"Now I have food, I feel safe, and my children have a future," Halil Ismailov, Refugee

Many Tajiks, fleeing civil war, start a new life in neighboring Kyrgyz Republic

In 1994 Halil Ismailov’s family, like many other refugees from civil-war-torn Tajikistan, settled in the Chui valley of the Kyrgyz Republic. Their needs were simple: peace, stability, and food for their children.

"It’s not easy to start a new life when you are 65 years old," Halil says. "And to start a life from scratch in a strange country is even more difficult." The Kyrgyz government gave him a piece of land and a small house, but he had no means to start farming and support his family.

Having been a teacher, he had never farmed in his life. At one point three years ago, a drought wiped out his harvest. Though Halil and others were at first gripped by despair, the community came together and established a seed fund. It would eventually change their lives. "Now I have food, I feel safe, and my children have a future," Halil declares. "And it’s all thanks to the World Bank project."

The World Bank helps local communities to start a seed fund

In 2001 Halil's community met with Alga, the local nongovernmental organization, and were told about the Agricultural Support Services Project financed by the World Bank. The initiative helps poor people who have suffered because of natural disasters to establish community-owned and -managed revolving seed funds.

Alga helped them to organize a community fund and facilitated their meetings, which helped community members decide how their fund should be set up and what rules should be established. At the community meeting it was also decided that first the poorest among them, which included Halil, would receive seeds.

Helping the poorest with seeds and know - how

The project then distributed wheat and sugar beet seeds—in effect giving not only a fishing rod but also the fish. "People who are extremely poor always need more help. You can give them a fishing rod - as is done by many donor-funded projects in our country - but that doesn’t take them very far," explains Magomed Handyshanov, an Alga representative.

The community was given fertilizer along with seeds that were high-yield and disease-resistant. But since Halil and many other community members had never dealt with these crops and were not experienced farmers, the project also helped them with advice and consultations. An agronomist employed by the project gave them crucial advice on how to sow these seeds, how to cultivate them, when to harvest, and so on.

Small plots yield good harvests

The results were truly phenomenal. Halil had never thought that one could receive that much from a little plot of land. He returned to the community fund almost twice the amount of seeds he had taken and he still had enough to sell some and to plant for the next year. Thus he had the extra satisfaction of knowing that his seeds would now help other poor families in his community.

This seed fund project is only a small component of the Agricultural Support Services Project, which was designed as a response to various natural disasters such as drought, floods, and landslides and is intended to help poor families get back on their feet.

This part of the project already has involved about 270 villages and improved the lives of at least 9,000 people.

Agricultural growth has reduced poverty in the countryside

The project supports comprehensive agrarian reform. It has spurred agricultural growth and been the driving force in the decrease of rural poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic in recent years.

With the project's support, the Kyrgyz government privatized farm land in 1999, and restructured big, inefficient collective farms.

The project has given a new push to crop breeding research and the modernization of the Kyrgyz seed industry. It has established an efficient agricultural market information system and a countrywide rural advisory service. It has modernized crop protection by introducing effective and low-cost pest control techniques.

In short, it has increased productivity and diversified agriculture, giving new knowledge and skills to farmers. For Halil and thousands of others, the project means a better life.