Новый проект ОФ «САМР Алатоо» расширит возможности фермеров Иссык-Кульской области

A New Project by the СAMP Alatoo PF to Expand Opportunities for Farmers in Issyk-Kul Region

Every season, small farming households in the Issyk-Kul region face the same challenge — a lack of proper storage facilities for their harvest. Due to the absence of refrigerated storage, farmers are forced to sell their fruit immediately after harvest at undervalued prices. As a result, rural incomes decrease, and the development of organic horticulture slows down.

This issue was identified during a study conducted by specialists of the СAMP Alatoo PF. To help farmers address post-harvest losses and increase their income, the Foundation, with the support of the PVSYST Foundation (France), launched the project "Developing Sustainable Agribusiness by the access to cold storage solution, powered by photovoltaic energy and managed by a farmers’ cooperative in Issyk-Kul oblast" – Phase 1. This initiative aims to combine modern technologies with farmer cooperation.

In the first phase, an agricultural cooperative will be established, bringing together residents of two villages in the Jeti-Oguz district — Chon-Jargylchak and Kichi-Jargylchak. Project specialists held an informational meeting with the communities of these villages, attended by more than 60 farmers. The project presentation outlined its goals and objectives, along with detailed explanations of the criteria for joining the cooperative. СAMP Alatoo PF specialists also highlighted the advantages of collective work and explained how collaboration between the two villages will be organized. Special attention was given to membership conditions and participation mechanisms. According to Project Coordinator Ruslan Ismalov, the cooperative will make it possible to pool resources, better plan sales, and jointly manage the infrastructure.

Farmers actively engaged in the discussion, asking questions about the proximity of members’ land plots, the expected number of participants, the possibility of joining for those already involved in another association, and what kind of support is needed from the local community to ensure successful project implementation. Following the meeting, participants expressed their readiness to take an active role in establishing the cooperative and to meet the membership requirements, emphasizing the importance of this initiative for the development of local agribusiness.

The next stage of the project includes a joint effort involving a survey, the establishment of the cooperative, the first collective sales, training for its members, and close cooperation with government agencies on land-related procedures and the connection to NESK’s public grid from the solar station. This solution will help reduce electricity costs and ensure the project’s independence from power outages — a particularly critical issue for mountain areas.

The storage facility will operate on a photovoltaic system developed with technical support from the PVSYST Foundation. Members of the cooperative will undergo intensive training in effective storage management to make the most of the new infrastructure.