Food Security in Tajikistan: Opportunities at the Ground Level
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Food Security in Tajikistan: Opportunities at the Ground Level Katherine Kostiuk A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Studies: Russia, East Europe and Central Asia University of Washington 2009 Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Jackson School of International Studies University of Washington Graduate School This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a master’s thesis by Katherine Kostiuk and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. Committee Members: ______________________________________________________ Florian Schwarz ______________________________________________________ Scott Radnitz Date: _________________ In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master’s degree at the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes consistent with “fair use” as prescribed by the U.S. Copyright Law. Any other reproduction for any purposes or by any means shall not be allowed without my written permission. Signature _______________________________________ Date ___________________________________________ University of Washington Abstract Food Security in Tajikistan: Opportunities at the Ground Level Katherine Kostiuk Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Assistant Professor Florian Schwarz Department of History The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) estimates that 34 percent of the population of Tajikistan is undernourished, and during winter 2008, the country was declared to be in a food security crisis. Many international organizations administer aid and development programs to address Tajikistan’s food security problem, but there is a lack of literature focused on ground- level food security issues. Most literature discusses macro concerns such as supply systems, policy issues, trade relations, economic models, and political variables, or takes a quantitative approach to the issue. There has been very little qualitative research about local food practices and coping/adaptation strategies in Central Asia. This paper begins to fill the gap by providing a look at people’s everyday practices and attitudes related to food. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted primarily among the Uzbek community in central Tajikistan, it discusses social aspects of food, strategies people use to deal with food shortages, and attitudes they have toward food and health. It touches on topics such as gender, ethnicity, family, community, informal networks, and notions of public versus private. By considering the ways people conceive of and use food in Tajikistan, scholars and development professionals can better understand how to approach food security problems and work with communities to build on their strengths. This paper provides recommendations for food aid and development efforts in Tajikistan. Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. iv Note on Transliteration .................................................................................................... v Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: International Development and Food Security .............................................. 6 Food Security and International Aid ............................................................................ 6 Food Security Literature ............................................................................................ 10 The Micro Focus ........................................................................................................ 12 Coping and Adaptation .............................................................................................. 13 Summary .................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2: Locating Tajikistan: History and Present-Day ............................................ 18 Geography and Demography ..................................................................................... 18 Modern History .......................................................................................................... 19 Independence ............................................................................................................. 22 Poverty and Food Insecurity ...................................................................................... 25 An Overview of Uzbek & Tajik Food ....................................................................... 28 Summary .................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3: International Development & Food Security in Tajikistan .......................... 33 Aid in Tajikistan ........................................................................................................ 33 Food Security Literature on Tajikistan ...................................................................... 35 Summary .................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................ 43 Chapter 5: The Social Aspects of Food: Community Building, Social Stratification, Ethnicity, and Gender .................................................................................................... 51 Community Building: “The Generosity of the Land” ............................................... 51 Providing Access to Food: “They Will Split It into Tiny Pieces” ............................. 54 i Social Stratification: “It’s Just Us” ............................................................................ 57 Ethnicity: “I Can’t Say For Sure” .............................................................................. 59 Gender: “Economizing” ............................................................................................. 63 Summary .................................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 6: Making Due: Strategies and Attitudes ......................................................... 68 Sharing: Good for Us and for Them .......................................................................... 68 Personal Gardens and Livestock: “Rice is Money, Too” ........................................... 72 Movements to Obtain Food: Sharing with Relatives ................................................. 75 Conservation: “It’s So Much Cheaper to Make It Yourself!” ................................... 77 Health Attitudes: “All Mixed Together” .................................................................... 78 Attitudes: Home vs. Public & Local vs. Foreign ....................................................... 82 Summary .................................................................................................................... 86 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 87 Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 87 Glossary: Uzbek Terms ................................................................................................. 95 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 96 Appendix A: Map of Tajikistan ................................................................................... 107 Appendix B: Index of Study Participants .................................................................... 108 ii List of Figures Figure 1: Connections between Study Participants…………………………………..47 Figure 2: Figure 2: Movement to Obtain Food or Related Goods……………………76 iii List of Tables Table 1: Study Participants……………………………………………………….…..45 iv Note on Transliteration Words in this paper have been transliterated from Uzbek, Russian, and Tajik. For most words taken from Uzbek Cyrillic, I have used the spelling rules of the modern-day Latin-based Uzbek alphabet. However, words that are in common English usage have been spelled according to typical Western usage, so that Бухоро is Bukhara rather than Buxoro, and Самарқанд is Samarkand rather than Samarqand. I have transliterated all Russian and Tajik words using the ALA-LC Romanization Tables: Transliteration Schemes for Non-Roman Scripts. v 1 Introduction Zilola lives with her in-laws in a village near Dushanbe, Tajikistan. A young Uzbek woman with two sons, she is highly educated but works as a housewife because her husband’s family does not believe that women should work outside the home. Her husband is the sole breadwinner for her and their children, as well as his parents and his brother’s family. The family rarely has electricity or water and cannot afford enough meat to feed everyone. When I visited them, a pregnant Zilola1 was eager to teach