Agriculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus not only ensures the food supply, but also supports the majority of the rural population and creates jobs. Although agriculture’s share of gross domestic product or GDP has declined since 2000, it still accounts for a large proportion of GDP in several countries. Tajikistan’s agriculture sector makes up over one quarter of GDP. Armenia accounts over a fifth of GDP to agriculture, while and Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic have a little under a fifth.

Even so, the relatively small market and reliance on a narrow range of agro-food products have dampened farm output. In order to raise outputs and cash to meet the growing domestic and international demand, the region needs to jointly develop and integrate their agricultural value chains. These value chains encompass the goods and services required for a product to move from farm to consumer.

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http://bit.ly/2uYsQHU

Read the policy brief

https://www.adb.org/publications/promoting-agricultural-value-chain-integration-central-asia-and-caucasus

Authors

Aladdin Rillo https://www.adb.org/adbi/about/staff-profiles/aladdin-rillo

Suryo Ariyanto Nugroho https://www.adb.org/adbi/about/staff-profiles/suryo-ariyanto-nugroho