INTRODUCING KYRGYZSTAN SPATIAL

This blog post is originally published on University of Central Asia website. 

The University of Central Asia’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration (UCA IPPA) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched a new online platform on 2 April 2015 that will help policy makers target areas of the country most vulnerable to food insecurity.

Dr Bohdan Krawchenko, UCA Director General, welcomes participants and discusses how Kyrgyzstan Spatial will have a permanent home at the University and will be useful for educational research.

Called Kyrgyzstan Spatial, the site is an interactive online mapping tool and knowledge platform designed to support evidence-based decision making in agriculture and food security. The platform is based on technology developed for Arab Spatial, an IFPRI-led initiative, supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the CGIAR’s Policies, Institutions and Markets Program that provides agricultural data from Middle Eastern countries. Kyrgyzstan Spatial can be accessed online at: www.kyrgyzstanspatial.org

“Kyrgyzstan Spatial provides a tested methodology to facilitate unprecedented access to data and analytic tools to help policy makers and practitioners assess, anticipate and respond to needs related to agriculture and food security in the country,” explained Dr Roman Mogilevskii, IPPA Head of Research.

The platform incorporates innovative mapping concepts and technology using data from a wide range of sources, including the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and household surveys such as the Kyrgyzstan Integrated Household Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey.

Providing data on more than 100 indicators, including climate, biophysical and socio-economic factors, Kyrgyzstan Spatial enables users to visualise areas most vulnerable to food insecurity and target policies and research where they are most needed. The tool can accommodate any number of layers at national, sub-national and pixel levels, show a dynamic display of indicators over time, and provides the ability to download and print maps and graphs

Kyrgyzstan Spatial is available online in both English and Russian, accessible to anyone with internet access.  It is a dynamic platform that is updated and expanded on a regular basis. Submissions of new information from partners and stakeholders are welcome to continually improve the tool and assist in the delivery of appropriate interventions and polices across Kyrgyzstan.

Dr Kamiljon Akramov, Research Fellow and Leader of Central Asia Program, IFPRI, provides an overview of IFPRI’s research and capacity strengthening activities in Central Asia.

“Economic development plays an important role in achieving food and nutrition security, especially for young children and women. Food and nutrition security, in turn, impacts productivity and hence the economic development of nations. Kyrgyzstan Spatial highlights this link at national, regional, local and household levels. Hopefully, this tool will help to promote research, policy analysis and evidence-based decision-making not only at national level but also in the regions,” said Dr Kamiljon Akramov, Research Fellow and Leader of IFPRI’s Central Asia Programme, who presented on linking food security and economic development and described IFPRI’s partnership with UCA under the Institute’s Central Asia Research and Capacity Strengthening Programme.

Under the partnership, UCA is engaged in data collection, processing and entry for the creation and maintenance of the page content. UCA staff were trained by IFPRI’s Middle East and North Africa team, which created Arab Spatial. The team also provided technical support to ensure content quality.

Kyrgyzstan Spatial, an online, interactive atlas promoting Food Security and Development, is launched by the University of Central Asia and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Kyrgyzstan Spatial is a collaborative project of IFPRI and UCA, supported by the CGIAR Research Programs on Policies, Institutions, and Markets and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health; the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation; and IFAD.