A Better Day

BY DEBORAH EISENBERG | July 2, 2002

Country: Tajikistan

Topic: Agriculture

As part of its loan agreement, the Behruz farm provides free milling for farmers in the area. Photo: Mercy Corps

The Behruz farm in Hozamalik, just outside of the Tajikistan capital, Dushanbe, is appropriately named. Behruz means a "better day" in Tajik, and, thanks in part to a Mercy Corps program, a better day is exactly what this farm is seeing.

Before its involvement with Mercy Corps, Behruz was a typical Tajik farm. As Narzullo Saifiddinov, the head of the farm describes it, "We had land, but no information to help us decide what to grow. We had financial difficulties and we did not have enough capital to buy equipment."

Now, after two years and some assistance from Mercy Corps, Behruz is not only a flourishing farm with a diverse crop yield, but it is also recognized as a center for training, research and development for the entire Khatlon Region.

Mercy Corps began working with Behruz in 1999, when the farm applied for agricultural credit under Mercy Corps' grants and credit program. The loan was used to purchase a combine, a churn and a generator. The money from the credit was paid back in food to the people of Hosamalik and the neighboring region. Behruz was on time with the payment and it delivered over 54 tons of food to the needy population in the form of vegetables, oil, and wheat.

The farm, which had begun to produce at a much higher capacity thanks to its new equipment, was subsequently added to the list of agricultural training sites that are operated throughout Tajikistan. With a grant from Mercy Corps, a training facility has been developed for use as a center for ongoing training programs provided for this region.

One of the most useful training programs has been in pest control management. Twenty farmers from all over the region have come to learn about "integrated pest management." They have studied different strategies of controlling pests, including safer and more effective use of chemicals. The training has not only been a success for Behruz, but it has also helped farms in the region reduce the percentage of crops lost due to pests from 35 percent to 5 percent.

Other training programs have also proved extremely useful for Behruz, especially ones focusing on market economics.

Saifiddinov says, "Previously we had no knowledge of how to plan or market our product."

Now, Behruz has a business plan, improved marketing techniques, and the farmers are informed about tax laws and their legal rights as farmers. Because Behruz has had such success, it has applied for and received a research and development grant that enabled it to develop a processing facility for the milling of wheat and extracting vegetable oil from seeds.

As repayment for this grant the farm provides free milling for other farmers in the area.

Behruz no longer has to worry about start-up capital or equipment costs. In the last two years Behruz has doubled its net income and has hired 12 more staff members. In addition, it has provided professional development opportunities for staff such as correspondence courses at the Agrarian University, and it is on its way towards becoming an agricultural research center.