ABSTRACT
Though gradual, the process of reform in Turkmenistan has already had a number of significant effects on livestock production. Two principal effects can be discerned. There has been a shift of livestock management away from control by state farms to individual households, which has meant adjustments in the way livestock are managed and in their output. Second, state support to livestock production has been sharply curtailed, reducing access to critical infrastructure and inputs. This has threatened the economic viability of many livestock production units and increased their vulnerability to sudden climatic shocks as well as to market forces beyond their control. This chapter compares the impacts of reform in two contrasting institutional settings, and shows how national policies have altered locallevel management of livestock.
