IFPRI CA NEWS DIGEST (FEBRUARY 25 – MARCH 3, 2014)
News
(AKIpress, 04 March 2014) Kazakhstan plans to export part of the production from 4th oil refinery to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, said chairman of the board of the KazMunayGas, Kazakh national oil and gas company. The 4th refinery will be completed in 5-6 years and will compete with Russian oil export which dominates in Central Asian export markets.
Food Imports Steadily Growing in Kazakhstan
(Times of Central Asia, 26 Feb. 2014) Food imports to Kazakhstan exceeded $4 billion in 2013 representing a 5 percent increase from the previous year, according to the national statistical service. Dairy products accounted for $633 million of the total. Food imports have been steadily growing in Kazakhstan, supplying 21.6 percent of the consumer market in 2013. The recent devaluation of the tenge will likely dampen this trend but may provide a boost domestic producers and exporters, according to the country's export and investment agency Kaznex Invest.
Kyrgyz Som crash won't occur, says National Bank of Kyrgyzstan
(AKIpress, 03 March 2014) National Bank Vice Chairman, Abdybaly Tegin Suyerkul, informs that abrupt Kyrgyz Som crash will not occur despite speculative activities which prevail in Kyrgyz exchange market. Since start of the year the national currency devalued by around 10%. According to the Vice Chairman, “the fact that exchange offices set different rates does not speak of the fall. We are continuing the same policy.”
Dangerous Pests Spread in Kyrgyzstan
(24.kg, 27 Feb. 2014) The State Inspectorate for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Security has claimed that several types of pests affecting various plants have spread throughout the country. The agency emphasized that lax quarantine practices are placing the country's food and environmental security at risk.
Chinese Farmers Intend to Rent Dry-Farming Lands in Tajikistan
(Asia Plus, 28 Feb. 2014) Chinese farmers will expand the cultivation of cotton and other crops in the Qumsangir district of Khatlon province. Tajikistan agreed to lease 500 hectares of land in Khatlon province to Chinese farmers in 2011, to be accompanied by $2 million of investment and technical assistance. According to a source at the Ministry of Agriculture, 280 hectares are currently being farmed by a subsidiary of a Chinese agricultural enterprise. The Qumsangir district is located at the far southwest of Tajikistan, bordering Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan's Car Industry Takes a Beating from Russia’s Custom Union
(Eurasianet.org, 21 Feb. 2014) The Russia-led Customs Union that includes Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus has added new regulations to protect the car manufacturing industries of the member countries. As a result, one of Uzbekistan’s few successful joint ventures, a GM plant in the Fergana Valley, is expected to suffer. The GM plant has thrived on exports to Kazakhstan and Russia, but exports will be undermined by new regulations requiring certain safety features that do not currently exist on cars manufactured at the GM plant (member states are exempted from the regulations until 2014). This is one example of the costs imposed on Central Asian countries that do not join the Customs Union.
Publications
Mobile entrepreneurs in post-Soviet Central Asia
(Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 2014) Abstract: In this paper I present an analysis of a mobile entrepreneur and his transnational economic activities in post-Soviet space. I argue that the space of informal economic activities of mobile entrepreneurs are structured by trust-networks in the sense Tilly (2005) uses it. In this context the concept of tirikchilik (an Uzbek term for ‘muddling through’ or survival) which defines the space of informal economic activities is important to decipher. Tirikchilik unifies various economic activities which vary from trade, service delivery, middleman services, administration and any kind of activity that generates some cash.
Land-use change and land degradation in Turkmenistan in the post-Soviet era
(Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 103, 2014) Abstract: The major land-use change identified was an 86% increase in irrigated agricultural areas, equivalent to a loss of about 4500 km2 previously available for natural pastures. Remote pastures have experienced a higher degree of vegetation degradation, mainly due to the development of soil biogenic crust. These observations emphasize the controversy and variability of land degradation processes in this region: distant pastures show a degradation trend, while closer to populated areas, there are signs of rehabilitation. Landsat images acquired before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, were analyzed to evaluate land-use/land-cover changes and desertification processes in northern Turkmenistan. Vegetation and crust indices, albedo, and spectral mixture analysis, supplemented by field work, were applied to estimate the long-term degradation/re-growing of vegetation cover.
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