Tajikistan’s president tells every family to keep “two years of food in reserve” at home

Do you remember the good old days (no) at the start of the coronavirus, when everyone panicked about the pandemic, we ran to the supermarket to grab whatever food was at hand for fear of running out? Nostalgic memory reactivated by the President of Tajikistan – and yes, beautiful Kamaloks. The latter called for their population to stock up on food, not because of rampant pangolins, but because of climate change. This impoverished country in Central Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate change and already suffers from malnutrition.

“Each family should have up to two years’ worth of food,” Emomali Rahmon said during a speech released by the presidential administration on Sunday in honor of a traditional Tajik holiday. “Because of climate change and global warming, the socio-economic situation of the world is deteriorating, the population is increasing, as are the food needs,” he continued, “calling for everything to be done to secure the country’s food security.” .

Make “country green” by “hard work”.

Despite progress, Tajikistan has one of the highest malnutrition rates in Central Asia, with 30% of its nearly 9 million people suffering from malnutrition, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

Emomali Rahmon, who has been in power since the end of the USSR, also urged his fellow citizens to “green the country”, “work hard”, as well as “use water and land efficiently”. Farming is essential in this hilly country with a fragile economy. But, as in the rest of Central Asia, land is deteriorating and water resources are diminishing, particularly under the impact of climate change.

Mountains of fruit as President’s welcome

In addition, the poorest of the fifteen former Soviet republics, according to the World Bank, depends on imports and remains vulnerable to external shocks such as the war in Ukraine, while Russia is Tajikistan’s main economic and military partner.

Despite this, President Rakhmon, who faces no opposition on the political scene, is regularly greeted by mountains of fruit during his tours around the country, which are supposed to highlight the dynamism of Tajik agriculture.