Uzbekistan is getting prepared to implement an action plan on introduction of advanced intensive agricultural technologies, and streamline the storage infrastructure and enhanced product processing in the coming years

It is also planned to develop projects and further cut the volumes of cotton crops on low-yield lands while expanding the acreage of vegetables, legumes and fodder crops, and laying high-tech intensive orchards and vineyards.

Surkhandarya will be a pilot region, as its soil and climatic conditions allow easy gathering three harvests per year, starting with February.

Thereby, about 18,000 hectares of cotton crops and 1,000 hectares of wheat crops will be reduced in the region in 2017 at the expense of low productivity lands. They will be replaced with vegetable, melon and fodder crops, intensive orchards and vineyards, greenhouses. That should entail a significant increase in enhanced processing and production of export-oriented value-added products. That would draw people’s interest and growth of income. The experience will then be applied in other regions.

Over the last 15 years, Uzbekistan has accomplished a scaled work on the introduction of market relations and development of private ownership in the countryside, comprehensive support and development of farmer movement, strengthening of logistical capacity of farms, management of land, water and other natural resources. Amelioration has been sufficiently improved, making ground for high-yield intensive gardening, drip irrigation systems.

The abovementioned measures have resulted in a dynamic progress in agriculture and food security, increase of agricultural production and productivity. The country has doubled the production of wheat, and tripled the production of potatoes, vegetables and grapes.

Today, the country produces more than 17.4 million tons of fruits and vegetables, against 4 million tons in 1991. Consumption of basic food products like meat, milk and their derivatives have increased by 1.5 times, vegetables – by 2.6 times, fruits – by 6.3 times per capita. The share of raw cotton in the total volume of gross agricultural output has been reduced from 47.7% to 9%, while the share of grain is about 9%, fruits, vegetables and grapes - 30%, potatoes - 11%, and livestock production exceeds 40%.

To date, Uzbekistan has established exports of more than 180 kinds of fruits, vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products to 80 countries of the world. Our country ranks among the ten world’s leaders in exports of apricots, plums, grapes, nuts, cabbage and other fruits and vegetables. Over the past five years, the volume of exports of agricultural products has scaled up by more than four times.

(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)

International cooperation

Uzbek FM meets delegation of Afghanistan

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov met with the delegation of Afghanistan on 27 December 2016.

The delegation of Afghanistan included Senior Advisor of President of Afghanistan on economic issues Humayun Kayumi and Special Representative of President of Afghanistan on developing cooperation with Central Asian states and Russia Muhammad Shokir Orgar.

The sides exchanged opinion on priority directions on further developing the Uzbek-Afghan cooperation in the context of reached agreements at previous meetings at high and other levels.

The Afghan delegation shared information on the results of the second session of the Uzbek-Afghan inter-governmental commission on trade, transport and energy, which was held in Tashkent on 26 December 2016.

The sides underlined that the event allowed to discuss perspective directions of joint activities, including in trade, transport, energy, agriculture and realization of mutual beneficial infrastructure projects.

Representatives of two states also discussed schedule and agenda of upcoming contacts in 2017.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Sayed Shahabuddin Timori attended the meeting.