We focus our interventions on select communities of Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken and Naryn oblasts, reaching over 520,000 people. These areas are predominantly rural, mountainous and heavily reliant on agriculture, where 25 percent of the population live under the poverty line, according to the National Statistical Committee data. The communities are vulnerable to agro-climatic shocks and food price fluctuations.

Our activities focus on:

• developing resilient, pluralistic and values-based civil societies which demonstrate greater competency, legitimacy, accountability and sustainability;


• ensuring tangible food security, agricultural development and sustainable resources management;


• ensuring access to early childhood, primary and secondary education;


• improving the economic well-being of women and men, particularly youth; and


• enabling individuals and communities to optimise their health and well-being to reach their full potential.

AKF also works to strengthen links between farmers and small business owners and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM)’s First MicroCredit Company (FMCC), to access appropriate agriculture and livestock loan products.

In the remote mountainous areas where AKF operates, many households are dependent on livestock to support household income. Improving the productivity and profitability of livestock can therefore have an important impact on poverty reduction and economic development.

To support livestock sector development in those regions, we focus our work on four key pillars: breeding, feeding, health and keeping. Since 2016, 505 cows have been inseminated by 28 para-veterinarians trained by AKF. The farmers using these services report a 40 to 50 percent increase in their gross income.

Feeding practices are being improved through access to quality fodder seeds for winter feeding and the improvement of pasture-based summer feeding by:

• linking existing fodder seed cooperatives/funds with suppliers;


• supporting the development of local seed cooperatives; and


• establishment of community seed funds.

Together with the Kyrgyz Agrarian University (KAU) and the University of Central Asia, AKF has developed a toolkit on efficient pasture management and veterinary practices. These materials have been integrated into the curriculum of the KAU Veterinary Department. We have also provided technical support to 148 private veterinarians to improve the delivery of quality animal health services in remote regions of Osh and Naryn oblasts.

Animal keeping practices are being enhanced by the introduction of energy-efficient cowsheds and management practices. An internal assessment shows that animals of farmers who adopt these practices tend to lose 30 percent less weight during the winter period. To support local herders to invest in the construction of improved cowsheds, AKF is working with local microfinance institutions to develop specific loan products.

In Osh, Jalal-Abab, Naryn and Batken regions, the programme has also reached nearly 26,000 farmers (50 percent women) in new cultivation techniques and technologies for fodder, orchards and vegetable production. Those efforts have been supported by the introduction of certified seeds, the promotion of water-efficient agriculture techniques such as drip irrigation, the construction of 46 greenhouses and the rehabilitation of 106 irrigation canals, improving over 94,600 hectares of agricultural land.

AKF helps to organise farmers into informal producer groups and farm input cooperatives in order to help them negotiate better terms with suppliers and traders. These groups also engage with FMCC and the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), which AKDN helped establish, to obtain financing support for income-generating activities.