Catalysing investment in Tajikistan
The Republic of Tajikistan will need to produce an estimated 30 percent more food to feed its growing population sustainably by 2030. But the country grapples with degraded agricultural lands and low agricultural productivity, among other challenges.
At the Government’s request, the Centre supported the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare a national investment plan to improve food and nutrition security and promote sustainable agriculture development.
The comprehensive plan (2021 to 2030) rests on five pillars – from the sustainable development of natural resources, value chains and agri-food systems services, to social inclusion and the creation of enabling policy and business environments to attract public and private investment. The plan pinpoints key directions under each pillar, estimating investment needs and related activities based on three different scenarios, from a business-as-usual scenario to a more industrial and innovation-driven one.
The Centre produced 17 technical reviews and briefs, many on the country’s agricultural subsectors, in collaboration with the FAO country and regional office. It also created a national investment plan atlas – an open-source geospatial data platform that allows different datasets to be combined to assist decision-making, investment planning and impact monitoring. Mapping the location of dairy agribusinesses, for example, alongside information on roads, power grids, pasture productivity and milk collection points, among other data, can help make the country’s dairy industry more productive and competitive.
Or, replacing underperforming crops in a certain area with higher-value, more nutritious crops better suited to that area’s conditions can optimize the country’s limited agricultural land.
The national investment plan provides strong guidance to the Government, resource partners and investors alike. The plan, once adopted by the Government, would ultimately help green Tajikistan’s economy, raise rural incomes, ensure more inclusive economic growth and increase the percentage of people able to afford healthy and nutritious diets.
The Centre also began supporting Tajikistan in early 2020 through FAO’s Hand-in-Hand, an evidence-based, country-led and country-owned initiative. Using advanced geospatial modelling and analytics, the initiative identifies opportunities for countries to accelerate agricultural transformation and meet their SDG targets.
These parallel and complementary efforts are helping to catalyse more public and private investment in Tajikistan. The World Bank and IFAD have benefited from two project concept notes developed within the investment plan’s framework, and discussions are ongoing with other IFIs, including the Islamic Development Bank, on an additional five project concept notes.