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Success Story
Study tour results in
improved services to
Turkmen farmers
Improving services for farmers
Photo: Sahy Jepbar Coop
Ilyas with members of Sahy Jepbar
cooperative.
Ilya Amanov has traveled
around Turkmenistan assessing
the needs of local farmers,
received a grant for agricultural
development, and opened
information service offices since
his return from a USAID
sponsored trip to Wisconsin.
Ilyas Amanov, an economics teacher with years of experience,
is combining his expertise with skills learned during a U.S.
study program on agricultural practices to improve agriculture in
his own country, Turkmenistan. He and his colleagues provide
information about local and international markets, consultations
on agricultural business development through trainings and
seminars, and assist farmers in establishing associations.
A USAID Community Connections program study tour to
Wausau, Wisconsin, inspired Amanov to organize the
information service. In 2007, he and eight other specialists in
agribusiness visited the United States to learn about operations
and functions of lending associations and the role of credit in
economic development in the field of agriculture.
“I had a unique chance to visit farmers’ cooperatives and
associations to learn about their establishment and operations.
What they do is fascinating,” said Amanov.
Since his return from the U.S., Amanov has collaborated with
the European Union’s Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of
Independent States (EU-TACIS) program and traveled around
Turkmenistan to assess the needs of local farmers. In 2008, he
received a grant from the U.S. Embassy to establish the
Economic Information Service for Turkmen farmers and
agricultural entrepreneurs. He opened representative offices of
the Information Service in Ahal, Mary, and Dashoguz regions to
cover remote areas of the country. Since then, the Information
Service has provided consultations and assistance to over 50
agricultural entrepreneurs from various regions.
Currently, Amanov is working on opening representative offices
in the Lebap and Balkan regions of Turkmenistan to cover all
major regions of the country. Amanov and his partners are
developing a clientele, and are collaborating with international
agencies and local organizations. He believes the experience
he gained in the U.S. has helped him to increase the number of
clients and will continue to do so in the future. To spread
information about services and opportunities available through
the Information Service, Amanov collaborated with the U.S.
organization IREX to create a website. In the future, Amanov
plans to register his organization and improve the services he
provides for farmers.
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