Over the years, Kyrgyzstan has made advances in the implementation of national strategies and programs on sustainable development and food security. FAO assistance in Kyrgyzstan mainly focuses on enhancing capacities to assess, plan and implement action for achieving sustainable food and nutrition security. Specific attention is given to strengthening institutional capacities and legal frameworks for sustainable agriculture and inclusive value chains. Other priority areas include improving resilience to climate change and reducing rural poverty through capacity building and small- and medium-enterprise development, targeting rural women in particular.  

The Organization's support to Kyrgyzstan is firmly grounded in synergies with partner agencies and stakeholders. In close partnership with the government, UNICEF, WFP, and non-governmental partners, FAO has developed the National Food Security and Nutrition Programme, which now serves as a road map for fulfilling people’s rights to food, nutrition, and development. FAO is also actively engaged in the Working Group on Social Protection Assessment Based National Dialogue chaired by the government and ILO, and provides expertise on linking social protection with agriculture.

In this context and with the aim to adopt an integrated approach to rural development, the “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia” project aims to operationalize the linkages between social protection, nutrition and agricultural interventions across food systems. Under its first output, the project pilots two policy options in this regard. The first pilot “School Food and Nutrition Program linked to the Agricultural Sector”  aims to strengthen linkages between local farmers and schools to enhance the diet quality and diversity of school children and provide stimulus to the local economy. The second pilot involves the development of “Productive Social Contract/CASH+” models. By linking the beneficiaries of Kyrgyzstan’s social protection programme to nutrition services and nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices, these models aim to maximize nutrition and rural development outcomes.

By providing an evidence base on an integrated approach to social protection, nutrition and agriculture, these pilots will then feed into key policy processes at the country, regional and global level. This relates to the core of the project’s second output: improved policies, legislations and programs to promote food security and nutrition. This output aims to identify gaps and opportunities for cross-sectoral action and synergies, and is concerned with improving current policy frameworks and developing a Comprehensive Program on Food Security, Nutrition and Social Protection.

Piloting policy options and incorporating them into policies, legislations and programs is facilitated by the third project output, focusing on coordination and advocacy for enhanced political commitment and inter-ministerial support on food security and nutrition. To promote effective multi-sectoral collaboration and governance, the project aims to build a national consensus for a comprehensive approach to food security, nutrition, social protection and agriculture among the National Food Security Council, the SUN Movement and the Civic Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

Country stories

Project's news

• In Kyrgyzstan, FAO logistics centre will supply schools with local produce
• Social protection – a driver of change for poor and vulnerable households in rural Kyrgyzstan
• Statisticians from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan learn about Georgian experience on indicators of sustainable development goals
• Kyrgyzstan adopts a new methodology for food security analysis in the country
• The first training academy on food security and nutrition held in Kyrgyzstan
• Recipe Book of Kyrgyz Cuisine won a prize in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
• The Logistic Center establishes links between schools and small agricultural producers in Kyrgyzstan
• Children’s meals improve through new raspberry bushes in school gardens
• Nutrition of Kyrgyz schoolchildren to be improved through school gardens