General Information
RDF trainers trained pasture users members of the RPF of the Republic of Tajikistan on mapping and using GPS navigators as tools for development of CMP (Pasture Management Community Plan). Trainings were held in three districts: Temurmalik, Shurabad, Muminabad, for residents of 8 villages. A total of 120 people participated in the trainings. Representatives of facilitating partner organizations: MSDSP, GermanAgroAction, CARITAS also participated in the trainings in order to further disseminate the received knowledge to the villagers. The training program was organized within the framework of the project "Livestock and Pasture Development in Tajikistan" implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan and financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
#Training content
During the training, members of the pasture-users' RPF gained knowledge about community mapping. Participants made a map of their territories, on which they defined external and internal boundaries of pastures, marked topographic signs, and distributed resources by layers. Mapping gave the community the opportunity to see their boundaries, pasture infrastructure. RPF members identified the main objectives - to obtain a certificate and to define accurate boundaries. The participants were explained the principles of operation of GPS-navigators, then the SRF members used the devices in practice. Together with the trainer, the participants entered data into the EASYGPS, GOOGLEEARTH programs and determined the measured area. As a result of the trainings, pasture schemes were developed in all 8 villages and activities to be included by the PSUP were discussed. Sample pasture management plans and a list of routes/activities were compiled for mapping and refinement using GPS navigators.
Feedback
Mr. Nazirimad Kurbonov, Chairman of the RPF of Faizobod village, said that the new technologies will make the work of local people easier. He shared his plans for the near future: "As soon as we receive navigators, in the warm season we will definitely measure our territories, we do not know the exact area of our pastures. This data would help us to plan grazing, to improve the condition of pastures".
Omedbaksh Amirmahmadov Kuwat, Chairman of the RPF: "We have been taught how to work with GPS-navigators. Now we have learned how to make maps. We have understood computer programs a little bit. Now the main thing is to get a certificate. It's a pity we didn't learn to use new technologies earlier. They would have been good helpers for agronomists, it would have been much easier to use them".
According to the project's GIS and cartography specialist Rustam Rakhimov, this is the first experience of conducting training on mapping at the community level, in villages. "Before that, specialists were trained, seminars were held at the level of the region, the state. This is the first experience when the community itself develops a map of its pastures. For pasture users, these tools are essential knowledge. Measuring the areas of arable land is their constant work. Now they measure with the Babai (traditional) method, GPS navigators will facilitate their work. Within the project IFAD will provide 400 RPF GPS navigators, the equipment will be provided to the chairmen of RPF. Now pasture users have become aware of new technologies that will help to count and calculate the land area. Many villagers do not know how their boundaries are drawn, as before the boundaries were divided formally. After the trainings, they learned that they need certificates for the right to use land," said R. Rakhimov.
Safo Jaborov - project coordinator: "I learned a lot of new things from the practice of Kyrgyzstan. There is still a lot to learn. There are differences, but the principles of work are the same".
RDF trainers trained pasture users members of the RPF of the Republic of Tajikistan on mapping and using GPS navigators as tools for development of CMP (Pasture Management Community Plan). Trainings were held in three districts: Temurmalik, Shurabad, Muminabad, for residents of 8 villages. A total of 120 people participated in the trainings. Representatives of facilitating partner organizations: MSDSP, GermanAgroAction, CARITAS also participated in the trainings in order to further disseminate the received knowledge to the villagers. The training program was organized within the framework of the project "Livestock and Pasture Development in Tajikistan" implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan and financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
#Training content
During the training, members of the pasture-users' RPF gained knowledge about community mapping. Participants made a map of their territories, on which they defined external and internal boundaries of pastures, marked topographic signs, and distributed resources by layers. Mapping gave the community the opportunity to see their boundaries, pasture infrastructure. RPF members identified the main objectives - to obtain a certificate and to define accurate boundaries. The participants were explained the principles of operation of GPS-navigators, then the SRF members used the devices in practice. Together with the trainer, the participants entered data into the EASYGPS, GOOGLEEARTH programs and determined the measured area. As a result of the trainings, pasture schemes were developed in all 8 villages and activities to be included by the PSUP were discussed. Sample pasture management plans and a list of routes/activities were compiled for mapping and refinement using GPS navigators.
Feedback
Mr. Nazirimad Kurbonov, Chairman of the RPF of Faizobod village, said that the new technologies will make the work of local people easier. He shared his plans for the near future: "As soon as we receive navigators, in the warm season we will definitely measure our territories, we do not know the exact area of our pastures. This data would help us to plan grazing, to improve the condition of pastures".
Omedbaksh Amirmahmadov Kuwat, Chairman of the RPF: "We have been taught how to work with GPS-navigators. Now we have learned how to make maps. We have understood computer programs a little bit. Now the main thing is to get a certificate. It's a pity we didn't learn to use new technologies earlier. They would have been good helpers for agronomists, it would have been much easier to use them".
According to the project's GIS and cartography specialist Rustam Rakhimov, this is the first experience of conducting training on mapping at the community level, in villages. "Before that, specialists were trained, seminars were held at the level of the region, the state. This is the first experience when the community itself develops a map of its pastures. For pasture users, these tools are essential knowledge. Measuring the areas of arable land is their constant work. Now they measure with the Babai (traditional) method, GPS navigators will facilitate their work. Within the project IFAD will provide 400 RPF GPS navigators, the equipment will be provided to the chairmen of RPF. Now pasture users have become aware of new technologies that will help to count and calculate the land area. Many villagers do not know how their boundaries are drawn, as before the boundaries were divided formally. After the trainings, they learned that they need certificates for the right to use land," said R. Rakhimov.
Safo Jaborov - project coordinator: "I learned a lot of new things from the practice of Kyrgyzstan. There is still a lot to learn. There are differences, but the principles of work are the same".