Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASHGABAT39
2008-01-09 11:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

TURKMENISTAN: USAID MISSION DIRECTOR VISITS DASHOGUZ

Tags:  PGOV PREL TX 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000039 

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: USAID MISSION DIRECTOR VISITS DASHOGUZ
PROVINCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000039

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE
AID/W FOR EE/AA
ANKARA FOR AGATT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: USAID MISSION DIRECTOR VISITS DASHOGUZ
PROVINCE


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (U) SUMMARY: During his December 17 meeting with USAID Regional
Mission Director Bill Frej, a warm and cordial Dashoguz First Deputy
Governor Atajykov thanked Frej for USAID's support for private
enterprise in Dashoguz province and expressed a desire to continue
current cooperation in this area. Atajykov highlighted the
importance placed by the government on improving rural livelihoods,
and stated it was the government's duty to support these policies.
Two local government representatives accompanied the delegation for
the entire program of site visits to USAID-funded civil society and
agricultural support centers, an infrastructure project supported by
USAID's Water Users' Associations program, and a
USAID/Winrock-supported cheese producer. They appeared impressed by
the range of work undertaken by local communities and businesspeople
with USAID's support. END SUMMARY.


3. (U) As part of his initial visit to Turkmenistan, USAID Regional
Mission Directo Bill Frej traveled to Dashoguz province to meet
with local government officials and monitor USAID's ongoing
programs. In a meeting with first Deputy Governor Atajykov, Frej
expressed his thanks for the productive relationship that USAID's
partners have enjoyed in Dashoguz province and provided an overview
of the day's visits. (NOTE: Governor Saparmyrat Ashyrov, who in past
meetings has been positive and supportive of USAID's activities, was
called to Ashgabat for a Cabinet of Ministers' meeting that same
day. END NOTE.) In return, Atajykov thanked Frej several times for
USAID's support for private businesses, which improves the
well-being of the local population. He stressed that it was the
government's duty to support the development of the private sector,
and that both sides shared a common goal in this regard. Prior to
joining the provincial government, he worked in the water
department, and so was familiar with USAID's earlier activities in
the province, including the construction of a drinking water plant
in the 1990s. He reiterated the importance of USAID's work
supporting small-scale processing, since Dashoguz farmers have many
raw materials, but limited access to new processing equipment.


COUNTERPART'S SUPPORT CENTER: VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR CIVIC ACTORS


4. (U) Frej visited USAID/Counterpart's Dashoguz Civil Society
Support Center (CSSC),which was opened in 1998 within the framework
of USAID's NGO Initiative Support Program. The Dashoguz CSSC
provides computer, Internet, information support, training, library
and other services to local NGOs, communities, and other groups from
the province. Additionally, the CSSC also supports a local network
of Community Resource Points and Resource Center (5 Centers) and
provides capacity building services to them. Currently, the center
is supported by the USAID/Counterpart Community Empowerment Program,
whose goal is to increase the skills of citizens' groups within
Turkmen society who seek greater participation in local governance
at the community level. Under the program, the CSSC provides
technical assistance to 12 communities located in six counties
across the province. Frej learned that the Dashoguz CSSC staff has
already applied to the Ministry of Justice for registration as an
NGO twice, as part of an effort to legalize the center's operations.
Although unsuccessful to date, the center's leadership intends to
continue to pursue registration.

TAGT COOPERATIVE: AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT FOR LOCAL FARMERS


5. (U) The Frej delegation also traveled to the agricultural
cooperative "Tagt" in Gerogly district. Founded in 1997 with
support from the German technical cooperation agency GTZ, Tagt
partnered with Counterpart International in 2006 to implement
USAID's Water-User Association assistance program in Dashoguz
welayat. Through this project, Counterpart International provided
an 8-month institutional grant to establish an Agricultural Support
Center on the cooperative's base with the goal of strengthening the
capacity of farmer organizations in Dashoguz province and increasing
farmers' income. Frej met with cooperative members, toured the

ASHGABAT 00000039 002 OF 003


facility and heard a presentation on the group's history and recent
accomplishments.

WINROCK SUPPORTS LEADING PRIVATE CHEESE PRODUCER


6. (U) The Chowdurbayev family established its private dairy
business in 1999 in Gubadag district, about 30 kilometers from
Dashoguz city. Mr. Chowdurbayev, a 2001 participant in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Cochran Fellowship program, originally
produced 30-40 kg of cheese per week with six employees, but has
expanded to current production levels of 150 kg of cheese per day
that is manually packed via vacuum machine and transferred by air to
Ashgabat. This increase represents a daily sales level of what the
farm used to sell in one month, yet the firm still cannot meet the
market's demand for its product, a gouda-type cheese.


7. (U) Frej also heard from the owner's son, who currently serves
as sales and marketing director, about past assistance received by
the firm via Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers from USAID/Winrock
International. In 2004, the host's cheese started to mold during
production due to the lack of preservative coating, which resulted
in significant financial losses. The plant also faced difficulties
with storage and promotion of finished commodities. After being
approached by Winrock Turkmenistan regarding potential assistance,
"Farmer-to-Farmer" (FTF) volunteer-experts helped the host to
improve the cheese production and marketing skills which resulted in
almost doubling of its sales. Further support assisted the
employees of the cheese plant to adequately reduce the cheese
processing time, thus saving time and electricity, improving the
cheese's body and increasing yields. The family is now building a
second plant in another milk-producing district in the province due
to strong demand in the Dashoguz province and Ashgabat markets.

LOCAL COMMUNITY'S ROAD-BUILDING PROJECT OPENS NEW DOORS


8. (U) Frej also visited the isolated village of Baydag, which has
a population of 1,900 people. Since 2006, the community has been
actively involved in the implementation of USAID-funded programs in
Turkmenistan. During the previous Civil Society Support Initiative
program, which ended in September 2006, the community implemented
two community projects. The first project mobilized rural residents
to reconstruct 2.4 kilometers of road, which shortened the travel
time for villagers to the main highway. The second project expanded
the community's access to information by setting up a Community
Resource Point with three computers in the village. The assembled
community members described for Frej the process through which they
joined together to carry out their projects, and shared their
experience in working with local government officials. In
expressing his thanks for USAID's contributions, one community elder
said with a smile, "Some people go on Hajj to Mecca and Medina, but
if you are able to send me to the U.S., I'll return and tell
everyone about the good things your country has done for us."


9. (U) COMMENT: USAID assistance in Dashoguz province is having a
tangible impact on people's livelihoods. First Deputy Governor
Atajykov acknowledged this point during his meeting with Frej and
expressed his desire to see the cooperation continue. The project
beneficiaries visited spoke positively of their relations with local
governments, how the projects had helped them to better understand
their respective roles in a democratic society, and their ambitious
goals for the future. This demonstrates the positive results of the
community-based approach to development that was adopted after USAID
shifted its approach away from more traditional NGO registration and
organizational development activities following passage of the 2003
Law on NGOs. USAID's Community Empowerment Project is continuing
its previous work in Dashoguz province, and is looking to expand its
cooperative relations with local authorities with a focus on service
delivery improvement. The recently launched AgLinks agricultural
support project is well positioned to support local economic
development initiatives in rural areas through its support for
private farmers' groups. END COMMENT.

ASHGABAT 00000039 003 OF 003




10. (U) USAID Regional Director William Frej cleared this cable.

HOAGLAND