In Kyrgyzstan, Director-general Plants Seedlings, Opens Photo Exhibit And Visits Agricultural Facilities

28 April 2025, Bishkek:  FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today concluded a four-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he took part in a tree-planting ceremony, opened an exhibition and toured a number of agricultural facilities including family farms after attending a conference focused on the world’s mountain regions.

At the Ala-Archa National Park, some 40 km south of Bishkek, together with the President of Kyrgyzstan, the Director-General and his delegation planted Tianshan spruce seedlings. The event served as a powerful reminder of the essential role that forests play in sustaining life on Earth, particularly in mountain ecosystems like those found in Kyrgyzstan—ecosystems rich in biodiversity, yet deeply vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, the Director-General said.

FAO is proud to be a trusted and close partner of Kyrgyzstan in its journey toward environmental sustainability and climate resilience, Qu said. The collaboration has already led to significant achievements across multiple projects, including support for the First National Forest Inventory and active participation in afforestation and forest restoration efforts.

Forest support

Currently, FAO aims to support the planting and restoration of over 6,000 hectares of forest, and the improvement and sustainable management of approximately 56,000 hectares. The partnership will also contribute to the sustainable management of approximately 645,000 hectares of pastures through the creation of Integrated Natural Resource Management and Climate Resilience Plans. These efforts represent not only environmental progress, but a crucial contribution to carbon sequestration, the Director-General said.

The carbon sequestration project in Kyrgyzstan is expected to sequester over 19.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent within 20 years, which in turn represents 7.6 percent of the country’s total emissions and 22.6 percent of its agricultural emissions.

The FAO Director-General next visited the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University which trains scientific and teaching staff working in the agrarian sector. During his visit to the University, the Director- General talked to students about the role of youth in sustainable agriculture. He also visited the Laboratory for the Study of Agricultural Resources of Central Asia, the Scientific and Production Laboratory In-Vitro and the greenhouse of the Agronomic Faculty.

At Kyrgyzstan’s National Historic Museum, the Director-General opened an exhibit for the upcoming 80th anniversary of FAO, entitled “The earth rewards the peasant’s toil”. The exhibit presents 40 powerful images, which he described as capturing Kyrgyzstan’s rich agricultural heritage, its challenges, triumphs, and the resilience of its people. The exhibition also highlights FAO’s partnership with Kyrgyzstan, supporting initiatives that enhance food security, rural livelihoods and environmental sustainability in the country, the Director-General said.

He also visited the Aquafeed Production Facility in Novopokrovka Village, Chui Region, for which FAO provided equipment under the project “Increasing Aquaculture Production for Food Security and Rural Development through Improved Value Chain, Feed Production and Utilization.” The project aims to improve feed quality in Kyrgyzstan by introducing modern technologies and international best practices in feed formulation, production, and farm-level application. As part of the project, FAO provided equipment for producing extruded fish feeds.

The enterprise is located on the territory of an operating Fish Farm, where the Director-General witnessed the processes involved in the production of fish feed and trout and sturgeon fingerlings and tasted the fish produced at the farm.

Additionally, the Director-General visited a compound feed production plant, which is part of Kyrgyzstan’s largest agro-industrial holding company. The company specializes in seed production, livestock breeding, viticulture, and oilseed cultivation. The plant has a production capacity of 20 tonnes per hour, sources over 60 000 tonnes of grain from local farmers and provides more than 50 jobs. It also features an input quality control laboratory and uses an automated feed formulation program based on laboratory data.

During the tour of the facility, the Director-General met with producers and consolidators affiliated with the Agricultural Production Association. Discussions centered on strengthening partnerships, improving value chains, and adopting best practices to boost agricultural output. The Director-General commended the Association’s contributions to rural employment and economic growth, reaffirming Kyrgyzstan’s commitment to supporting agribusiness development through policy incentives and infrastructure investments.

Family farms

The FAO Director-General had the opportunity to learn about the challenges and way of life of small-scale farmers during his visit to several family farms in the Chui region.  

Ulan Tokoshev, a farmer who owns 4 hectares of land in the village of Kok-Jar, grows local varieties of strawberries and raspberries. By adopting modern technologies such as drip irrigation and geotextile covers for strawberries, the farmer has been able to reduce production costs and increase yields.

Tasin Izatov, a farmer from the village of Budyonovka, is engaged in growing grain crops and perennial grasses. He shared his experience of using modern agricultural technologies to combat the effects of climate change with the Director-General, who also tasted the famous mountain honey. In 2024, Kyrgyzstan exported almost 602 tonnes of honey, worth approximately $2.1 million.

You can find more images from the Director-General’s Kyrgyzstan trip here

Also Read: Digital Transformation in Agriculture: Opportunities and Challenges for Entrepreneurs

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