Bishkek, Oct. 10, 2018. /Kabar/. Today, a logistics center is open in Kemin region to assist in supplying local schools with fresh agricultural products. This center, initiated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), should help improve the quality of school meals and provide a sustainable market for local producers.
The center will serve as a centralized procurement, storage and quality control mechanism, and will supply agricultural products to schools and other social institutions throughout the region.
With a storage capacity of 250 tons, the center can become an integrating element for markets in the region, the FAO UN Office in Kyrgyzstan reported.
Thanks to the turnkey system of the center, which implies the provision of comprehensive services and reduced logistics costs, small producers will be able to supply potatoes, eggplants, cabbage, carrots, onions, marrows, beets, peppers and other products here, thereby increasing competitiveness.
The logistics center, which has warehouses with a total area of 270 square meters, is equipped with the necessary equipment for cold storage and laboratory quality control of agricultural products. The center also has a truck with a thermal box for transporting agricultural products to schools for cooking for schoolchildren.
“Our goal is to promote the participation of small-scale agricultural producers in the overall process of supplying high-quality food to schools that provide healthy nutrition,” FAO Project Coordinator Mauricio Rosales said. “We are working to ensure that this pilot project shows good results and motivated other regional administrations to use a similar model.”
The center will be managed by local staff. In the beginning of his work, a FAO expert will assist in the creation of networks of cooperation with farmers, schools and other partners, as well as in coordinating and monitoring the procurement of agricultural products and the delivery of products to beneficiaries.
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the center, FAO Representative in Kyrgyzstan Dorjee Kinlay noted that one of the main priorities of FAO is to help the country achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 by 2030.
“The UN supports Kyrgyzstan in improving food safety in the country,” Kinlay said. “This new facility will not only improve the quality of food in the area, but also create economic opportunities for local small farms to supply schools with fresh food. This is a good basis for the joint work of FAO and the World Food Program aimed at enhancing food safety.”
The creation of a logistics center is part of a wider effort to improve food safety and nutrition in a number of countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. The project is being implemented by FAO with the financial support of the Russian Federation and with the technical assistance of the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI). This activity was also supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration of the Kyrgyz Republic and the administration of Keminsky region.
The Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia project, funded by the Russian Federation, aims to develop an integrated approach to promoting intersectoral cooperation for effective coordination between the sectors of agriculture, nutrition, health, education and social protection.
The opening ceremony was attended by school authorities, representatives of sectoral ministries, regional and oblast administrations, the Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI) from Russia, the Embassy of the Russian Federation, as well as FAO staff.