Food security and nutrition programme for Kyrgyzstan

The transition from the Soviet-era centralized command economy to a market economy exacerbated the food security challenges in Kyrgyzstan. During the early 1990s, there was a sharp decline in food absorption in the economy along with a drop in incomes; accordingly, the use of grains as feed for livestock production was severely curtailed. There has been a partial recovery since 1995 driven by the expansion of domestic grain production up until 2002, mainly led by wheat. While energy intake has recovered, protein and other micronutrient intake continue to remain deficient for the population. The ability of the country to maintain food security at the national level does not always translate into better nutrition outcomes at the household level. In 2015, six percent of the country population was undernourished, while 7.9 percent of children suffered from weight deficit.1