Dear colleagues,
Dear HLPE,
The undertaking of study on Sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock is timely and relevant to development agenda at global, regional and national level. The current structure and contents of the V0 draft of the Report is very well developed and balanced between chapters and agricultural development overall and the livestock sector. The draft report provides detailed review of the existing materials and data from the relevant sources. The trends and responses described in the report are applicable in the different countries and conditions. Let me slightly reflect the contexts of important role of sustainable agricultural development, including the livestock in ensuring food and nutritional security in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) region.
Agriculture is of paramount importance in the CAC region because of the role it plays in the development needs of its countries. First, the sector, as emphasized earlier, supports the livelihoods of the large majority of the population in rural areas, and to some extent in urban areas. In this, the role of agriculture, including livestock sector plays an important role in contributing to food security of these countries. It supports the livelihoods of not only in rural but also in urban population of the region significantly contributes to the GDP of the most CAC. Thus, the current contributions of agriculture, including the livestock assume special significance for ensuring food security, poverty reduction, and protecting the environment through sustainable use of the natural resources. In addition, the region has a large area (256 million ha) of rangelands which provide the vital feed resource for livestock, important in biodiversity conservation, and could play important role in environment protection. Cereals (wheat, barley), food crops (potato), cotton, horticultural crops (vegetables and fruits), livestock (small ruminants, sheep and to lesser extent goat, and cattle that provide meat and milk) are important agricultural commodities.
However ,there are still challenges to improve productivity and production and incomes and livelihoods of small-scale farmers and livestock keepers. Those requires undertaking of following actions:
In ensuring Food and nutritional security
- Improved technology for increased productivity and production of crops in a sustainable manner in both irrigated and rainfed situations without affecting natural resource balance and environment;
- Increased investment in agriculture and agricultural research, extension, and education and their restructuring;
- Access to inputs including small farm machinery, fertilizers, credits, etc.
in livestock sub-sector
- Livestock (both small and large ruminants) management in irrigated, rainfed areas and mountainous areas, where it supports livelihoods of large populations of subsistence farmers/herders in the region
- Forage and feed availability
- Rangeland regeneration and conservation
- Improved breed, insemination, livestock health, and transboundary diseases
- Processing and marketing of milk and milk products
I believe that the final version of the report will be equitably relevant to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), Rural Advisory Systems (RAS), education systems, development agencies, public and private sectors, consumers and producers.
On behalf of the Central Asia and the Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI) I would like to thank the HLPE Project Team for excellent work and sharing with broad audience the V0 draft of the Report, considering issues typical to the CAC region.
Dr. Alisher Tashmatov,
Executive Secretary,
CACAARI
Alisher Tashmatov