New FAO Representative appointed for the Kyrgyz Republic

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) office in Bishkek is now lead by Oleg Guchgeldiyev, as he took up his duties today as FAO Representative in Kyrgyzstan.

Oleg Guchgeldiyev, a professional with broad experience in climate change, environmental strategic planning and biodiversity conservation, joined FAO in 2016 as regional coordinator for development of a large-scale project for Central Asian countries and Türkiye on sustainable land management. Since 2018, he has been serving as FAO Representative in Tajikistan.

Before joining FAO, Oleg Guchgeldiyev, a national of Turkmenistan, worked with various international financial institutions and development agencies, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and the European Union’s Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States programme.

He has wide experience in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region, and his technical experience includes the economic valuation of ecosystem services, capacity building, strategic and rural development. He holds a master’s degree in public economic management.

Agriculture is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most important economic sectors, contributing to approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product and employing about 30 percent of the country’s workforce.

FAO’s activities in Kyrgyzstan, among others, are supporting the country in fighting locust, improving the trout sector, better assessing disasters’ impact on agriculture, implementing the One Health approach, as well as in restoring land and strengthening integrated water management. Since last year, the Central Asian country has been part of FAO’s global One Country One Priority Product initiative helping to enhance its walnut production and marketing, and also the Digital Villages Initiative through which three villages in eastern Kyrgyzstan installed smart water sensors to improve water management and to ensure fair distribution among farmers.