| ID: | 86073 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Tajikistan |
| Title: | Tajikistan - Community-based Agricultural Support Project (CASP) - October 2023 |
| Description: |
Mirzosho Akobirov is the Village Organization Chief in Jafr Village in north-eastern Tajikistan’s Rasht District. The Jafr Village Organization (VO) was established in April of 2020 with support from CASP. The village has a population of 2,300 with 320 households. The majority of young adults are in the Russian Federation for labour migration – that is, the key able-bodied labour force of the village is out of the country. The main livelihoods focus on activities that the older population can easily do, such as horticulture development, growing potatoes, beekeeping and livestock husbandry. Mirzosho is responsible for the agricultural and construction machinery the CASP helped the VO procure in 2020. He oversees its use for village infrastructure maintenance and construction projects, and for agricultural production. Mirzosho also keeps a caring eye on the various income-generating groups set up by the project. Women’s income-generating groups for poultry production and for vegetable processing and canning, and common interest groups for beekeeping and livestock breeding are designed for sustainability and have already proven life-changing for members of Mirzosho’s community. “Before we created the VO, we had a local self-governance center that had existed for 20 years. Our current VO builds on that organization. But CASP is the only project that has given direct benefit to the people of my village with sustainable results.” In addition to responsibilities to the VO, Mirzosho established the Kuhsori Ajam, an Apple Park and Botanical Garden located in the village, where he also curates a cultural museum and meeting center for local fruit growers, village residents, and visitors. Using traditional rituals, folk knowledge, cultural heritage and values, and the collection and cultivation of local horticultural seeds and plants as educational tools, he aims to restore the biodiversity of the Rasht Valley. He works with local fruit growers from the valley to research and collect fruit tree seeds and seedlings, grafting heritage varieties to breed healthier stock that is more accessible to farmers to grow, process, and market. Mirzosho has been collecting heritage fruit tree seeds and seedlings for more than three decades and grows more than 50 different types of apples, and almost 40 varieties of pears in his apple park. The Community-based Agriculture Support Project (CASP) stimulates inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in rural Tajikistan. Its activities help communities and dehkan (smallholder) family farmers access productive infrastructure and services, leading to sustainable agricultural production, equitable income-generating opportunities, and improved living standards. CASP works with village organizations (VOs) to develop community-driven action plans that define their own improvement initiatives. Village-level participation in decision making is critical to the success of these plans and helps establish a sense of community ownership and cohesion. |
| Size: | 6.19 MB; 5472 x 3648 pixels; 463 x 309 mm (print at 300 DPI); 1448 x 965 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Didor Sadulloev |
| Copyright: | © IFAD/ Didor Sadulloev |
| Categories: | New from Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia |
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