2
policies changed
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practices changed
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changes in agenda
Land Rights in Kyrgyzstan
The land governance system in Kyrgyzstan underwent drastic changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan had no private ownership of land, while the ethnic Kyrgyz had a culture of nomadic herding. In this context, in 1991, the Kyrgyz government adopted a package of laws regulating land relations. These defined the legal, organisational, and economic aspects of the formation and functioning of agricultural enterprises of different ownership, such as collective and state farms.
In accordance with the land legislation of the KR, the land fund, depending on the purpose and use, is divided into 7 categories. Depending on the category of land, the legal regime for its use is determined.
As of January 1, 2021, the land fund is 19,994,928 ha, of which:
- Agricultural land - 6,751,350 ha;
- Lands of populated areas – 279,645 ha;
- Lands of specially protected areas -1,187,523 ha;
- Forest fund lands – 2,529,761 ha;
- Lands of the water fund -767,292 ha;
- Reserve lands – 8,247,276 ha.
Economic activity for growing agricultural products or production for personal consumption is carried out mainly on agricultural and forest lands. As of 2022, 473,161 peasant farms and individual entrepreneurs were registered. During the period from 2018 to 2022, the number of such farms increased by 33,559 units, while the size of the arable land in their use increased by only 4.5 thousand ha. As a result, the average size of arable land per farm decreased from 2.1 ha in 2018 to 1.96 ha in 2022. The largest average size of arable land in the farms of the Chui region is 4.4 ha and in the Issyk-Kul region - 3.9 ha, the smallest average size of the arable land in the farms of the Osh region is 1.0 ha and, in the Jalal -Abad region - 1.1 ha.
Small plots of arable land for peasant farms and individual entrepreneurs limit the opportunities for production growth, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of farms, and create the preconditions for the persistence of poverty in rural areas. The current trends in indicators of access to arable land for farmers determine the priority of the policy of improving land use, the need to constantly improve the efficiency of agricultural production, and ensure the country's food security.
