On May 11, 2026, the official opening ceremony of the 35th Regional Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for Europe and Central Asia was held at the "Kokhi Somon" venue, with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, Kohir Rasulzoda.
The event was also attended by delegations and representatives from 54 FAO member states, heads of influential international financial institutions, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and sector experts.
The Prime Minister stated that this important conference coincides with the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the State Independence of Tajikistan. Throughout the years of sovereign development, Tajikistan has come a long way and achieved significant macroeconomic stability.
It was emphasized that during this period, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.4 times, and public income grew 6 times. These fundamental economic achievements made it possible to address the primary social objective: reducing the poverty rate to 19% and increasing the average life expectancy of our citizens to 77 years. The agricultural sector has become a reliable engine of this growth, demonstrating a nearly twofold increase in production over the past five years.
The Medium-Term Development Program for 2026–2030, adopted in 2025, is a logical continuation of this process. The timely and high-quality implementation of this program will enable us to achieve the following milestones in the next five years: — Double the country's gross domestic product; — Reduce the poverty rate to 10%; — Bring the share of the middle class to 50%.
It was noted that during this period, the average annual economic growth in the country is projected at 8.7%. "We have set major sectoral targets: an annual increase of 20% in industrial production, 11.7% in paid services, and 8.5% in agriculture. Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, employing more than 60% of the population and accounting for a quarter of the GDP," Kohir Rasulzoda added.
It was emphasized that water, energy, food, and ecosystems are inseparable elements forming the foundation of our agricultural systems in Europe and Central Asia. However, unfortunately, climate change, demographic pressure, infrastructure degradation, and increasing competition between sectors lead to resource scarcity and create complex tradeoffs that require balanced solutions.
It was stated that water availability is becoming increasingly critical. In Central Asia, where agriculture relies heavily on irrigation, we face the growing pressure of melting glaciers, complex dynamics of transboundary water resources, and the competitive development of hydropower.
Concurrently, the Prime Minister stressed that ecosystem degradation, in turn, weakens the resilience of our water and food systems, triggering a period of acute environmental and economic vulnerability. These dynamic processes clearly demonstrate the absolute necessity of implementing the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus (WEFE Nexus) approach to define effective management of inevitable tradeoffs.
It was reported that in Tajikistan, where nearly 85% of water use is attributed to agriculture, the necessary steps have been taken to shift from competition to cross-sectoral cooperation.
"We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves: to introduce water-saving technologies on 50% of irrigated lands by 2030. Active work is being carried out in Tajikistan to strengthen the food system. The development of small and medium-sized farms, which play a crucial role in ensuring local food security, is being supported. Special attention is being paid to the development of livestock and poultry farming, as well as the processing industry," Kohir Rasulzoda concluded.
