The European Union has allocated 6 million euros (approximately 82 billion Uzbek soums) to the government of Uzbekistan for agricultural reforms, as reported by the press service of the EU Delegation in Tashkent.
The grant allocation will support the implementation of the National Strategy for Food Security and Healthy Nutrition, as well as guiding principles of program budgeting.
The agreement between the government of Uzbekistan and the EU involves a total amount of 20 million euros to support the implementation of the Agriculture Development Strategy for 2020-2030. As part of this assistance, additional grant funds are expected to be provided this year and the following year.
The main goal is to support Uzbekistan's transition to a market-oriented and sustainable agricultural sector that creates more jobs and income for the population while increasing access to safe and nutritious food.
Ambassador Charlotte Adriaen emphasized, "The agri-food sector is critical to the economy of Uzbekistan and is the main source of employment. Family farms also produce a significant portion of the meat and vegetables consumed by the citizens of Uzbekistan. Therefore, we focus on reforms that enable these dehkan farms to adapt to changing climates, protect the environment, produce healthy food, and become part of local and global value chains. Grant funding, along with other EU initiatives such as GSP+, will also help increase exports to the European Union."
A sustainable agri-food sector is one of the three strategic priorities of the EU's Multiannual Indicative Program for Uzbekistan (2021-2027). Among the other priorities are effective governance and inclusive, green, and digital growth. Since 2021, the program has already allocated approximately 76 million euros (almost 1 trillion Uzbek soums) to Uzbekistan.
Previously, the EU has supported agricultural sector reforms with a budget of 32.5 million euros from 2020 to 2023.
