Poverty, food security, and nutrition in Central Asia: a case study of theKyrgyz Republic

This paper attempts to provide insights into poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Central Asia in the period following independence, and pres ents the available evidence from household-level data in the Kyrgyz Republi c. It finds that although some improvement has been made in recent years, s ignificant levels of poverty, food insecurity, and child malnutrition still exist. The paper argues that, in the short run, efforts should be made to protect vulnerable groups by investing in information generation and buildi ng capacity to design and implement food security and nutrition policies an d programs. Increasing the speed of policy reforms and investment in produc tivity-enhancing agricultural research and rural infrastructure are fundame ntal for long-tem sustainable development in Central Asia. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.