Social protection and safety nets for enhanced food security and nutrition in Tajikistan

This report is part of a series of scoping studies on Social Protection and Safety Nets for Enhanced Food Security and Nutrition in the Central Asia Region commissioned by the World Food Programme in partnership with the University of Maastricht in 2017. Specific country focused studies were conducted in Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan with a view to contributing fresh evidence and sound policy analysis around social protection issues in relation to food and nutrition security, and resulting in a set of country-specific policy recommendations on nutrition-sensitive social protection and safety nets that consider the perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders.

The report provides a general overview of social protection and safety nets issues in relation to food security and nutrition outcomes in Tajikistan, with a summary of the main trends and a set of consolidated findings and policy recommendations.

The report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 provides an overview of the economic, political and demographic contexts. Chapter 3 goes into detail regarding poverty and food security in the Republic of Tajikistan, identifying particularly vulnerable groups and potential determinants of poverty and food insecurity. Chapter 4 discusses social protection initiatives in Tajikistan, emphasizing specific characteristics such as eligibility criteria, targeting methods and benefit levels and the effect of the initiatives on poverty and food security. Institutional arrangements and the performance of specific programmes are also discussed. Chapter 5 identifies achievements and challenges and concludes with a set of policy recommendations to strengthen social protection in Tajikistan.

Findings presented and analysed in this report are based on a comprehensive desk research of reports published by international organizations, scientific journals and the Statistical Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan (TajStat). Governmental decrees and legislation documents also were consulted. The desk research was complemented with in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in the design, support, administration or implementation of social protection and food security programmes in the Republic of Tajikistan1