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Tajikistan is a nation working hard to find its way out of a turbulent past and a difficult today.
People across the nation have been hit hard, with the gross domestic product per capita of $180 not even half of what it was prior to independence. Many reasons exist for the decline in living conditions, such as the absence of budget transfers, collapse of trading within former Soviet Union republics, poor economic management until the mid-1990s, civil conflict, and major natural disasters.
RURAL POVERTY The main issues: irrigation, access to land, and freedom of choice for farming decisions
Despite supplemental coping strategies, roughly 85% of the population has insufficient income to meet the most basic of needs: adequate food, shelter, clothing, education, and health.
Some of the poverty is cyclical, with shortages of fuel during winter and of food during spring.
Roughly 5% of the poor are classified as destitute and unable to care for themselves (elderly, orphans and street children, disabled, and unemployed), and 12% are experiencing extreme poverty, facing chronic food insecurity or malnutrition with no regular or dependable source of income.
ADB’s approval in August 2001 of a Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) project on Rural Poverty Reduction in Tajikistan aims to reduce the burden of poverty by increasing the capacity of vulnerable households to meet their basic needs by raising agricultural production, improving income-generating opportunities for women, and building capacity.
ADB will fund 91% of the $3.2 million project through the JFPR. The project will pilot-test innovative on- and off-farm activities to draw lessons for the implementation of ADB’s agriculture rehabilitation and rural financial systems development investment projects.
The project was designed to maximize stakeholder participation. Two nongovernment organizations (NGOs) working in Tajikistan have been selected as implementing agencies: the Aga Khan Foundation and CARE International. Lessons learned will direct future loan-forming relations with counterparts and the implementing agencies, and develop capacity of participating government agencies to implement the project.
The project design specifies work with community-based organizations to ensure that beneficiary views are used to seek sustainable solutions to poverty. A three-prong approach was used that identified the most pressing concerns and effective solutions.
To enhance the sustainability of solutions, it was decided that a steering committee would review project implementation plans annually. This would allow the Government to manifest its role as a stakeholder.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country bordered by Afghanistan, People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan. Its population of 6.3 million is predominantly ethnic Tajiks (80%).
Although the country was the poorest republic in the former Soviet Union, investment in social infrastructure through large budget transfers from Moscow (equivalent to 40% of GDP) helped sustain social and economic infrastructure.
Although the official unemployment rate for 2001 was only 2.5% of the economically active population, the level of hidden unemployment is estimated as much higher: 11–15%.
If seasonal unemployment is factored in, the real rate of unemployment reaches 33%. The problem of unemployment is more acute in the rural areas, where the number of unemployed women has doubled over the past 4 years.
Although the average monthly income has increased slightly, prices have continued to outstrip wage increases.
National and regional workshops were conducted in May 2002 to raise awareness about the Project, gain stakeholder support, and increase beneficiaries’ sense of ownership.
The national workshop brought together the Government and NGOs — something new for Tajikistan. Donor projects had previously been run by either Government or NGOs—not both—sometimes causing tension between the two, as well as replication and overlap in activities.
The workshop enabled the Government and NGOs to better understand the needs of the people, and ways to implement the Project to maximize benefits to the rural poor. Project implementation requires government endorsement, and it has been found that the ease in obtaining this is closely related to the level of authorities’ participation.
National workshop participants included project beneficiaries, village organizations, farmers groups and women’s organizations, central and government representatives, civil society organizations, donor and international agencies, and ADB.
Participants were divided into three groups to identify issues and develop strategies to improve the project’s ability to reduce rural poverty by increasing agricultural productivity, providing credit for women, and building capacity in organizations.
The main issues raised included irrigation, access to land, and freedom of choice for farming decisions. Highlighted were the need for more resources, increased education and training, greater organization, and ensured sustainability.
Participants praised the workshop as an effective tool in raising awareness about the Project, and increasing stakeholders’ support and commitment, which is crucial for successful project implementation. Participants concluded that forums of this nature should be conducted periodically.
About 350 stakeholders—mainly project beneficiaries—participated in six regional workshops. Participatory appraisal tools, such as rankings, oral histories and trend analysis, and seasonal calendars were used to highlight issues and seek solutions.
WHAT IS POVERTY? Many of the stakeholders said poverty is the inability to satisfy basic needs
The regional workshops helped define the causes and effects of poverty as seen by participants. Some said they believed poverty was the result mainly of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war, which destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, particularly roads to markets and irrigation.
However, most saw poverty as stemming from a lack of jobs and low wages, and the lack of opportunity for self-employment.
Many participants agreed on the physical impact of poverty on the population: the inability to satisfy the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care.
Poverty’s nonphysical effects were identified as including family separation, cultural erosion, loss of dignity associated with taking menial jobs in Russia, and the need to sell belongings to survive.
Women spoke of specific problems such as prostitution, and the hardship of not having a husband in their households. Many spoke of selling essential items—including household roofing—to buy food.
Participants identified the provision of credit, land privatization and equitable distribution, encouragement of local enterprises, increased access to agricultural tools, and diversification of agricultural activities as potential solutions to reducing poverty.
A testament to the stakeholder cooperation is the endorsement of a detailed implementation plan for the project’s first year, and the disbursement of project funds.
Increased stakeholder participation has highlighted issues and solutions, and empowered beneficiaries to take a greater role in the decision-making process. The deeper understanding created by such participation helps improve awareness of the nature of poverty in Tajikistan, and augurs well for improving project design.
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Learn more about ADB's activities in Tajikistan.
ADB will shortly open a resident mission in Tajikistan.
Find out more about ADB's partnership with NGOs.
On 1 December 2002, the Government of Tajikistan and ADB signed the Poverty Partnership Agreement.
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