IFPRI CA NEWS DIGEST (APRIL 22 – APRIL 28, 2014)
News
UPDATE 2-Kazakhstan to boost grain exports to Iran, China
(Reuters, 23 April 2014) Kazakhstan will boost grain exports to Iran and China this 2013/14 marketing year as it seeks to diversify regions of supply and reduce dependence on Russian and Ukrainian ports, according to the country’s state grain trader. Volume of wheat exports to Iran and Chine is expected to increase by about 3.5 times to 1.2 million tons and more than double to 0.37 million tons respectively. The country's 2013/14 exportable grain surplus was raised to 9.5 million tons from the previously expected 9.0 million tons.
Kazakhstan considering grain terminals along its borders on Turkmenistan and Iran
(TengriNews, 23 April 2014) Kazakhstan planning to launch grain terminals along its borders with Turkmenistan and Iran. Kazakhstan currently relies on grain terminals in Aktau, Baku, Amirabad, and some terminals based in ports of the Baltic and Azov Seas. At the same time, the country’s Agriculture Minister Assylzhan Mamytbekov informs that Kazakhstan and Russia are discussing grain swap operations. Particularly, the Minister says, it would be economically viable [for Kazakhstan] to ship its grain to Moscow, receiving its equivalent at the Black Sea via swap operations.
Kyrgyzstan Ponders Impact Of Russia’s Citizenship Law Amendments
(Eurasia Review, 26 April, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation recently offering fast-track citizenship to Russian speakers anywhere within the former Soviet Union. Analysts believe the law is motivated by a desire to enhance Moscow’s influence in Ukraine and elsewhere, but it may have unintended consequences for the Kremlin in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, the law has alarmed, confused and excited Bishkek’s chattering classes. Some see Russian citizenship as an opportunity to escape grinding poverty and political instability; others believe it will become easier to milk the Russian budget for social benefits; still others fear the measure could hasten Kyrgyzstan’s brain drain and pose a threat to the country’s sovereignty.
Kyrgyzstan to receive $38 million for restoring irrigation system
(Trend.az, 25 April, 2014) The World Bank plans to allocate $38 million for restoration of irrigation system in Kyrgyzstan, Kabar news agency reported on April 25 referring to the head of WB Kyrgyzstan Office, Alexander Kramer.
Islamic Development Bank to help Kyrgyz livestock breeding
(Central Asia Online, 25 April 2014) Kyrgyz Government and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) officials discussed about an allocation of US $1.5m (81.6m KGS) to improve livestock breeding in Kyrgyzstan. According to the First Vice-Premier Minister - Tayyrbek Sarpashev, the three year-long project is intended to develop artificial insemination to boost dairy and meat production in the country.
Tajikistan earns 1.5 billion USD from fruit and vegetable exports per year
(Asia Plus, 23 April 2014) A new horticulture development program for the next ten years will be worked out and adopted by September this year, President Emomali Rahmon announced at a joint meeting of both chambers of the parliament. He ordered relevant ministries and agencies to take additional measures to support enhancement of the agrarian sector, in particular development of horticulture and establishment of new enterprises for processing agricultural goods. The President also informed that Tajikistan earns 1.5 billion U.S. dollars from fruit and vegetable exports per year and over twenty-three years of independence, Tajikistan has earned 40-45 billion U.S. dollars from fruit and vegetable exports.
Primary aluminum and cotton fiber remain major export items for Tajikistan
(Asia Plus, 22 April 2014) According to the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, share of primary aluminum and cotton fiber in the total exports earnings during the first quarter were 51.2% and 16% respectively. In terms of major import spending, oil products have accounted for 17.4% of Tajikistan’s imports over the report period; followed by cars - 7.33%, alumina – 5.6%, wheat – 5.5%, liquefied gas – 4.5%, and wheat flour – 2.3%.
UNDP will assist Government of Uzbekistan in modernization of regulatory policy
(UNDP, 25 April, 2014) A new joint project between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Institute for Monitoring of Current Legislation under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (IMCL) entitled "Support to Enhancement of Lawmaking, Rulemaking and RIA" was discussed on Friday, April 25, 2014. The goal of the discussion was to develop a common vision and to discuss the proposed list of conferences, seminars and specific events to be held and aimed at strengthening national capacity in modernizing the institutional framework of lawmaking and rulemaking, conducting legal expertise, joint development of modern effective methods of monitoring legislative acts and evaluation of their impact on the course of social and economic reforms as well as methodological assistance in conducting anti-corruption expertise of legal acts based on international best practices.
Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan Ink Railroad Agreement
(Tasnim News Agency, 28 April, 2014) Delegations from Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on Monday signed a trilateral agreement that will promote railroad cooperation between the three nations and also draws up new guidelines on the rail freight tariffs. The agreement also stipulates that the three countries lay the ground for an increase in the volume of the freight that are transited into their land from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
Learning about the unknown: the economic impacts of aging in Europe and Central Asia
(The World Bank, 25 April, 2014) Population aging is becoming a key global challenge that will have profound economic, social and cultural implications for decades ahead. Many countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region have rapidly aging populations, yet significantly less income and wealth than other regions to deal with the adverse economic consequences of aging.
Central Asian Hydroelectric Water Wars Heat Up
(Huffington Post, 24 April, 2014) Kyrgyzstan's Toktogul hydroelectric power plant low water levels may cause water shortages this spring and summer for downstream Uzbek cotton farmers. Uzbekistan annually uses 53 billion cubic meters of water for irrigation and during the growing season the country needs an additional three billion cubic meters, which are provided by the Toktogul HPP. Kyrgyz authorities earlier said that this year the Toktogul reservoir had accumulated only eight billion cubic meters of water, instead of 11 billion required for normal operation. To provide downstream Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with irrigation water, the Toktogul reservoir needs to accumulate 19 billion cubic meters each year.
New World Bank Project to Increase Regional Transport Connectivity in Central Asia
(The World Bank, 22 April 2014) The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors approved an allocation of US$45 million equivalent to finance the first phase of the transformative Central Asia Roads Links Program, to be implemented in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2014-2019. The Central Asia Road Links (CARs) program is a collaborative regional, multi-phase program initiated by governments of Central Asia, according to the WB. The objective of this program is to increase transport connectivity between neighboring countries in Central Asia while supporting improvements in road operations and maintenance practices. The first phase of the Central Asia Road Links Program (CARs-1) will rehabilitate cross-border road links between Osh and Batken oblasts in the Kyrgyz Republic and Sugd oblast in the Republic of Tajikistan.
Publications
Labor Market Outcomes in Post-Conflict Tajikistan (revised draft)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, April 2014) Abstract: This study explores the effect of the 1992-1998 armed conflict in Tajikistan on the labor market outcomes by gender. The focus is on cohorts that were of school age during the conflict or recently entered the labor force. The regression analysis controls for the cohort and district-level exposure to conflict. Younger women but not men who also lived in regions more affected by conflict, were about ten percentage points more likely to be employed than similarly aged women from lesser affected districts. These result suggest a change in female employment patterns potentially induced by war.
Uzbekistan: Country Gender Assessment 2014
(ADB, April 2014) In 2011, Uzbekistan celebrated 20 years of independence, a period characterized by both positive and negative developments in gender equality. The status of women and men in Uzbekistan is very much shaped by the fact that the country has undergone significant and rapid change in recent years. Although reform processes have certainly included initiatives to improve women’s economic opportunities in Uzbekistan, efforts to promote gender equality mostly remain separate from the nation’s development programs. Furthermore, gender equality initiatives generally are not characterized as such but instead are framed as programs to improve women’s access to key resources such as decision-making positions or to address issues that seem more relevant for women, such as maternal health and family violence.
(Field Crops Research, 2014) Abstract: In the lowlands of Central Asia, summer grown potato is increasingly affected by soil moisture deficit due to inadequate irrigation and high evaporative demand. Many farmers cannot apply irrigation schedules that fully respond to the water demand because of reduced water availability throughout the Aral Sea basin, caused by global warming, and the competing use of irrigation by the cotton crop. The effects of different irrigation regimes were evaluated on ten potato clones in the lowlands of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, during the summer cropping season (July–October) of three consecutive years (2008, 2009 and 2010). The applicability of a growth model to predict yield under the different water regimes was tested…
Events
The Silk Road: Connecting Asia with the Changing World
(Schedule: 2 – 5 May 2014; Location: Astana, Kazakhstan) 47th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Tashkent to host international conference on reserves of Uzbek Food Program
(Trend.az, 28 April, 2014) An international scientific conference on "the most important reserves of implementing Food Program in Uzbekistan" will be held in Tashkent on June 5-6. The aim of the conference is the broad discussion and development, by taking into account best international practices suggestions for more use of reserves and capacity to meet the growing demand of the global food market to provide complete and balanced nutrition, accelerated introduction of advanced technologies to improve productivity and yield of fruit and vegetables and grapes, modern systems of storage, transport and delivery to the consumer, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry's news agency Jahon reported.
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