17 July 2019 | Suzak, Kyrgyz Republic – On 17 July 2019, Ulukbek Kochkorov, the Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, visited FAO Cash+ pilot site in Suzak district of Jalalabad oblast. The Minister arrived to Suzak with a specific purpose to discuss Cash+ pilot experience with the beneficiaries and the local community and see how it can be taken up by the Government under the Social Contract modality.

Besides meeting with the representatives of the local authorities in Bagysh village district, who were at the frontline of pilot implementation supporting FAO’s operations in the field, the Minister met with Cash+ pilot beneficiaries from three pilot villages, where different types of FAO’s productive support were tested. The pilot beneficiaries proudly demonstrated their harvests to the Minister and his team and invited high ranked visitors to taste their homegrown vegetables and fruits.

Cash+ beneficiaries, whom the Minister met during his site visit, stated in one voice that complementarity between “uy-bulogo komok”, the cash benefit they receive from the state, and productive support in form of assets and trainings provided by FAO did make a difference, allowing them to better plan for their future and the future of their children, not being afraid of extraordinary expenses and essential investments. They also noted that nutrition education significantly influenced their eating habits and helped them to diversify their families’ diets, while the follow-up by local authorities was essential in helping them to overcome socio-economic difficulties they faced along the way.

“The pilot helped me understand that I can do a lot to guarantee my children a better future. It gave me skills and means, it embraced me with a support, it lifted the barriers I had, it protected me from crises and failure, and most important it believed in me when even I did not believe in myself”, said Temirova Makhlie, Cash+ beneficiary from Oktyabr village. “Now I know what I am capable of and I will no longer compromise quality food, education or healthcare for my children. Because I am now equipped with the means and knowledge to ensure they have a smooth start in their happy lives”.

As the Minister walked from one pilot household to another, flocks of smiling children of different ages were playing around, delightfully chewing fresh vegetables right from the gardens and feeling confident they would now have a brighter tomorrow.

“Social contract is one of the tools used globally to help households overcome poverty. The Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic approached FAO in 2016 to get technical support in developing a concept of a social contract suitable for our country”, said Ulukbek Kochkorov, the Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic. “But as we can see now, together with FAO we went much further: jointly we developed and piloted an approach that makes a strong emphasis on food security and nutrition of vulnerable households, and especially their children. Cash+ has a great potential on both poverty reduction and food and nutrition security sides and we really hope to see wider interventions in the future”.

The pilot project "Productive Social Contract / Cash Plus" is implemented with the financial support of the Russian Federation in the frame of the project “Developing capacity for strengthening food security and nutrition in selected countries of Caucasus and Central Asia”.