Resource information
Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of Uzbekistan contributing 16%
to GDP and 44% to employment. Uzbekistan has a land area of 44.8 million ha, of
which about 4.5 million ha is arable, and 4 million ha is irrigated. Main cultivated crops
are cotton, wheat, barley, rice, maize, potatoes, and horticultural crops (vegetables and
fruits). The population of Uzbekistan was estimated at 34 million in 2019 and continues
to grow at a rate of 1.67% per year (WB, 2019). Currently, an estimated 18 million
people live in rural areas, most of which draw their livelihoods from agriculture.
During the Former Soviet Union (FSU) era, Uzbekistan was a major producer of cotton,
vegetables, and fruits. About 70% of irrigated land was devoted to cotton production,
while fodder crops (alfalfa, rye, barley, and maize) were grown in rotation with cotton
and supported limited livestock production. Wheat, one of the key food security crops,
was mostly imported from other regions of the FSU, with local production meeting only
20% of domestic demand.
After its independence in 1991, Uzbekistan’s access to strategic food imports became
less secure due to the abolition of the centrally coordinated commodity supply and
subsidy systems between Russia and its Soviet Socialist Republics. Subsequent structural
adjustments by the former Soviet republics made the contracting system less reliable
and reduced regional trade. As a landlocked country with limited access to international
markets, it became very important for Uzbekistan to ensure its food security through
domestic production.
Over the decades, Uzbekistan’s agricultural policy was characterized by full Government
control over agricultural production and marketing. Land is owned by the Government
as enshrined in the Constitution. The Government distributes land to farmers and
determines the agricultural commodities to be grown under Government quotas (public
procurement contracts). Two of the Government’s major goals were to increase the
much-needed foreign exchange revenue through the export of cotton, and to increase
self-sufficiency in wheat production - thereby reducing dependence on imports.
However, this inadvertently led to monoculture of cotton and wheat in most of the
country.
