54 dairy cows were officially handed over to women of 10 villages in Tyup and Ton rayons of the Issyk-Kul province in Kyrgyzstan on 16 September, 2016.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has organized this event in in frames of the project “Sustainable Agricultural Development of Issyk-Kul region through technical assistance and implementation and donor funding from the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic René Holenstein, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Melioration and Food Industry KR, Representative of the Kyrgyz Government in the Issyk-Kul province, FAO Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic and members of the local governments of Tyup and Ton rayons participated in the event.
Cows will be distributed among 54 self-help groups of Tyup and Ton rayons. 400 members of the groups, 286 out of which are women receive technical assistance and trainings on cultivation of fodder crops to increase feed base and improve dairy farming in the region.
Single mothers with at least 2 children under 18 years old will receive the cows from the self-help groups. Cattle will be fed with rich and nutrient feed in order to increase family income and develop livestock production and contribute to food security, rural development and sustainable livelihoods in the region.
"I hope that this project will help improving life of farmers in Issyk-Kul. Women are the main beneficiaries of the project. Investing in female farmers is an investment into the future. It's a contribution to improving health and reducing poverty in the area," said the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic René Holenstein.
Also two tractors, two no-till platers and two harvesters will be handed over to members of the self-help groups in order to increase effectiveness and sustainability of technical assistance provided to rural women.
The project supports development of agriculture in the Issyk-Kul region with focus on rural women and will last until 2018.