Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the risks to the food and agricultural sectors associated with it, the Swiss funded Bai-Alai Program will allocate more than 3.5 million soms (50 thousand Swiss francs) to support farmers in Osh oblast of Kyrgyzstan.
The Bai-Alai Program is funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan in cooperation with Aga Khan Foundation.
Realizing the need to take urgent measures to maintain the functioning of the food supply chains to mitigate major shocks that can especially affect the poor and the most vulnerable segments of the population, it was decided to allocate 45 tons of barley seeds, 20 tons of sainfoin seeds and 33 tons of nitrogen fertilizer as an aid to 320 households in Alai and Chon-Alai districts. These funds will help to grow fodder crops on 224 hectares of land.
In addition, the Bai-Alai program will provide farmers in these areas with 300 seed doses of highly productive cattle breeds (Aberdeen Angus, Simmental and Schwitz) and 100 liters of liquid nitrogen for 300 farmers. These artificial insemination tools will be given to local insemination technicians so that they can help the local population.
The Bai-Alai program facilitates the growth of local and regional markets to improve living conditions of the people in Alai and Chon Alai districts.