DUSHANBE (TCA) — The families of migrants who have left Tajikistan in search of work abroad will be an important focus of a new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) project set to get under way here soon, FAO in Tajikistan said on July 12.
The three-year project, entitled “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia” is financed by the Russian Federation with a budget of US $6 million. As part of a global and regional programme, also active in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, the project will integrate food security and nutrition governance, nutrition-sensitive social protection, nutrition education, and nutritional health into a comprehensive food and nutrition security strategy.
“The income of many households in Tajikistan comes from migrants’ earnings abroad,” said FAO Representative in Tajikistan Viorel Gutu. “Money mainly is being spent and there is no additional income for migrants’ families. We intend to turn this situation into a positive one and designate this money for agricultural development.”
Migrants’ households will be invited to propose small agricultural projects and apply for grants with a value up to US $5,000. Each beneficiary household will contribute matching funds from its own resources, including remittances from abroad.
Until recently, Tajik labour migrants were transferring up to $4 billion annually to their home country. With the economic slowdown in Russia, that figure fell to about $1.2 billion in 2015.
Expected to get under way in autumn 2016, the project will also help build the capacities of policy-makers, government officials and professionals in the field of food and agriculture.
