Kyrgyzstan is stepping up efforts to expand organic agriculture, but limited access to international certification continues to pose a major obstacle to export growth.
The country currently has nine agricultural cooperatives and 30 organic farmland plots covering about 61,500 hectares. Certified organic land accounts for just over 5% of total arable land.
Cooperatives operating under international standards produce crops such as cotton, herbs, apricots, and grains for export to more than 30 countries. Smaller farms, however, often rely on the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), a low-cost, community-based certification model mainly used for domestic markets.
Despite strong potential for high-value organic products, including berries and vegetables, obtaining international certification remains costly and administratively complex for small producers.
To address these challenges, the government adopted a development programme for 2025-2029. The strategy aims to expand organic farmland to 200,000 hectares, transition the Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions toward predominantly organic production, and increase the share of organic products to 25% of both total agricultural output and exports.
Officials view organic farming as an important tool for sustainable rural development. However, further expansion of the sector will depend largely on improving access to internationally recognized certification systems.
