81265008 — Value Chain and Market System Development in Fruits and Vegetables Sector

The present contract is part of the project ‘Green Economy and Sustainable Private Sector Development in Kyrgyzstan’ (GESPSD) which started in June 2020 and will last until May 2023. The overall objective of the GESPSD is to improve the employment situation in tourism, livestock farming and the fruit and vegetable sectors using Green Economy approaches. The project intends to engage all three levels (macro: implementation of green economic policies as output 1; meso: provision of services and other support for MSMEs as output 2; micro: awareness raising among general population on the benefits of using green products and services — as output 3). It will support the development and implementation of new and/or proven green approaches and practices in tourism, livestock and fruit and vegetables. These sectors are part of the National Export Plan and are characterised by high potential for employment and income generation. Environmental issues, such as resource efficiency, climate protection; food safety, waste management and social inclusion will also be a focus of the project. Priority regions for the implementation of the module are Osh, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad and Batken Oblasts. The Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) has committed itself to a 10-year engagement in promoting fruit and vegetable value chains in southern Kyrgyzstan. The first phase (01/2016-02/2021) of the Swiss contribution was integrated into the project preceding the GESPSD, ‘Promotion of Sustainable Economic Development in Kyrgyzstan’. This first phase saw the creation of service modalities that have improved production and access to high value international markets in the early vegetables and organic dried plums value chains in Jalal Abad Oblast. In the early vegetables value chain operating in Nooken rayon of Jalal Abad oblast it supported the creation of services and advice in marketing, pruning and spraying. Regular supply channels for vegetable seedlings were also established. For addressing bottlenecks in this value chain, a system of so-called brigadiers — i.e. farmers providing advice on a commercial basis — was established. In the organic dried plums value chain, which is mostly operating in Aksy rayon of Jalal Abad oblast, the project has contributed to the creation of a business modality for the organic production and processing (drying, de-pitting, packaging) of plums. As with the early vegetables value chain, a system of farmer-advisors a.k.a. brigadiers was set up for the provision of advice, pruning and spraying services. Both value chains saw the creation of co-operatives by the participating farmers, with the co-operative in the early vegetables value chain even setting up and managing a logistical centre for the sorting and packaging of vegetables for Kazakh and Russian markets. Similar to the first phase, in the upcoming second phase — which is expected to run from March 2021 to February 2023 — SDC will contribute to the GESPSD by providing the means to enhance production and processing capacity as well as to improve market access for selected value chains. The key aim of this phase will be to upscale the successes, service structures and business models of the first phase, reaching additional farmers in Jalal-Abad Oblast and possibly even Batken which will be a new region.