By LOCKIE GARY, Hardee County Extension Director

Across Twelve Time Zones
It was to be my ninth volunteer Farmer-To-Farmer assignment. I had been invited to travel to Tajikistan by Winrock International who had secured a grant from USAID. In country I would be working with Mercy Corps, an NGO (non-governmental organization) with a long history of humanitarian and development prjects in Central Asia.
Tajikistan is a very isolated former Soviet Republic with little access to the outside world. It is much easier to get into the country by entering from Uzbekistan. Crossing the border through the multiple checkpoints into Tajikistan at a remote desert outpost south of Tashkent, it is apparent in the first quarter mile that this eighteen-day trip will require extra strength.
The grinding poverty and lack of basic necessities became immediately obvious. Just crossing the border had been a challenge. It was obvious that the Uzbeks were not fond of the Tajiks and vice-versa. All luggage is thoroughly inspected and declaration forms carefully checked under the watchful eyes of armed border guards. Then everything is hand carried across the border.
I would later learn that coming out of Tajikistan would be even more difficult.
Scope of Work
My assignment as a Dairy Cattle Breeding Specialist was to demonstrate methods of cattle evaluation based upon physical conformation, production records and pedigree and to instruct in the proper technique of artificial insemination.
I had brought synchronizing drugs with me to bring cattle into heat or estrus. Two seminars/demonstrations were conducted in different locations which included participation by 30 men and 2 women. The shy women could not be coaxed into the demonstration area but rather looked on and listened from outside the classroom area.
Trips were made to 10 pre-determined cattle raising areas and at these locations herd health practices were demonstrated to farmers and specific feeding recommendations were given.
National Interest
Tajikistan is important to the U.S. national security and foreign policy interests due to its role as a front-line state in the war on terrorism and as a transit route for narcotics, arms and possibly nuclear and other materials.
The most disadvantaged of the Central Asian Republics, Tajikistan has limited resources, is landlocked with few transportation links, and has been ravaged by several years of civil war and drought. However, despite its disadvantages Tajikistan is successfully, if haltingly, making a transition to normalcy and civil order.
Travel Warning
Tajikistan is a dysfunctional state with an economy in ruins, sections of the country outside the reach of government authority, and the scars of civil war fueled by clan conflict and organized crime.
Travel is possible but with the utmost caution and common sense. The riskiest areas are in the north, under Uzbeki control, and the region bordering Afghanistan, where extremist organizations are operating.
In many places trade takes place using a bartering system rather than cash. Food, and just about every other commodity, is in short supply especially in the mountains.
Post Soviet Era
When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991 and Tajikistan declared independence, the country quickly descended into civil war. Imamali Rakhmanov, a Kuylabi, has been president since 1992 but opposition particularly from the IslamicDemocratic Coalition has been forceful.
The Kuylabi forces embarked on an orgy of ethnic cleansing directed at anyone connected with the Kurgan-Tyube or the Garm Valley. Somewhere between 20 thousand to 50 thousand people were killed in the fighting, and there are at least half a million refugees.
Thousands of Tajik rebels are based in northern Afghanistan and cross-border raids and smuggling persists.
The U.S. and French have been allowed to station troops in the country following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001.
A two-year drought followed the five-year civil war which deepened poverty among Tajiks, and to top things off floods and an earthquake hit the country in early 2002.
Culture
Most Tajiks are Muslim (Sunni) but they are not, by and large, militant or particularly strict. Though the harnessing of Islamic sentiment has been a stronger political force in Tajikistan than in other Central Asian Republics, the rural, often semi-nomadic lifestyle preferred by most Tajiks is unsuited to central religious authority.
Many older Tajik men continue to dress in long quilted jackets, knee-length boots and embroidered caps. Women of all ages favor psychedelically colored, gold-threaded long dresses with striped trousers underneath and head scarves to match.
In every village, in every farm visit and in every Tajik home where I was a guest I was treated with the utmost respect and with the warmest hospitality. There is a Tajik proverb which states that a guest must be careful that he does not allow his Tajik host to kill his last sheep for his guest.
These friendly farmers whom I had come to teach some of the finer points of animal breeding taught me daily the importance of enjoying the moment and of genuine fellowship in simple surroundings.
Each night when I lay down exhausted, tears would come to my eyes as I realized that I was the student and that God had hand-picked my instructors.
Environment
Tajikistan is a landlocked country the size of Wisconsin and is the smallest Central Asian Republic. More than half of the country lies 3,000 meters (9840 feet) or more above sea level. Ninety-three percent of the country consists of mountains, and only seven percent of the land is arable. Low land Tajikistan varies between extremely hot summers (average July temperature is 108ºF) and extremely chilly winters. From October to May fierce snowstorms rage in the mountains and the temperatures can drop to minus 49ºF making getting around almost impossible.
On the plains, strong dust storms can be expected from June through October. These winds can last for five days or more. After the storm passes it can take as long as ten days for the dust to settle. The scarcity of fuel and spare parts means that many vehicles spend time off the road. If you are a tourist prepare yourself for long, rough rides, missed connections, back-breaking potholes and vomiting children.
Security
After a government crackdown on armed gangs the security situation in Tajikistan has improved to the extent that several international agencies have considered decreasing their security alerts. Curfews still exist in some areas so travelers should be cautious and use common sense.
Poverty and unemployment affect up to 80 percent of the population so the risk of theft, robbery and bribery remain. Avoid long distance road travel after dark and do not wander out alone at night. Some enclaves have been mined by the army and by the Border Guards. Unfortunately this compromises traveling into unknown areas.

Lessons Learned
Each volunteer livestock consulting assignment I have taken has taught me invaluable lessons. On this particular return trip back to the U.S (one day by truck and 27 hours in the air) I wrote down what I had learned because I did not want to repeat the class! Please allow me to share just two of these principles.

1. You can live without it. My luggage with all my clothes, toiletries, food and teaching supplies were lost and not recovered until hours before my return flight. Many things I considered indispensable were stolen from my bags enroute to my assignment. Yet none of the farmers whom I had come to help had ever owned such items and in the end not having them did not compromise what I was able to accomplish. Not having these “things” taught me how unessential they really were.

2. Farmers in impoverished third world countries value true fellowship with the volunteer more than new technology. Farmers in every country I have visited crave instruction, particularly “hands-on demonstrations.” Many have walked for days to attend a seminar. They are attentive, ask many questions, bring their sick livestock with them to be treated and appreciate the veterinary tools given as gifts for their common use. But more than anything else, they simply want to be heard and loved. Most have never met an American and it is an enormous privilege to take part in reshaping their attitude about us.

It is a very humbling experience to be hugged and kissed by men with tears in their eyes who don't want you to leave and who repeatedly ask when will you return. I am already preparing for my next trip.