A day in the life of Zamira Makeyeva begins early with milking cows and tending to calves. Her milk is collected and delivered to a processing plant, a routine she never imagined four years ago before becoming a livestock farmer. The transformation came when the Integrated Dairy Productivity Improvement Project (IDPIP) reached her village, Ak-Kochkor, in Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul region.
"I signed up right away," Zamira recalls about joining the project that trained her in dairy farming. She received an interest-free loan for building a cow shed and buying livestock. "In 2020, I took out a loan of 68,000 soms (roughly $1,000). I was able to repay this loan from the income generated from selling milk." Today, she trains other farmers.
Zamira is among 8,500 dairy farmers who started through IDPIP and experienced significant changes in their lives. "Milk brings in good profits," she says, explaining how selling calves funds education and other needs.
Farmers have embraced veterinary services for artificial insemination to improve calf quality. They pay $3.50 for genetic material while IDPIP covers the $14 service cost. "For residents of a poor, remote village, this represents significant savings," Zamira emphasizes.
Artificial insemination technician Ulan Imanbyaev notes that 4,900 improved breed calves have been born due to these efforts. "These improved breeds are more profitable to sell because they are larger and gain weight well," adds Zamira.
The project has also established milk collection and processing enterprises to ensure stable markets for products. Zhainagul Asakeyeva collects milk daily from farms like Zamira’s while performing rapid analysis for quality assurance. "If we accept sour milk without testing, it can spoil the entire tank collected from the whole village," Zhainagul explains.
At processing plants like Kuluipa Juzumalieva's in Issyk-Kul, raw milk undergoes further testing before being made into products such as butter and cheese. Kuluipa highlights the importance of pure milk: "With the equipment we received, we have achieved good results."
These initiatives boost local economies by producing goods for domestic consumption and export. Funded by the International Development Association (IDA), IDPIP operates across Issyk-Kul, Naryn, and Talas regions with implementation by the Agribusiness Competitiveness Center (ABCC) and Credit Line Management Unit of Kyrgyzstan's Finance Ministry.