’s involvement in enterprise benefits the economy as a whole, and small and medium-scale businesses run by women are often more profitable than those managed by men.

International research, donor and development organizations are now doing more to address this issue and in recent years, a number of initiatives have been launched to boost women’s role in the economy and public life. The CGIAR Consortium is no exception. For example, all CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs), must develop a clear strategy on gender. In Central Asia, where a high percentage of the population lives in rural areas, the CRP on Dryland Systems is focusing on creating employment opportunities for rural women as a way of increasing incomes and spurring economic development in the Action Sites in that region.

Most rural women in these countries are stay-at-home mothers, who mainly work in farming or make home-made knitwear and woven products for sale at local markets and occasionally abroad. However, their earning power is limited. Women artisans, for example, lack technical skills and access to markets to increase their incomes. Often, the problem is exacerbated by poor quality raw materials. With the help of partners, the IFAD-ICARDA project has done much to improve the situation in rural areas of the three countries targeted.

In rural households, however, women employed in farming face other problems. For example, most of them know little or nothing about best practices of sustainable agricultural management. Training women farmers, and helping them to access finance, can produce valuable results. Better policies and more government incentives are also needed to address inequalities in areas such as land rights – which continue to be an issue in some Central Asian countries. UN Women, an organization dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, has been working to improve women’s access to land since 2001 and has since expanded its reach through a number of programs in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. A land reform project set up by US development agency USAID is providing support to ten legal aid centers that offer farmers – mainly women – information on their rights though training sessions and workshops in Tajikistan. Advisory, mediation and representation services put farmers in a better position to protect their rights in land-related disputes.

Cross-border cooperation

In many cases, there is good scope for replication. Central Asian countries have much in common and would benefit from increased regional cooperation. More networks of women’s groups and organizations would increase opportunities for enterprise and collaboration. In 2011, the US Department of State teamed up with several other organizations to hold the Strategies for Success: Central Asia and Afghanistan Women’s Economic Symposium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The event helped to kickstart a regional initiative, which aims to increase women’s economic opportunities and expand cross-border cooperation between women in Central Asia and Afghanistan. As a result, a Steering Committee was elected from businesswomen and civil society experts in the region to help coordinate ongoing support by the US government, national governments and donor and private sector partners. A range of follow-up activities in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, including grants and study tours to the US, have also been mapped out.

Among these is a one-year program funded by the US embassy in Uzbekistan.The Central Asia and the Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI) began implementing the program in 2013, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR) of Uzbekistan, the Uzbek Scientific Production Center for Agriculture, ICARDA, and Tashkent State Agrarian University.

The initiative specifically targets women’s farmer groups, and aims to establish information and advisory extension centers, which will serve as hubs of information and professional skills development for women farmers in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, as well as the Caucasus. The program team recently helped to set up one such center at Tashkent State Agrarian University. Women farmers and entrepreneurs can now obtain free qualified advice and consultation on issues ranging from improving farming businesses and expanding production to entering new markets in the region. For tech-savvy women farmers, the center maintains regularly updated websites at www.agrowebcee.net/awuz/ and www.agriculture.uz.

Training tailored to specific needs is also on offer at the center. Following an extensive survey of women farmers’ needs on 450 farms in Uzbekistan, CACAARI, ICARDA and MAWR arranged the first training course for 40 leading women farmers in November 2013. These women are expected to train more than 120 other women farmers in their regions. The program will be organizing similar courses in Fergana and Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and CACAARI is planning more programs in the region to disseminate the experience.

Given the special challenges and inequalities that women and young people face when it comes to tapping income-earning opportunities, the CRP on Dryland Systems recently decided to make gender and youth a standalone Intermediate Development Objective (IDO) – one of a range of goals that guide the implementation of all CRPs. The ultimate objective is to replicate success in other countries and foster regional cooperation between women farmers and entrepreneurs. Experience shows that rural women are keen to learn and develop. All they need is a little help.”

This post was written by Dr Jozef Turok, Head of the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit for Central Asia and the Caucasus and Regional Coordinator of ICARDA, based in Tashkent, based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. ICARDA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, and leads the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems.

Source: http://www.cgiar.org

19.02.2014:  

The fair is aimed at marketing fruit and vegetable products, establishing business contacts with foreign partners and saturating consumer market with agriculture products.

Jahon news agency reported that over 2,500 producers and distributor companies from 84 countries participated the fair in 2014.

Uzbekistan was represented by Melato Gusto, which successfully supplies fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan to international markets.

The participants, foreign specialists and visitors of the fair expressed interest in exposition of Uzbekistan, which presented information on economic potential of Uzbekistan, including opportunities in agriculture sector.

Source: http://www.uzdaily.com

10.02.2014:  

The goal of the 2014 IYFF is to reposition family farming at the centre of agricultural, environmental and social policies in the national agendas by identifying gaps and opportunities to promote a shift towards a more equal and balanced development.  The 2014 IYFF will promote broad discussion and cooperation at the national, regional and global levels to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by smallholders and help identify efficient ways to support family farmers.

WHAT IS FAMILY FARMING?

Family farming includes all family-based agricultural activities, and it is linked to several areas of rural development. Family farming is a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family labour, including both women’s and men’s.

Both in developing and developed countries, family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in the food production sector.

At national level, there are a number of factors that are key for a successful development of family farming, such as: agro-ecological conditions and territorial characteristics; policy environment; access to markets; access to land and natural resources; access to technology and extension services; access to finance; demographic, economic and socio-cultural conditions; availability of specialized education among others.

Family farming has an important socio-economic, environmental and cultural role.

WHY IS FAMILY FARMING IMPORTANT?

• Family and small-scale farming are inextricably linked to world food security.
• Family farming preserves traditional food products, while contributing to a balanced diet and safeguarding the world’s agro-biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources.
• Family farming represents an opportunity to boost local economies, especially when combined with specific policies aimed at social protection and well-being of communities.

Source: http://www.fao.org

25.01.2014:  

In order to reach that purpose the GIZ Programme “Professional Education and Training in Central Asia” established a Private Sector Cooperation Office at Tashkent State Agrarian University, which works very successfully. The Office organized a number of events; one of them was jointly organized by the Department “Storing and Primary Processing of Agricultural Products” and the farm ‘Nosir Jannat Bogi” (Zangiata district, Tashkent region). Teachers, students, and representatives of the private sector participated in that event.

  The solar tunnel dryer was installed on the University area. Mr. O. Nurtoev, Head of the Farm “Nosir Jannat Bogi” dried agricultural products using the equipment and then expressed his opinion, “It is important to harvest and produce  high-quality dried products on time. In the period of market economy consumer demand for high-quality, organic, and not expensive products is growing.

  We, as manufacturers, try to take these aspects into account. Until now we were selling the biggest part of fruits without being processed. The rest of them was dried in the open air. Main disadvantages of drying products in the open air are precipitation and dirt. Due to these factors      manufacturers are interested in new modern food processing technologies.  

  We are drying fruits and vegetables using a solar dryer. In my opinion, dried products fully meet requirements of the market. Moreover, the equipment works by means of alternative energy sources, which is one of the most important factors”.

  Students’ involvement also plays an important role. They have a possibility to communicate and exchange opinions with entepreneurs. N. Abdaliyozov, student of the group 3-30 said: “I am studying at the Deprtment “Storing and Primary Processing of Agricultural Products”. It is necessary to have good knowledge in order to work in that field; good knowledge means a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. I am working on the thesis “Drying of Products with the Use of  Solar Energy”, therefore, joint events are important to me”.

  Furthermore, teachers and professors of the Department ”Organization of Storing and Processing of Agricultural Products” conduct their practical classes and scientific experiments. By other words, cooperation between educational institutions and private sector is gradually developing.

Source: http://www.eduinca.net