JICA pays special attention to the development of human resources in Tajikistan and annually dispatches more than 100 government workers and other specialists to Japan to acquire advanced knowledge and experience of Japan, according to JICA Tajikistan Office. Even after return from Japan, JICA tries to support the activities of its ex-participants of training courses in order to further disseminate their knowledge and skills in Tajikistan.
On January 31, 2019, ex-participants of training courses in the field of agriculture and irrigation, with the support of the JICA office held a seminar on the theme “Activities of Agricultural Cooperatives and Water Users’ Association with Regards to Experience of Japan” in Vose district, Khatlon province.
The seminar participants included representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation, as well as local farms and representatives of the Water Users Association.
During the seminar, ex-participants reportedly made presentations about their experiences in Japan and the knowledge gained, which can also be used in Tajikistan. In particular, the attendees listened to the presentations about agricultural technologies of Japan, water management practices, greenhouses, cultivation and production of seeds and others. All these experiments can be used as an alternative approach for the development of agriculture and irrigation systems in Tajikistan.
The speakers also emphasized to refer more to scientific approaches in the activities of dehkan farms with the aim of identifying suitable farmlands for certain territories and growing more resistant natural crops to climate change.
“We feel the need for closer cooperation between agencies for the development of agriculture and irrigation sectors and support the initiative of our ex-participants of JICA courses, as this is a good opportunity for representatives of agriculture and irrigation to better coordinate their activities to ensure a more tangible result in the development of the agriculture and irrigation sectors” – said Mr. Bahrom Ghafforzoda, the Deputy Head of the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation of Tajikistan in his opening speech.
During the seminar, farmers asked the speakers questions related to livestock and crop production technologies, proper use of land resources and coordination of activities on the volume of production and types of crops. Farmers expressed a desire to introduce technologies to monitor and harmonize the volume of crops and types of farmland to improve the profitability of farmers.
“Thanks to participation in today's seminar, I gained new knowledge about how to operate greenhouses based on the experience of Japan, which I intend to use in my greenhouses. I am also grateful to the JICA representatives and I hope that such seminars and meetings will continue and the skills of farming would be further transferred by JICA” – said the local farmer.
JICA began its technical cooperation with Tajikistan in 1993 by inviting Tajik officials to gain knowledge and experience on governance and macroeconomics development. As of January 2018, a total number of participants to JICA’s Knowledge Co-Creation Programs, formerly called the Training Programs, has exceeded 2200 people. JICA Office was established in 2006 in Tajikistan and since then various Grant Financial Assistance and Technical Cooperation projects have been implemented more dynamically, aiming at improving living standard of Tajik people for the sectors such as agriculture and rural development, water supply, health, transport, energy, capacity building as well as SME promotion. JICA’s cumulative investment portfolio in Tajikistan in all sectors comprises 35 projects amounting to more than 349.6 million USD (82 million USD for Technical Cooperation and 267.6 million USD for Grant Assistance), including 11 on-going projects.
