Assessing the Impacts of the International Financial and Economic Crisis on the Agricultural Products Sector in Kyrgyzstan
Assessing the Impacts of the International Financial and Economic Crisis on the Agricultural Products Sector in Kyrgyzstan
In recent decades, the agricultural and food sector has become not only globally connected through international trade, but also more integrated into the modern financial system. Consequently, it is increasingly exposed to external macroeconomic fluctuations and changes and depends on the strength and depth of its linkages with the financial system and the global economy. In other words, the international financial and economic crisis affects the agribusiness sector of different countries of the world in different ways, and Kyrgyzstan is no exception.
For Kyrgyzstan, agriculture is an important economic sector and one of the most important sources of livelihood and well-being of the population. The share of agriculture in the structure of Gross Domestic Product production is 40%, and the agricultural sector employs about 750,000 of the country's economically active population.
Donor: United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture
Project Objective In spring 2009, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization decided to fund a study to assess the impact of the global crisis on the agricultural products sector in four countries simultaneously: Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Armenia and Ukraine. In order to get a sufficiently comprehensive picture of the agricultural and food sector, two sub-sectors were selected: one for agriculture and one for livestock. In order to determine the level of economic dependence of Kyrgyzstan's agricultural sector on the global crisis, the following vital product chains were selected: wheat, sunflower and milk. This choice was made because of their significant share of income in the country's production and domestic and foreign trade.
Project location The research in Kyrgyzstan, implemented by the RDF team, was conducted from July to October 2009. This study covered four (Chui, Jalal-Abad, Osh and Issyk-Kul) oblasts of the Republic, including 5 cities, towns and 18 villages.
In-depth interviews with stakeholders of the selected agricultural and food chains were used as the main research method. Key questions focused on the processes of production, consumption and trade, as well as the results of the economic downturn, indirect or direct credit constraints. More than 75 in-depth interviews were conducted with various agricultural producers, leading product suppliers, processors, integrators, traders, buyers, retailers, bank and government officials.
Project results At the end of the study, the main development trends and changes in the agricultural sector of Kyrgyzstan caused by the impact of the global financial and economic crisis were identified, recommendations on how to counteract the crisis and scenarios on short- and medium-term dynamics of its impact were developed.
The final report planned within the project, based on the analytical reports of all participating countries: Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Armenia and Ukraine, was prepared by the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AKI, Budapest), which is available upon additional request at general@rdf.in.kg.