IFPRI CENTRAL ASIA NEWS WEEKLY DIGEST (FEBRUARY 10 – FEBRUARY 23, 2015)
IFPRI CA News Digest
February 10 – February 23, 2015
News and Analysis
More Equitable and Efficient Higher Education is Needed to Meet Labor Market Demands in Tajikistan
(World Bank Press Release, 12 Feb. 2015) A new World Bank released a report which analyzes the efficiency, equity, and effectiveness of higher education in Tajikistan, and suggests policy reforms that could be undertaken to enhance the quality and relevance of higher education for labor market demands.
USAID Launches 2015 – 2019 Strategy for Central Asia
(U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, 12 Feb. 2015) According to the press release of the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, U.S. Ambassador Susan M. Elliott joined USAID’s Regional Mission Director for Central Asia Jonathan Addleton to launch the United States Agency for International Development strategy for Central Asia for 2015 to 2019. With the launch of this new strategy, USAID will focus on expanding diverse and competitive trade and markets; enhancing regional cooperation on shared energy and water resources; and supporting more effective and inclusive governance institutions.
(World Bank Press Release, 14 Feb. 2015) The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$195 million IBRD loan for the Pap-Angren Railway Project in Uzbekistan. According to the World Bank’s press release, the project will help improve transport connectivity in the Ferghana Valley by enhancing the efficiency of transport services into and out of the Uzbekistan part of the Valley. The railway link will improve year round inter-regional accessibility for a population of 7.6 million. Small and medium enterprises will be able to expand their market access and increase their profits. The construction of the railway will also stimulate enterprises’ growing demand for workers in some key sectors such as textiles or the services sectors.
Chinese company to build two cotton-processing enterprises in Tajikistan
(Avesta.tj, 16 Feb. 2015) Tajik Minister of Agriculture Qosim Rohbar met a director of Chinese company to discuss construction of two cotton processing plants in Dangara and Jalikul districts of Khatlon province. At the same time, Chen Dao Chuan, the director of a Chinese company, expressed his gratitude to the Tajik government for allocation of 15,000 hectares of land to create “Chinese Corner” in these districts.
Revealed: the countries with the best and worst diets in the world
(The Independent, 19 Feb. 2015) The article discusses about 'The Lancet Global Health' journal article in which researchers used national data from almost 90 per cent of the global population to analyze how people ate between 1990 and 2010. Assessing three dietary patterns, the article finds that scoring lowest for healthy foods were European countries including Belgium and Hungary and republics of the former Soviet Union – including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Azerbaijan devalues currency by one-third amid oil price tumble
(Financial Times, 22 Feb. 2015) Azerbaijan devalued its currency by a third over the weekend in a surprise move, according to the FT article, as a result of a damage brought by the oil price tumble. The central bank stated that the decision to devalue the currency by 34 per cent to 1.05 manats per dollar was made “in order to support diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy, strengthen its international compatibility and export potential as well as to provide balance of payments sustainability”. Oil and gas sales account for 95 per cent of exports and more than 70 per cent of government revenues in Azerbaijan.
Kazakhstan Plans to Reorient Export Produce to New Markets
(Astana Times, 23 Feb. 2015) Kazakh Ministry for Investment and Development briefed about an export policy that provides direction to reorient domestic products from tightening Russian markets to new perspective markets in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran and Asia as a whole. Trade missions to Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkey and other countries are planned in February, March and April, according to the Minister for Investment and Development Asset Issekeshev.
Publications
(Wolfdramm, B., Shigaeva, J. and S. Dear. 2015. Land Degradation and Development. Early online version.)
Abstract: “International agencies and programs introduced sustainable land management (SLM) to Central Asia after the former Soviet Republics became independent in 1991. An aim of early SLM initiatives was to address challenges linked to the transformation of the agricultural sector from a centrally planned to a decentralized market economy. This article analyses the knowledge-action interface in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as it relates to SLM. Analysis focuses on the influence of underlying land management concepts by means of a literature review. Contemporary barriers at the research-action interface were identified using participatory appraisal. And a historically contextualized understanding of the effectiveness of interactions between researchers, policy makers and practitioners is based on an analysis of purposefully selected cases…”
The Apples of Garm: Problems of Land Reform in Tajikistan
(Kellar, A. 2015. Asian Affairs. Vol. 46(1).)
Abstract: This article surveys the challenges faced by agriculture in present-day Tajikistan. These include the collapse of supply chains, lack of access to markets and a shortage of labour following the collapse of the USSR – problems which Tajikistan has not been able to remedy unlike some other Central Asian states. This article looks at the effect of the problems, and the recent efforts to reform laws of land tenure in Tajikistan. It examines the effect of these reforms, particularly on families and women, and surveys the prospects that the latest reforms have for successful implementation.
Informal Transfer, Labor Migration and Welfare: Theory and Evidence from Tajikistan
(D. Yamada. 2015. Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University.)
Abstract: This paper discusses the informal transfer rule that maximizes the welfare of a community whose members endogenously make migration decisions. While literature uses limited commitment as the primary tool to explain the limited transfers empirics often find, this paper argues theoretically that communities employ limited transfer rules not to discourage migration and to maximize welfare. This paper also empirically examines the relationship between migration and informal transfers and the determinants of informal transfers using data from Tajikistan, one of the most migration-dependent country. The results support the theoretical findings while the sign of limited commitment is not found. This gives an alternative rationale for limited transfers.
Events
(Organized FAO and Kaliningrad State Technical University. 27 March 2015. Kaliningrad, Russian Federation)
Description: The conference is the first event organized by the CIS Agricultural Trade Policy Network, which joins universities and research centres from the CIS countries. The Network provides a neutral and independent platform to exchange ideas and collaborate on international agricultural trade issues in the region. The conference will take place as part of the International Forum on WTO Law, organized by the Kaliningrad State Technical University. The conference will focus on four areas: Trade policy in the CIS region and its economic impacts; Implementation of WTO accession commitments and addressing trade challenges; Transformation of supply chains as a result of trade policy reforms and Sanitary and phytosanitary measures. In addition, it will include a special session on food prices, trade and food security.
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