BATKEN, Kyrgyzstan (TCA) — On September 27 the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is organizing a business forum in Batken in southern Kyrgyzstan to establish direct links between Batken farmers producing dried apricots and buyers from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other countries. Participating farmers will learn about requirements of apricot buyers, present samples of their products and negotiate prices with potential buyers, the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said.
Through these presentations and negotiations, successful farmers and interested buyers/processors are expected to sign contracts or Memoranda of Understanding.
During the last two years, the USAID Agro Horizon Project has worked with local farmers in Batken oblast to improve their incomes by increasing productivity of their apricot trees and improving the quality of the dried apricots. Now the project focuses on providing farmers with alternative market options that offer both short term sales opportunities as well longer term strategic partnerships.
USAID Agro Horizon Project is a four-year project that works in Batken, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, and Osh oblasts of Kyrgyzstan, to increase smallholder farmers’ incomes by improving productivity and expanding access to local and international markets. The project creates jobs in the agricultural sector while improving the availability of nutritious foods.
The project has four main tasks: to increase the productivity of farmers and specific food products and link them to markets; to increase the productivity and markets for small and medium-sized agribusinesses; to increase the size of the agricultural sector; to improve farmers’ and agribusinesses’ access to loans and other financial tools; to implement USAID Forward with selected private-sector organizations and agribusiness service providers; and to improve nutrition for women and children in Kyrgyzstan.
