Boosting Tajikistan’s economic potential

Photo documentation of the Aga Khan Foundation programs in the Sughd region, in the northern part of Tajikistan. This project is supporting farmers and small companies in Tajikistan to increase their productivity, expand their reach and create jobs.

« The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is working in partnership with the Government, international community and local private sector to build a more prosperous Tajikistan for all. Agriculture comprises over 22% of Tajikistan’s GDP, and we are supporting farmers and micro- to medium-sized companies to increase their productivity, expand their reach beyond the borders of Tajikistan and create jobs for the population. »

This documentation took place in May 2023, in 10 different sites (farmers and small companies) in the Sughd region.

Click here to learn more about this project.

Hanifa and her daughter Mahtob saw an advertisement on TV about biohumus, made from Red Californian worms. Her husband saw some worms at the market and decided to experiment it at home in order to replace fertilizer.

. After finding out that bio humus was very efficient, they started to breed worms in 2020 and to sell worms families to other farmers in the region. A worm family is contained in 8 boxes, and the whole family is sold for 1,900 somoni (190 USD). According to them, bio humus has many advantages: it’s organic, clean, healthy, cheap, and you apply once every three years. According to them, even the taste of vegetables is better. In order to develop their business, they received a water reservoir, motoblock, cement, and water meter, for a total of 20,000 somonis (2,000 USD).

Mahtob anf Hanifa are near to their Red Californian Worms breeding centre at their house and garden.

Portrait of Ashurovba Mahtob.

Ne’matullo lives with his housewife his wife, two children, his daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. He is a farmer, he plants rice, potatoes, corn, etc. He has 4 cows, 2 calves, 5 sheep, 3 goats. His cows give him 10 litres of milk every day.

Other members chose him to purchase the motoblock, because he has the experience and he had the funds to finance the equipment. People are happy to pay for the motoblock, because it saves time and money.

Junaidullo is 43 y.o and has a wife and 8 children. He learned to farm from his father. He farms different vegetables (potatoes, carrots, fruit, trees, etc).

He attended a training in 2018 since he is cooperating with AKDN. He was proposed to get a greenhouse financed, to grow tomatoes. The greenhouse guarantee him that tomatoes will grow no matter the weather, whereas before, it would have been risky to plant tomatoes in this mountainous part of Tajikistan. He sells his vegetables to local markets.

Junaidullo is taking care of his tomato greenhouse.

Qurbonov Hazratqul near a canal that irrigates Hazratqul’s fields. Before, during the rainy season, mud could wash away the irrigation canals, that bring water to the various fields around. It used to impact a lot Hazratqul, a 43 years old, father of 3 children. He mostly cultivates potatoes, weeds, and crops.

Picture of nature near Hazratqul fields.

Saidjafar and Ramziya are doing testing blood samples to brucellosis at the Laboratory in Ainy.

Saidjafar is testing eggs with the new ovoscopia equipment they received from the project at the Laboratory in Ainy.

Samples of dairy products from the milk cluster (kurut, tchaka, butter, and sour cream) at the cluster meeting point and in the field.

Jumagul and Sayohat are extracting the sour cream from the milk using an equipment provided by the project at the cluster meeting point and in the field.

Drying compartment used to dry Kurut (dry milk balls) at the cluster meeting point and in the field.

Jumagul and Sayohat are going to the field to collect milk in the morning.

Jumagul is visitng her cow in the morning.

Mirzo is taking care of his bees. Mirzo has 20 beehives. Mirzo is 60 years old and has been beekeeping since 2005 before he was in farming. But after being initiated into beekeeping, he realized he could make a decent salary by doing an activity he loves. He has 20 families of bees, and last year, he could harvest 500 kgs of honey. « My secret is my experience, learning, experiencing, and seeing the experience of other beekeepers ».

Through the project, he attended several seminars which explained how to keep bees during the winter season, how to increase production, and how to market the honey he produces. During this training, he attended two exhibitions (Dushanbe and Khujand) and he could connect with two new buyers. According to him, « if you are patient and hardworking, you can work with bees ».