BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply of essential goods and food to Uzbekistan, affecting the access of farmers and consumers to certain agricultural products, Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev said during XIII Global Forum on Food and Agriculture (GFFA), Trend reports.
The Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojaev, at the invitation of the Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany, Julia Klöckner, took part in the XIII Global Forum on Food and Agriculture (GFFA), which takes place from 18 to 22 January as part of the international Green Week in Berlin - one of the major events in the field of food, horticulture, agriculture, and forestry.
The forum was also attended by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa Thoko Didiza, Director of the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture Christian Hofer, CEO, and CEO of Syngenta Group Eric Firwald, and Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany Julia Klöckner.
In his speech, the Minister of Uzbekistan noted that due to the pandemic in Uzbekistan, the supply of essential goods and food was disrupted, which affected the access of farmers and consumers to certain agricultural products, such as potatoes and vegetable oils, so now Uzbekistan is reviewing the volume of placement of potatoes and oilseeds crops to be further independent of imports.
He also added that during the coronavirus pandemic, a number of new initiatives were introduced to social protection of vulnerable groups of the population, and existing support programs were expanded to partially compensate for lost income.
“Timely measures were aimed at stabilizing consumer prices, primarily at the expense of the national strategic food reserve, as well as improving green corridors at the borders and simplifying administrative procedures for agricultural traders,” he noted.
In addition, some tariffs on imports of agri-food products were reduced, and payment holidays (a feature offered by some loans and mortgages that allows missing the occasional monthly payments agreed in advance) were introduced to pay off certain agricultural loans.
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