Kyrgyzstan Agriculture
Kyrgyzstan Agriculture courtesy of Wikipedia
BURLINGTON, CO – Agricultural production practices vary widely even from county to county, but half-way around the world from here agricultural production is accomplished completely different. Last year I was invited to assist farmers in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. This former Soviet country ceded from Russia during the Soviet Union collapse in 1991. At that time, the people in Kyrgyzstan decided their government should not be a communist dictatorship, but rather a republic type government. Thus, the Kyrgyz Republic, as they refer to themselves, today is a sovereign country in Central Asia and have now elected their 4th president in the country’s 27 year history. Kyrgyzstan is a land-locked country with mountainous terrain. It shares borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. Due to the mountains that occupy much of the northern part of the country, most of the agriculture occurs in wide, rich river valleys in the southern areas and is irrigated. Bread is a staple in this country and the Fergana Valley (the southern part of the country where I was assigned) should be a “bread basket” for Central Asia, but the region lacks agricultural technology. As a result, Kyrgyzstan is forced to import nearly 30% of its wheat needs, making it food dependent on other countries. Part of the issue is that their agricultural training centers are few and are not producing highly technically trained agriculturalists. A land grant university system does not exist there. I was invited to assist with agricultural technology transfer. Continue reading →
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