BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Uzbekistan needs to advance production and processing technologies for agricultural products, as well as ensure the preservation of their quality, environmental standards, and longevity, Assistant Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in Uzbekistan Sherzod Umarov told Trend.
“Issues of climate change, water shortages, agriculture land reforms, ensuring food security for the population, as well as joining the World Trade Organization, will be on the agenda of the national government in the field of agricultural development in the coming years,” Umarov said.
The representative added that Uzbekistan’s agro-industrial complex, which has an extensive resource base based on agricultural and livestock products, produces a wide range of food and grocery products, including canned fruits and vegetables, juices, drinks, vegetable oils, meat, and dairy products. In terms of gross production of vegetable oil, the Republic is among the 20 world producers, producing mainly cottonseed oil. Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest producers of tomato paste, raisins, and dried fruits, which have unique taste qualities.
“The issues of developing and further improving technologies for the production and processing of agricultural products, ensuring the preservation of their quality indicators and environmental cleanliness, adding certain indicators for improving quality, and ensuring their long-term storage become more relevant in the context of increasing competitiveness in the market of agricultural products and expanding export opportunities for domestic producers in Uzbekistan,” Umarov explained.
Meanwhile, major prospects for the development of agriculture in the Republic of Uzbekistan are defined in the Agriculture Development Strategy of the country for the period from 2020 through 2030 and the Road Map developed for it.
