IFPRI Central Asia News Digest (February 24

IFPRI CA News Digest

February 24 – March 2, 2015

News and Analysis

Central Asia grain markets: Russia and Kazakhstan redirecting export

(The Times of Central Asia, 24 Feb. 2015) Central Asia’s role as a semi-global grain hub is sharply on the increase due to the decline of the Black Sea as a major trade centre, suggests the article. The region is surrounded by grain-hungry states such as China, most of Indo-China, India, Pakistan, and Iran. This abundance of market opportunities increases the chances of the regional agro-business to attract investments. On February 17 this year, Russia started preparing the paperwork for grain deliveries of up to 30 million tons of grain to China through the current year, which is close to Russia’s entire export capacity. Likewise, Kazakhstan also have been seeking new markets in the south and south-east for its grain exports.

Infographic - Heating in the Kyrgyz Republic: Time to Act

(The World Bank, 25 Feb. 2015) The World Bank recently completed a Heating Assessment for the Urban Building Sector in the Kyrgyz Republic. The objective of the Assessment was to identify viable heating options and related investment measures to meet heat demand in urban residential and public buildings in the country. The Assessment analyzed the condition and performance of the urban heating infrastructure and building stock, and evaluated in detail the available heating options in the cities of Bishkek and Tokmok.

Eurasian Economic Commission and FAO deepen cooperation

(FAO, 25 Feb. 2015) Cooperation on phytosanitary measures and plant protection were the main topic of a recent workshop in Moscow involving representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and FAO technical experts. Talks were aimed at identifying concrete ways in which the two institutions could cooperate, in particular on implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention.

Tajikistan reduces cotton planting while concentrating on yield

(Central Asia Online, 25 Feb. 2015) Tajikistan has decreased land under cotton by about 13% to 177, 624 hectares from 2011 to 2014. Accordingly, the production has fallen from 415 thousand tons to 372 thousand tons during the same period. With increasing domestic textile industry, the national growers are seeking to improve productivity by importing and introducing foreign varieties including from Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey and Australia.

Uzbekistan delegation visits Germany and signs business deals worth $2.8 billion (in Russian)

(MFER, 27 Feb. 2015) Uzbek delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov paid four-day official visit to Berlin, Germany. The visit aimed at exchanging and acquiring knowledge on corporate management practices of leading German businesses, as well as discussing their applications in Uzbekistan. In the end of the visit, the parties signed different investment and financial agreements worth 2.8 billion USD relevant to economic sectors including textiles and food production and processing.

Publications

A Study of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Relating to Brucellosis among Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in an Urban and Peri-Urban Area of Tajikistan.

(E. Lindahl, N. Sattorov, S. Boqvist and U. Magnusson. 2015. PloS one. Vol. 10 (2).)

Abstract Excerpts: “…This study aimed to describe and evaluate weak areas in knowledge, attitudes and practices with regards to brucellosis among urban and peri-urban small-scale dairy farmers in a low income country to generate information essential for control programmes and public health interventions. The cross-sectional study was conducted during six weeks in 2011. The study subjects were small-scale dairy farmers living in the urban and peri-urban area of the capital Dushanbe in Tajikistan. In total, 441 farmers were interviewed using a questionnaire with questions about demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to brucellosis. Descriptive statistics were used and a logistic regression model applied to evaluate potential predictors to knowledge about brucellosis. The majority (85%) of the farmers had never heard of brucellosis… Poor knowledge, high-risk behaviours and a willingness to learn more strengthens the logic for including health education as part of control programmes.”

Remittances and Expectation: Effects of Migration on Education Investment in Tajikistan

(D. Yamada. 2015. Working papers series. Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University.)

Abstract: This paper examines two effects of migration on education investment: the remittance effect and the expectation effect. Remittances associated with migration allow households to spend on children's education. Meanwhile, migrating parents may expect that their children will likely migrate in the future taking advantage of connection constructed by parents. Then, migration can discourage education expenditure if schooling is lowly evaluated in the migration destination. Using the data from Tajikistan, this paper shows that migration encourages education investment for the poorest households through the remittance effects while it discourages education investment for the non-poorest households through the expectation effect.

Thematic Issue: Sustainable Water Management in Central Asia

(Karthe, S., Chalov, S. and D. Borchardt (eds.) 2015. Environmental Earth Sciences. Vol.73 (2).)

Description: This special issue of the Environmental Earth Sciences journal covers the theme on Sustainable Water Management in Central Asia. Articles with geographical focus relevant to IFPRI’s Central Asia Program included in the following link. Earlier online versions of some of the articles were already circulated in our earlier News Digest editions: