Paper Title
Finding Needs for Promoting Rural Products: Farmers Perceptions in The Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract
In the last 25 years, agriculture in the Kyrgyz Republic has undergonetremendous institutional and operational changes.Since the departure from the Soviet regime in 1991, the independent Kyrgyz Government has privatizedagricultural operations and promoted the expansion of agrobusinesses.This reform movement has led to the emergence of new regional businesses and the reduction of poverty in rural areas. However, market globalization, climate change, and other factors haveposednew challenges in agribusiness. As a result, creating a resilient and sustainable economy in rural areas needs a better understanding of local needs and conditions. In order to better understand these needs, we conducted a questionnaire survey among 126 farmers in two main agricultural areas.We found that overall farmers faced difficulty in increasing their profits but did not want to switch to non-agricultural businesses. The main concerns/interests of the farmers wererevolved around marketing issues, such as product certification opportunities, market demands, and storage facilities. This paper details thesefarmers’ needs for promotingtheir agricultural products. We then discuss some possible solutions for improving competitiveness as well urgent areas for government support in the near future. Index Terms - Governmental policy, market challenges for farmers, promotion of agricultural products, rural development.