Social protection has a critical role to play in reducing poverty, improving food and nutrition security, and stimulating inclusive economic growth in rural areas. However, social protection alone cannot address all the risks and challenges faced by vulnerable rural populations. Integrated interventions have shown greater impacts than stand-alone social protection or agricultural measures in assisting rural poor to overcome poverty, boost productivity, and improve diets, thus accelerating progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2. This complementarity is also fundamental for strengthening the resilience of households in the face of external shocks, such as the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.

Since 2016, under the Russian-funded project “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia,” FAO has been supporting Kyrgyzstan in aligning social protection with agriculture and rural development through the Cash+ approach. The Cash+ pilot has complemented the national social cash transfer programme – a monthly benefit for low-income families with children (uy-bulogo komok) – with a combination of agricultural inputs and assets, technical training geared towards organic and climate-smart practices, extension services, and nutrition education.

Being a low-income food-deficit country with over 23 percent of the rural population living below the poverty line, Kyrgyzstan suffers from both undernutrition and overnutrition affecting adults and children alike. The coverage of social assistance – in particular of the rural poor – remains a challenge. Social cash transfers reach merely 4 percent of the rural population, and only 9 percent of the rural poorest. Their value also remains far from sufficient, reaching only 24 percent of the food component of the subsistence minimum.

The support packages were therefore designed to enhance families’ nutrition and income status, reflecting their needs, challenges, and opportunities.