KHUJAND, March 4, 2016, Asia-Plus – Russian delegation has arrived in Tajikistan on a five-day working visit to get acquainted with the implementation of a three-year initiative, Livelihood improvement of 1,000,000 rural population in 9 districts of the Republic of Tajikistan.
During a two-day visit to the northern province of Sughd, the delegation has visited the cities of Istaravshan and Isfara as well as the base station of Tajikistan’s Academy of Agricultural Sciences located in the Kulkent jamaot of Isfara.
As it had been reported earlier, one Belarus tractor with a trailer, a cultivator and tractor-drawn plow, were handed over to the station base in Kulkent in the framework of the mentioned three-year initiative on December 10, 2015.
We will recall that Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Igor Lyakin-Frolov and UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Tajikistan Alexander Zuev on November 4, 2014 signed a grant agreement between the Russian Government and UNDP in Tajikistan to support a three-year initiative, Livelihood Improvement of 1,000,000 Rural Population in 9 Districts of Tajikistan.
The Initiative with a total budget of US$ 6.7 million is funded by the Government of the Russian Federation and implemented by UNDP in Tajikistan.
The Initiative aims at addressing local development priorities in nine districts of Sughd and Khatlon regions and the Districts Subordinate to the Center. The project is expected to assist the local authorities in the effective planning and monitoring of social and economic development of the target districts through elaboration of new and review of existing District Development Programs and in implementation of about 50 priority initiatives emanating from these Programs. In addition, the project will promote employment and entrepreneurship development. Improving the business environment through creating public-private dialogue platforms at the local level, as well as enhancing the capacity of local authorities and business structures on local economic development issues will be at the focus of the project.
The project contributes to improving people’s access to financial resources to support development of private entrepreneurship, new productions and jobs creation. More than 2,000 microloans will be provided to private sector representatives, entrepreneurs and farmers for developing new business initiatives.
The project facilitates development of the labor market through rendering support and advancing vocational education at the local level. More than 500 people will have an opportunity to learn new professional skills demanded at the local and external labor markets. Overall, the project will support the livelihood improvement of more than 1 million population of Tajikistan.
