The current status of the agricultural sector in the Kyrgyz Republic from the perspective of the increasing presence of individual entrepreneurs

Abstract

Agriculture plays a major role in the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic, a small, landlocked, mountainous country in Central Asia. The National Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic is focused on agroindustry as a priority sector for the development of the economy. Due to the comprehensive, innovative agrarian reforms with minimum government intervention, the agricultural recovery in the early 2000s was driven entirely by growth in the private sector, with increasing output from peasant farms. In this study, we analyze the emerging peasant farmer entrepreneurs as the prospective leaders of sustainable agriculture in the Kyrgyz Republic. Statistical data and empirical results from field surveys were used to analyze the potential capacity of individual entrepreneurs in the sector. Our findings indicate a beneficial impact of entrepreneurs on the promotion of sustainable agriculture and the increasing value of the “Made in Kyrgyz” label in regional markets.