Land use policies and practices for reducing vulnerability in rural Tajikistan

Tajikistan, with 93% of its surface area taken up by mountains and 65% of its labor force employed in agriculture, is judged to be highly vulnerable to risks, including climate change risks and food insecurity risks. The article examines a set of land use policies and practices that can be used to mitigate the vulnerability of Tajikistan’s large rural population, primarily by increasing family incomes. Empirical evidence from Tajikistan and other CIS countries suggests that families with more land and higher commercialization earn higher incomes and achieve higher well-being. The recommended policy measures that are likely to increase rural family incomes accordingly advocate expansion of smallholder farms, improvement of livestock productivity, increase of farm commercialization through improvement of farm services, and greater diversification of both income sources and the product mix. The analysis relies for supporting evidence on official statistics and recent farm surveys. Examples from local initiatives promoting sustainable land management practices and demonstrating the implementation of the proposed policy measures are presented.

Promoting local innovation - a tool for sustainable rural development

Change, be it socio-cultural, political, institutional, technological, economic or ecological motivates local communities and farming families to mobilise and increase their innovation potential in order to create ways of life and production that match their own visions and priorities. In spite of the growing recognition of the potential of local innovations, they are hardly being integrated into development plans and projects; as a consequence, their diffusion within and between communities is limited. therefore interactive and participatory methods for supporting and strengthening the innovative potential of local actors are valuable inputs for sustainable rural development. the article presents an approach to promote local innovations.