Food policy reforms for sustainable agricultural development in Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan

Given the present conditions of demographic growth and the complicated tran sition toward market economies in Central Asia, the problems of food securi ty and designing policies to achieve it without compromising economic growt h are at the forefront of policy agendas in these countries. This paper rev iews food policy reforms in Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan in the context of sustainable agricultural development. Analyzing the tren ds in the agricultural sector during the transition period, it identifies t he major impacts of policy reforms on food security and enumerates future c hallenges for improving food security in these countries. It finds that des pite the progress made in reforming their economies toward market-oriented ones, the three countries continue to face food insecurity to varying degre es. It concludes that there is an urgent need to further expand and deepen the reform process by enabling functioning land, labor, and financial marke ts. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.