Helvetas Handeln für eine bessere Welt

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and transition to a market economy, the large collective farms (kolkhozes) broke up into smallholder farms. On the one hand, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is involved in agricultural vocational training that equips the youth to face the new challenges. On the other hand, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation funds the development of new markets and functioning trade chains to link up vegetable and fruit producers with processors, traders and buyers.

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is also active in the field of agricultural irrigation. We show farmers how to make the most efficient use of scarce water resources with simple irrigation techniques that improve their yields.

One of the main focuses of HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation’s country programme is on the cotton sector, where it promotes organic farming. More and more farmers are converting to organic production and finding buyers in Western European, thanks to HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation.

Another area in which Kyrgyzstan has potential for development is tourism. The wonderful landscape has been attracting increasing number of tourists to this Central Asian state, creating many new jobs. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation supports tourism operators such as guesthouses and trekking guides. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation has also teamed up with the hotel industry to offer a training programme for catering professionals.

Many wars and revolutions had to be fought before Kyrgyzstan became an independent country. Kyrgyzstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although the economy has changed enormously since then, a great many people still live below the poverty line.

The political situation continued to be unstable after the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. Kyrgyzstan was heralded as an “island of democracy” among the republics that succeeded the Soviet Union. Despite President Askar Akayev’s increasingly authoritarian style of government, it was only the 2005 Tulip Revolution that brought about his downfall.

It did not however bring peace; the population rose up against the government once again in April 2010. Incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled and Kyrgyzstan became the first Central Asian state to become a parliamentary republic.

Following this, numerous reforms were implemented, and many small and medium-sized companies were privatised. These efforts were repeatedly stymied by corruption, political opposition and a lack of interest from investors.

Agriculture is the bedrock of Kyrgyzstan’s economy and accounts for 35 percent of GDP. The main crops in the valleys are wheat, potatoes, sugar beet and vegetables, with tobacco and cotton being also grown in the south.

The country has made some decisive steps forward in terms of development through reforms to the agricultural sector, but there is still widespread poverty in rural areas of Kyrgyzstan.