Vol. 9 · Nos. 1 & 2 · 2005
The Administration and Practice of Leasehold Pastoralism in TurkmenistanRoy Behnke, Abdul Jabbar, Akmohammet Budanov and Grant Davidson
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Abstract
Turkmenistan retains a centralised system of livestock production in
which many essential assets are owned by the state. This article examines
the impact of state ownership on natural resource allocation, husbandry
practices and herd mobility. The article is based on a three-year study of
rangelands, livestock production, flock economics and land tenure at two
study sites, one in central and the other in eastern Turkmenistan. The
study documents a high degree of variability in conditions at different
pastoral localities, despite the imposition of a single, monolithic system of
state administration. There is also ample evidence of the continuing
importance of late Soviet-era agricultural reforms, but little evidence of
any revival of indigenous Turkmen social institutions.
Keywords: agricultural reform, Central Asia, land tenure, pastoralism, Turkmenistan