BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 2
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
USAID (United States Agency for International Development) project on creating value chains in the agriculture of Uzbekistan improved the volume and quality of agricultural products and their processing, Trend reports citing the US embassy in Uzbekistan.
Over five and a half years, the private sector in the field of horticulture in Uzbekistan, with the assistance of the USAID program for creating value chains in agriculture, attracted $23 million in investments.
“Due to a project to promote high value-added commercial gardening, Uzbek businesses have introduced new technologies and agricultural practices and attracted strategic investment,” US Ambassador to Tashkent Daniel Rosenblum said.
Rosenblum outlined that the export of fruit and vegetable products from Uzbekistan among the project partners has grown by 250 percent since 2015, and the incomes of the farmers participating in the project have more than doubled.
The project contributed to the improvement of agricultural practices on 25,400 hectares, or 11.4 percent, of garden lands, and the introduction of new practices in 11,800, or 55.1 percent, of all producers in this sector.
Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev noted that the project made a great contribution to improving the volume and quality of agricultural products and their processing, as well as expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment.
The program has supported 510 organizations and businesses, including fruit and vegetable growers, processors, cold store owners, and exporters throughout the value chain, connecting local partners to strengthen supply chains and exporters with foreign buyers.
In addition, the program brought in 75 new advisory service providers in the country.
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