Mongolia: A Review of the Agricultural Research and Extension Systems

The importance of agriculture to Mongolia’s economy, and to its rural economy in particular, makes sustainable agricultural development a national priority. The transition from collective socialism to a market economy in the 1990s nearly caused the collapse of the entire agriculture sector. Since privatization, the number of livestock animals, mainly sheep and goats, has increased dramatically, reaching 45.1 million in 2012. This growth in both livestock and crop production was enabled by several factors. Yet investment in research and extension remains very low. Without sufficient government backing for research and development, extension services and veterinarians, information about weather and prices or access to market and credit, agricultural producers found themselves in an increasingly precarious position.