Save the Children Central Asia Country Office

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Save the Children Central Asia Country Office
January 11, 2007
FACT Pilot Project Agricultural Food Crops
Production in the Cotton Fields
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Food and Agricultural Consortium for Tajikistan
(FACT)
To improve the livelihood of the rural target
population through increased food security
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FACT

• Consortium Members
• CARE
• Counterpart International
• Mercy Corps
• Save the Children
• Save the Children Target Areas
• Penjikent, Sughd Region
• Aini, Sughd Region
• Jomi, Khatlon Region
• Khuroson, Khatlon Region
• Partners
• Village community members and Jamoats
• Education, Health and Agriculture Departments
  of the Hukumats
• Local District Officials

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Pilot Dehkan Farms project

• District Jomi
• Dehkan farms Dubeda / Shirin
• Total pilot area 30 ha
• 50 is under cotton production
• 50 under food, fruit trees gardens and vegetable
  crops

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Implementation

• Save the Children inputs to dehkan farms
• Trainings
• Seeds (cotton, wheat, potato, tomato, sweet
  pepper, cucumber, onion, carrot, Lucerne, water
  melon, sweet corn)
• Fruit trees seedlings (apricot, grape)
• Tools (spade, hoe, rake, watering)
• Tunnel green houses
• Fuel for agricultural machines
• Cash for work for dehkan farm members

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Achievements

• Dehkan farms harvested
• greens for consumption and sale by the end of
  February
• and was able to transplant and sale vegetable
  seedlings by March/April
• tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onion,
  eggplants, potato in May
• wheat and water melon June/July
• corn, beans, cabbage, potato, onion, rice, cotton
  August/November

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Achievements

• Agricultural food crop diversification
• Effective and efficient use of land (receiving 2
  harvests per year from the same plot)
• Improvement of nutritional status of target
  beneficiaries
• Improved income generation opportunities of
  dehkan farm members. Part of the generated income
  was spent to schools rehabilitation purchasing
  school equipment and other school accessories
  including clothing for children etc.

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Achievements

• Crop rotation
• Increased productivity of land. ( Average yield
  from all farm cotton area is 3.0 MT from pilot
  cotton area is 4.04 MT)
• Fruit tree gardens (apricot and vineyards) in 3
  ha of land
• Decreased number of male migrants working outside
  Tajikistan
• Increased farm income (All taxes are paid up till
  September 2007)

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Achievements

• These pilot project sites became as successful
  DEMO plot and visited by Vice-President of
  Tajikistan Mr. Okil Okilov, British Ambassador in
  Tajikistan Mr. Graeme Loten and His Excellency
  Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, Specialists from
  Ministry of Agriculture, Region and District
  Authorities

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Challenges

• Old agricultural machinery
• Inherited big debts
• Migration

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Challenges

• Marketing problem
• Lack of quality agricultural inputs
• Irrigation/drainage system issues

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