BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6. Uzbekistan aims to increase agricultural production to $60 billion per year and transition to a human-centered agricultural model, Uzbek Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Abdurakhmanov said today in Baku on the second day of the 19th Azerbaijan International Agriculture Exhibition and Forum, Trend reports.
"Last year, Uzbekistan's agricultural production volume amounted to approximately $40 billion; this year, our goal is to increase this volume to $45 billion. In the coming years, we have an agenda to increase this figure to $60 billion.
This year, we plan to harvest at least 4.5 million tons of cotton (last year, 4 million tons). Uzbekistan produces approximately 10 million tons of wheat and 4.5 million tons of potatoes. Average annual growth in agriculture was 3.8%," the minister said.
He noted that given current geopolitical challenges and food security concerns, Uzbekistan has set a new goal of achieving 6% growth by the end of this year.
"This is a significant step. Already at the end of the first quarter, we achieved 5.1% growth over three months, and that's something to be proud of. Agriculture has enormous potential, especially if we seek out new, untapped resources," he concluded.
