Farming systems classification in Zerger watershed, southern Kyrgyzstan: Who grows rice and why?

Bc. Jakub Skřivan

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Rice is a traditional crop in Kyrgyzstan and its cuisine, although it remains rather a minor crop in terms of its volume of consumption when compared to other crops cultivated within the country. The epicentre of rice production in Kyrgyzstan lies in the southern part of the country, in Osh and Jalal-Abad Provinces, that are renowned for their unique local varieties of rice. Production of rice in Kyrgyzstan has kept increasing trend since 1990s, but so has the volume of import, too. The competition raised by the imported rice is one of the threats the local rice growers have to face nowadays and will have to face also in the future. Another problem that keeps growing stronger is lack of water in the locality, that places rice, one of the most freshwater consuming crops, into a very precarious position.This thesis focuses on farming systems in Zerger watershed, southern Kyrgyzstan. The main aim was to identify the position and role of rice in the locality, as well as to document both local rice growing households and rice varieties they cultivated. Another specific aim was to compare local rice growers and rice non-growers in their resource management, and to obtain future expectations towards local rice agribusiness. To receive the necessary data, a household survey, with usage of interview-administrated, semi-structured questionnaires, was carried out in July 2015 with chosen households in the locality.The results showed that rice is a very profitable crop in the locality with a price more than five times higher than that of wheat, the main local staple crop. Three varieties, two traditionally local and one originally imported from Uzbekistan, were cultivated by farmers in the sample. The resonance of problems with lack of water and droughts was found present in the locality as well.

Keywords

Osh Province, rapid appraisal, household survey, process analysis, Uzgen district, resource analysis

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 22. 4. 2016

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Vladimír Verner, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme / field:
Tropical Agriculture / International Development and Agricultural Economics