Some 26 dehkhans with small subsistence farms from Muynak, Shumanay and Kanlikul districts in Karakalpakstan are members of a network of rural consultants helping rural learn new agricultural practices. To make sure that these dehkhans are aware of all the intricacies of being consultants, the UN Joint Programme brought them together for a 5-day training course on provision of consultancy services for rural population.

Today these consultants are providing peer support to rural population, dehkhans and farmers on how to do better cattle breeding, land management, fish and vegetable farming, aviculture, and beekeeping. The training was conducted by the specialists of Khorezm Rural Advisory Support Service.

Over the course of 5 days the dehkhans learned best practices on running rural advisory services, particularly, on the methodology and key concepts of agro-consulting, as well as methods of problem solving. Methods of monitoring and evaluation were also a hot topic for discussion. Considering the importance of communication between consultants and the people, the group work was on communication methods and principals of client relationship management.

The training course was organized by the UN Joint Programme “Sustaining livelihoods affected by the Aral Sea disaster” implemented jointly by 5 UN agencies in Uzbekistan, including UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, WHO and UNV in cooperation with the Government of Uzbekistan and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The Joint Programme is financed by the UN Human Security Trust Fund.