Support for Economic Reforms and Sustainable Development in Uzbekistan

About the project

Country: Uzbekistan

Period: 2022 - present

Project partner: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Objective: The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat partnered with GIZ to support the Uzbek government efforts to diversify and intensify crop production.

Employing 27% of Uzbekistan’s 35 million people, the agriculture industry plays a key role in Uzbekistan. The sector currently contributes to 28% of the country’s GDP and continues to see a 1.7% annual growth rate. Uzbekistan has about 4.5 million hectares of arable land, about 10% of its total area, of which 4 million hectares are under irrigation. The nation produces an annual 20 million tons of fruits and vegetables, though only 15% of this volume is processed at the industrial level and of this, up to 8% is exported.

While the government has a long-term strategy with ambitious goals to become a global leader in the production and export of agricultural products, a significant obstacle remains underdeveloped infrastructure which leads to a loss of 30% of products during storage and collection. GLOBALG.A.P. seeks to mitigate this by increasing awareness of its solutions and establishing a cohort of specialized Registered Trainers in Uzbekistan.

Approach: Working closely with GIZ as well as with academic, political and private sector bodies within Uzbekistan, the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat has supported the identification of 60 agricultural experts from across the country to receive specialized training in the flagship Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard.

GLOBALG.A.P. representatives have made several trips to Uzbekistan meeting directly with ministry and industry representatives to facilitate trainings, as well as to spread awareness of how the IFA standard can meaningfully support Uzbek farmers. Face-to-face training is being conducted in English, Russian and Uzbek.

SDGs addressed: #2 Zero hunger, #3 good health and well-being, #8 decent work and economic growth, and #12 responsible consumption and production

Expected outcome: The new Registered Trainers will be enabled to provide training on the GLOBALG.A.P. standard directly to farmers in Uzbekistan, creating a system where certification can become streamlined and widespread throughout Uzbekistan without the need of extensive external support.