What Tajikistan risked losing, Abdusattor still grows

05/11/2025

Abdusattor Muzaffarov remembers when fruit trees barely survived on his land. No matter how carefully he planted or watered, roaming livestock would trample the seedlings, undoing weeks of work overnight.

“We tried everything, but it kept happening,” he says. “We didn’t have fences, local seeds or support. Most of the time, we just had to start over.”

Abdusattor, 58, lives with his wife, Zulkhumor Nabieva, and nine children in a village in Baljuvon district. He spends most of his days working the 2 ha of forest land he leases from the Forestry Agency – clearing irrigation channels, tending fruit trees, collecting firewood or harvesting mulberries before they overripen.

In Baljuvon, steep slopes, rugged terrain and narrow roads make reaching markets, health centres, schools and other basic services a challenge.

With no regular transport, families in the area plan ahead each week to share space on a truck or car going down the mountain to buy essentials, including oil, salt and sugar. As with many rural farmers in Tajikistan, his family depends on what fruits, vegetables, wild herbs and livestock they can grow, collect and raise themselves or exchange with others in the community.

“Out here, you depend on your land,” Abdusattor says. “If you don’t grow it or make it, you don’t have it.”

Over time, roaming animals, poor soil and limited access to tools and seeds have made it harder and harder to keep the farm going. Even when the family managed to plant wild herbs and fruit trees, much of it was lost. Without protection, the right tools and proper knowledge, the work often felt futile.

In addition, something less visible was disappearing: the region’s rich agrobiodiversity.

Tajikistan is home to hundreds of unique local varieties of fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and grains. Many of these crops are not found anywhere else in the world. They are important for food security, climate resilience and cultural identity – but without conservation efforts, they risk being lost.

“We used to grow wild herbs and fruits that our grandparents taught us about,” Abdusattor says. “But people stopped planting them. They didn’t know how or didn’t think it mattered.”

In 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), started partnering with the Government of Tajikistan – particularly the Committee of Environmental Protection – and local institutions to support rural communities in reversing this trend and conserving agrobiodiversity.

The initiative focuses on helping farming families in remote areas strengthen their food systems, preserve traditional crop varieties, and pass on agricultural knowledge to future generations. It also works to conserve wild relatives of crops and ensure that communities can use and benefit from the diversity already present in their landscapes.

In Baljuvon, Abdusattor was one of the first farmers to participate. He received 800 m of fencing to protect the land from roaming livestock. He also received seeds for fruit and nut trees – apples, pears and walnuts – as well as sainfoin, alfalfa and clover. In addition, the family received 500 dog rose (Rosa canina) plants to support orchard development and diversify the land.

“Before the fencing, I couldn’t sleep well,” he says. “I was always worrying about cows getting in. Now we can plant and know it will grow.”

Abdusattor also participated in several hands-on trainings led by local specialists. He learned how to properly prepare and store seeds in moist sand, layer them correctly, and improve soil treatment and planting timing.

“I never used to do that,” he says. “The way we plant now is different. And better.”

The results are visible. His land now holds 500 apple and pear trees, a variety of forage crops, and several types of wild herbs. Some of what the family grows is used at home, and the rest is exchanged or sold in the village. The orchard is thriving, and the family feels more confident planting new species.

His wife plays a key role in managing the farm and processing harvests. She prepares mulberries using a traditional technique passed down through generations, creating a concentrated extract known locally for its health benefits. It is used to treat rheumatism and respiratory conditions and is shared with others in the community.

The family also has been linked to the local seed bank network established by the project, allowing them to access and contribute to the conservation of rare and climate-resilient plant varieties. These community-managed seed banks are central to the project’s strategy to protect plant genetic resources in Tajikistan.

“These communities are the custodians of traditional crop varieties,” says FAO Agricultural Officer Carolina Starr.

“Abdusattor is a bridge between tradition and the future. With adequate conditions, they can preserve agrobiodiversity, improve food security and build resilience. That’s what agrobiodiversity is about: safeguarding the future by valuing what is already here.”

For Abdusattor, the experience has changed how he sees his land and the knowledge passed down to him, and now he can integrate his traditional knowledge with the new information he has gathered during the trainings. He continues to plant and experiment with new varieties, and he shares seeds and growing advice with nearby farmers.

“My grandparents used these same herbs,” Abdusattor says, showing the root of a wild carrot that grows along the edge of his orchard. “I just didn’t know how important they were. Now I understand.”

In Beljuvon, where resources are few and nature is everything, that understanding is already changing lives.