In the village of Shor-Bulak, Ton district, the livestock fattening season has begun and corn silage has become the main topic. There are a lot of people who want to buy corn silage. 15 members of the vegetable growing group “Shor-Bulak AVEP”, who prepared the silage, discussed and decided to divide the feed among themselves.

“Corn was big news in our village. As part of the “Growing Vegetables” project, we planted corn on 1.5 hectares. Despite water shortages and drought last year, we received a total of 25-27 tons of silage. Now many people ask, do you sell silage? But we prepared it for ourselves,” says Bakytbek Mamyraliev, a member of the Shor-Bulak AVEP vegetable growing group.

In 2023, this group was the community that prepared the largest number of bunkers as part of the project and prepared 1 hectare of subglacial fallow land to continue work in the spring. If the same quality corn seeds are found as last year, the planting area will be expanded in the spring.

The Shor-Bulak AVEP group of 15 people grew vegetables in 2022. In this work they gained great experience and reaped a good harvest, sufficient for family consumption.

“From the project we learned what vegetables to grow in what place and what fertilizers to apply. This year we planted vegetables little by little. Village residents are convinced of the usefulness of silage and are interested in growing corn for silage,”- said group member Chinar Toktonalieva.

The project “Vegetable Growing” is financed by the International Seed Fund (SPI - Seed programs International) and is implemented by the public foundation “AVEP”.

 In 2023, Zhiparkul Dzhangazieva sent vegetables to the city that she grew in her garden. Her first clients were his children, grandchildren and relatives living in the city. The farmer received a net profit of 25,000 soms from the sale of vegetables grown within the framework of the Vegetable Growing project.

“The first tomatoes are ripe. After that we sent out asparagus and cabbage. In the fall, we treated guests to broccoli, cauliflower, basil and other vegetables. They also paid money at the market price, they said: “This is your work and it should be paid,” says Zhiparkul Dzhangazieva, a resident of the village of Kara-Koo, Ton district.

The Kara-Koo AVEP vegetable growing group has begun independent preparations for spring. In the fall, earthworms were brought to 5-6 plots and biohumus was prepared. In addition, they also bought the necessary vegetable seeds with the money from the harvest. Starting in February, they plan to start growing seedlings by sowing seeds in special pots at home.

“To ensure that the residents of our village received reliable information, I distributed excess seeds and most of the vegetables for free. I showed the growing methods. "I wrapped the broccoli, parsley, dill and green onions in kitchen paper and stored them in the refrigerator." - says group leader Jainagul Musalieva.

Members of the Kara-Koo AVEP group highly appreciated the trainings conducted as part of the project. Because during the trainings they learned many secrets of farming.

The project “Vegetable Growing” is financed by the International Seed Fund (SPI - Seed programs International) and is implemented by the public foundation “AVEP”.

From February 13 to February 29, 2024, our trainers conducted a total of 28 trainings in all 7 regions of the country with the participation of more than 500 people on the topic: “Establishing mechanisms for coordination and involvement of all stakeholders in the adaptation planning process for regional authorities.”

The list of participants is extremely diverse; not only regional representatives, representatives of the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, the Ministry of Water Resources, and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, but also representatives of civil society and academic circles.

This event was organized within the framework of the project “Promoting the process of developing a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for medium- and long-term planning and implementation of adaptation measures to climate change in the Kyrgyz Republic” implemented by UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic. PF AVEP, in partnership with CIVITTA-Armenia, is carrying out the task of creating a mechanism for coordinating and involving all stakeholders in the adaptation planning process for regional authorities.

The project aims to create a strong mechanism for collaboration between stakeholders, especially women and vulnerable groups, in planning adaptation strategies at the local level. The project is being implemented by UNDP in Kyrgyzstan with financial support from the Green Climate Fund.

“Chinese cabbage grows in the shade and requires little water. And if you cut broccoli and basil, new ones will grow in their place,” residents of the village of Bokonbaevo are surprised by the variety of types of cabbage. Currently, one kilogram of broccoli, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower is sold at a wholesale price of 220 soms.

“I really liked that I could pick broccoli, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower from my garden and make a salad for my children. These are 100% organic products, we grew them with our own hands,” says group member Ainura Kadyrmambetova.

This year, 15 members of the AVEP Vegetables farming group grew 14 different types of vegetables. They participated in trainings 5 times, where they learned the secrets of preparing land, planting and growing vegetables, and methods of pest control. And the vegetable harvest brought additional income to family budgets.

“We grew cabbage, beets, peppers and carrots well. The cucumbers, tomatoes and onions also turned out well. In addition to using it for food, we sold it. We made a winter salad from the leftover harvest, salted it and froze it. The seeds given to us are the best. Everything has grown,” says farmer Anara Estebesova.

The farming group intends to continue growing vegetables next year. Along with it, they plan to plant strawberries and currants. Farmers noted that working together in a group is convenient for the mutual exchange of knowledge and experience.

The project “Vegetable Growing” is financed by the International Seed Fund (SPI - Seed programs International) and is implemented by the public foundation “AVEP”.