Agrifood systems play a pivotal economic and social role in the five Central Asia (CA5) countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These not only contribute significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries but also serve as a primary source of employment for a substantial portion of their populations. Despite the importance of agrifood systems, the CA5 countries lack capacity to ensure food security and mitigate climate change, which is increasingly threatening the region.

These challenges highlight the need for more sustainable practices, including a shift towards more diversified agricultural production systems. FAO’s The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 report introduces true cost accounting (TCA) as an approach to uncovering the hidden costs of agrifood systems. The report estimated that quantified hidden costs of agrifood systems in CA5 countries amount to approximately 116 billion dollars at 2020 purchasing power parity (PPP). Globally, the region accounts for almost 1 percent of total quantified hidden costs.

Overall, this study aims to provide an overview of the CA5 countries' agrifood systems through targeted hidden cost assessments across major crop value chains and the potential of crop diversification in partly reducing these hidden costs. In doing so, this report hopes to become a viable tool to inform decisions and policymaking in a transparent and consistent way in CA5 countries.