Abandoning the government order for cotton and grain production will lead to the eradication of the race for agricultural planning, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced on February 14 at a government meeting on agricultural sector, Uzbekistan 24 reported.
“We have decided this year to step-by-step abandon the government plan for cotton and grain production. From the point of view of farmers' financial interest ... the centenary system is to be abolished within three years - this will be a very hard issue to deal with. In general, this year we are launching major agricultural reforms. If we do not liberalize production in agriculture, we will not achieve economic growth and efficiency. There are many problems to work on, but there is no other way. We cannot generate income by selling silk and yarn. We need finished products, a third, fourth level of added value,” the presidential press service said.
“Agricultural reforms are aimed at increasing income to the local budget, boost GDP by producing competitive products and job creation,” the president emphasized.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed confidence that horticulture, cotton growing and grain growing are three areas that will provide many jobs and help make profit.
“Much has been said about the development of horticulture, but it will be fair to say that there is no self-sufficient system, financial issues have not been fully resolved, attention is not paid to science, and most importantly there are no seedlings or fertilizers. The industry’s export potential of the is misused. [Now] clusters are being created in horticulture. We want to create a perfect system based on the wishes of our farmers and fruit and vegetable exporters. We have created all the organizational and legal foundations for this, but one question bothers me: “Do local leaders, farmers, and entrepreneurs have an idea of how the system will work?” he noted.
In this regard, the president pointed to the need to improve the cluster financing system, introduce lending to production and processing of products in clusters as a separate type of activity.
“Cluster are our only remedy. Every governor think about how he will use the export potential tomorrow. If there is a cluster, then there will be refrigerators. If there are refrigerators, then you can sell vegetables during winters. The farmer will benefit. We will provide government loans, create subsidies in all systems. If people do not benefit, then they will not go on fields. They must have dollars in their account. Therefore, knowledge, will, patience, endurance, labor, quill, book, education are needed, and [this applies] to every governor,” the head of state said.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that farmers will benefit from competition between clusters and cooperatives, that is, farmers who own the land.
“Times are changing. Relationships are changing. However the people are not changing fast enough. There is no way back. The main goal of the clusters is to increase the volume of exports. To do this, we must find new markets. If there is no markets, then there will be no export then there will not be much use of clusters,” he concluded.
