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Agriculture plays a crucial role in the Uzbek economy, employing approximately over a quarter of the workforce. Half of the nation’s population resides in rural areas, around 15 percent live in poverty. For these reasons, agricultural development and diversification are key USAID priorities in Uzbekistan. USAID’s activities help farmers to create thriving agricultural enterprises that can support agricultural sector growth by applying new and improved techniques and better technology. USAID is helping domestic producers add value to their products and is assisting exporters to diversify their markets, all of which helps create jobs and improve incomes.

USAID’s activities help farmers achieve immediate results by applying improved techniques and better technology to disease-resistant plants. USAID trains households to dry fruits and is introducing affordable methods for creating on-farm cold storage facilities, all of which help improve incomes.

Results:

  • In 2019, USAID supported 1,916 microenterprises working throughout the horticulture value chain, primarily on the farm/production level. USAID continues to assist Uzbekistan with diversifying export markets.
  • Over the last four years, USAID has incentivized 11,196 horticultural producers and processors to adopt new technologies and practices, improving agricultural practices on 16,170 hectares of horticultural farms.
  • In 2019, USAID leveraged over $10 million in private sector investment in the establishment of new orchards, installation of water saving technologies, increase in cold chain capacity countrywide, and upgrades in product packaging, marketing, and branding to meet international standards.
  • By providing 90,800 hours of training and working with 64 new consulting service providers, USAID has contributed to a 523 percent cumulative increase in farm yields, increasing income among targeted farmers by 107 percent.
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A family shows their best grape harvest in Namangan Province. USAID provides technical support to small farmers to increase crop yields.

Updates from USAID/Uzbekistan

6 results

USAID Supports Uzbekistan's Sunny Land Productions to Grow their Freeze-Dried Fruit Business

Gone are the days of snacking on chips; an ever-increasing number of health-conscious consumers are looking for healthy snack options.  Nodirnazar Yakhyoev manages the family-owned food processing company Sunny Land Products, located outside of the Uzbek capital, Tashkent which is meeting the needs of today's consumers by producing 40 varieties of freeze-dried fruit and vegetables, sourced locally from more than 100 Uzbek farmers.

Uzbek Cherry Producers Find New Markets

Uzbekistan’s once flourishing cherry market has faced serious climatic challenges in recent years. Harsh weather conditions such as frosts and extreme temperature fluctuations have steadily led to significant losses in sweet cherry harvests.

A Researcher’s Journey to Conserve Water in Uzbekistan

“Water is more than just a resource,” says Kakhramon Djumaboev, a researcher at the Central Asian Regional Representative office of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Tashkent. “Think of water as life; it is everyone’s responsibility to save it. In a country like Uzbekistan with scarce water resources, every drop of the water should count.” 

USAID strengthens linkages between academia and private sector agribusinesses in Uzbekistan

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with eight private agribusinesses and academia, including Tashkent State Agrarian University and its three regional branches, Andijan Institute of Agriculture and Agricultural Technologies, and Samarkand Institute of Veterinary Medicine to conduct five webinars for students and faculty on a wide range of postharvest handling topics including quality control and adding value to agricultural products, and return on investment on postharvest technologies.