Turkmenistan is currently undergoing a process of establishment of a land administration system including a cadastre and land registration system. The Turkmen official land statistics show very little individualization since 1990, because the former collective farms still record land now held in family leaseholds as part of its asset inventory. However, land reform resulted in a significant shift to individual or household-based farming, with more than 3/4 of the arable land leased to individual farmers. Most leaseholders consider this land to be rightfully theirs, and they expect to continue to use it in the future.

The project (TCP/TUK/3901 (672242)) will provide technical assistance to support the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MAEP) and its Land Resources Services. The project will take the first (pilot) step in support of a new geocentric coordinate system and geodetic reference network of Turkmenistan, preparation of a long-term roadmap for a modern digital geospatial data infrastructure, and implement a comprehensive training programme to upgrade the knowledge of the Land Resources Services technical unit. The project’s provided policy recommendations will be in line with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and promote secure tenure rights and support the broader development of small family farms.

There will be four major expected output of the project 1) The establishment of a digital land cadastre supported for the development of small family farms and enhanced tenure security. 2) Business processes for cadastral survey, maintenance of up-to-date information and provision of services optimized and piloted. 3) farm structure assessment in a selected pilot site. 4) development of Initial capacity on land cadastre, land tenure, responsible governance of tenure / VGGT in the context of family farming.