Reverse Linkage

95 DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION A South-South Cooperation (SSC) project between Indonesia, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Kyrgyz Republic was begun in 2014 with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to roll out an artificial insemination programme for the purpose of increasing livestock productivity in cattle as well as enhancing farmers’ welfare. On reviewing the conditions in Kyrgyzstan, which are very different from those in Indonesia, it was clear that the health of the livestock met with many challenges including the prevailing weather and traditional methods of working. The objective was therefore to find solutions that could help overcome these challenges and increase livestock productivity. Kyrgyzstan is a nation of 6 million people. Over 40 per cent of the total land area is given to pasture, and more than one in three of the Kyrgyz people depend on livestock for their livelihood. Farmers want to produce better quality meat and dairy products to maintain the Kyrgyz diet, but the nature and condition of the existing equipment, together with a lack of technological expertise and livestock management skills, have been hampering efforts to succeed. The Kyrgyzstan government was aware of IsDB and under- stood that the organization has been working for more than 40 years to bring about faster economic growth and social development by helping member countries share expertise and experience to improve people’s lives. Officials from Kyrgyzstan therefore asked IsDB for help in solving the country’s livestock challenges, finding the solution through the method of Reverse Linkage (RL) with one of the bank’s member countries more than 6,000km away in Indonesia. Indonesia is an active IsDBmember country with a popula- tion of 250 million, an emerging economy, and the capacity to provide expertise including disaster risk management, community development and aqua culture. Similar to Kyrgyzstan, agriculture is central to the economy. One way to improve livestock breeding is by using artifi- cial insemination (AI), a method that has a long history in the country, but new techniques are required. Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Minister for Agriculture, J Karimaliev, has observed: “Currently only 10 per cent of our livestock is inseminated artificially. We want to raise it to between 50 and 60 per cent, and more AI will help us increase the number of thorough- bred animals.” Leading the way in AI is Indonesia’s Singosari National Artificial Centre (SNAIC), a technical implementation unit with more than thirty five years’ experience. The organi- zation’s head, Enniek Herwijanti, has said: “At this centre we have been successful in helping Indonesia develop its livestock sector, and now we want to share with other coun- tries.” SNAIC has a strong commitment to promote and succeed in the government’s programme for increasing live- stock in Indonesia, and has been producing frozen semen from cattle and goats, working with the motto “one drop of semen, one million hopes” . The current three-year project between the two countries includes changing production systems and management as well as supplying technical skills, as agreed by the three parties through the MoU, with contributions from Indonesia as the donor country as well as the efforts required to make the changes from the recipient, Kyrgyzstan. It was agreed that the government of Indonesia, through SNAIC, would provide training to senior officials at the Kyrgyz Scientific Research Institute of Livestock and Pasture (KSRILP) on the high-level institutional management of the artificial insemi- nation programme. SSC project to aid artificial insemination in Kyrgyzstan Sarastina, Head of Marketing and Information Division, Singosari National Artificial Insemination Center (SNAIC) A SNAIC expert giving technical assistance to KSRIL Bio Centre staff regarding bovine semen production and bull management, Kyrgyzstan Image: SNAIC