Farming systems analysis in mountainous areas: Kyrgyzstan

Bc. Monika Kosová

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Total number of 50 households, 25 from rural and 25 from peri-urban areas, were incorporated in the study focused on analysis of household resources capacity and use, land-use management and household income diversification. Special attention was given to role of homegardens, as a traditional and integral part of households in the target area. Targeted households differed in proximity to province centre, in ethnic composition and access to land resources. Data on historical background of local farming systems were collected via discussions with key-informants and direct observations was used in order to get deeper insight into the target area. Data on household resources capacity and use as well as income structure and volume were collected via semi-structured interviews with households heads and their wives. Study identified differences between rural and peri-urban areas in both resources management and capacity, income distribution and land-use systems. Rural farming systems were based particularly on field crop production, while peri-urban farming systems devoted significant proportion of their land-use system to fruit orchards. Both land-use systems were highly correlated with total family income. Peri-urban households generate more income from off-farm activities, while rural household have more income from farm crop production. Households in rural area have lack of opportunities to work off-farm, so they pursue to maximise a profit from the field crop production and selling products from the field generated the main source of income for the household. The survey nevertheless identified preferred crop species planted in targeted homegardens in both study sites in time of the survey, mainly for subsistence food production and only minor additional household income was derived from selling their surplus product.

Keywords

household resources, homegardens, income diversification, Osh province, Kyrgyzstan, land-use system

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