A two-day meeting was held in Ulaanbaatar this week to discuss ways to improve animal husbandry and agriculture in the aimags. Representatives of Uvurkhangai, Dundgobi, Umnugobi, Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Zavkhan, and Gobi-Altai aimags took part in the meeting.

Delegates were told that the amount of pastureland in Mongolia is decreasing, mainly due to desertification. An estimated 9.1 million hectares of pastureland have turned into desert since 1964.

Mongolia had 113 million hectares of pastureland with 32.7 million animals in 2010. But researchers say that much pastureland is able to accommodate more than twice as many animals (74.6 million).

Aimag representatives also noted that 98.2 percent of livestock is private property, but 100 percent of pastureland is state property. A pastureland specialist from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry said that, if this continues to be the case, it will be difficult for the agriculture sector to expand.

Legislation about pastureland has not been drafted yet, and aimag representatives noted that state policies for animal husbandry and agriculture need to take into account the needs of herders and farmers.