UZBEKISTAN – Uzbekistan is so broke, they’re paying teachers in baby chickens.

The move is only the latest in the country’s long history of paying professionals with live animals or produce, and at least one unidentified teacher who spoke with Radio Ozoklik is fed up, BBC reports.

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“Last year they paid us with potatoes, carrots and pumpkins,” the teacher said, describing the practice as “shameful.”

“This year they are forcing us to take newborn chickens instead of our wages,” the teacher said. “If we need chickens we can buy them from a market at a much cheaper rate.”

A source told BBC government officials are calculating the cost of the chickens at about $2.50 each in lieu of actual money because of a lack of funds in the country’s banks. That rate, the source said, is more than double what it costs to buy the baby chickens at local markets.

“Uzbekistan has struggled with cash shortages for years; causing severe delays in salaries and pension payments,” according to the news site. “Earlier this month, state employees in the capital, Tashkent, complained that they had not been paid for two months because the banks had no money.”

Locals who spoke with Radio Ozoklik on the condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation said the situation is the result of “shameless and corrupt officials,” though some made light of the teachers’ plight.

“What’s wrong with this?” one person joked, according to BBC. “You have chicken soup for breakfast, a fried chicken for lunch and a chicken for dinner – lots of vitamins at least.”

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A news article published by The Atlantic in 2012 shows the recent chicks for cash scheme isn’t a first for the Uzbekistan government, which launched a “voluntary” program the same year that “allowed” teachers and doctors to take their salaries in Serbian chickens.

“Of course, like most ‘voluntary’ programs in Uzbekistan, it is nothing of the sort – and (local news reports cite) plenty of people saying they were given the live animals against their will,” The Atlantic reported. “The Uzbek government has distributed tens of thousands of chickens: 10 chicks per public sector employee. These civil servants are then expected to fulfill a … degree by cabinet ministers to increase the domestic production of milk, eggs, poultry, and vegetables.”

EruasiaNet.org explained the rationale behind the government’s cash problems and poultry payments earlier month.

“The reasons for all this are relatively straightforward. The authorities hope that by severely limiting the supply of cash in the economy, they might be able to contain inflation and assure some stability to the national currency,” the news site reports.

“As a result, a cult of the dollar has emerged and major purchases like homes and automobiles are almost universally performed in the US currency.”