Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Tashkent hosted a regional conference on the topic "A unified way to finance the transformation of the food system in the Europe-Central Asia region" with the participation of the government of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and representatives of international organizations.

Within the framework of the conference, a ceremony was held to sign an agreement on opening a representative office of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Uzbekistan.

On 24 October, the Government of Uzbekistan was presented with a new Country Strategic Opportunity Program (COSOP) for 2023-2027, developed by IFAD with the direct participation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan.

Charlotte Adrian, Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan, noted:

“Today’s conference comes at the right time. Indeed, recently there have been threats in the food safety system due to crises occurring around the world. These factors negatively affect low-income countries in particular, prices in the food chain are rising globally, and raw materials are becoming more expensive. The important question before us is how we should respond to these dangers. Of course, these crises confirm that we need to accelerate. The European Union has already begun its efforts to restore global food security. In this regard, we have also launched humanitarian aid. Our goal is to change and stabilize food transformation.

The food industry and agriculture in Uzbekistan has always been the focus of our organization and we will continue our activities in this direction in the next seven years. Through various financial institutions and our partners, we support the development of smart agriculture. We want to create opportunities for even the smallest dekhkan farms. I would like to express my gratitude for the contribution of IFAD among international organizations and highlight the role of the ISCAD center under the Ministry of Agriculture in managing the investment portfolio. We applaud these efforts."

Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, said:

“The crisis from the pandemic has shown that humanity is vulnerable to poverty. That is why we are trying to develop the agricultural sector. If we do not take the necessary steps in this regard, it will be difficult for the people of the world. There are a lot of farms in the agricultural sector and it is necessary to develop them and increase their biodiversity, they help us create a sustainable society. If farmers get income, it helps the economy as a whole. It is necessary to create new jobs in the villages, to provide equal opportunities for women and men. In addition, the government should focus primarily on agriculture, which, in turn, will bring together financial institutions and the private sector. The most vulnerable segments of the population must also be taken into account. To achieve a positive result in these matters, IFAD is strengthening cooperation with the government of Uzbekistan. We will intensify cooperation in 2023-2027 and beyond.”

Aziz Voitov, Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, stressed:

“We are grateful to international partners for their contribution to the development of the sustainability of the country’s food system.

In the republic, special attention is paid to the implementation of investment projects with the attraction of funds from the state budget and international financial institutions.

Our ministry is implementing 7 major projects under the guarantee of the Government aimed at the development of agriculture for a total of US$1.8 billion.

In close work with international partners, the “Strategy for the Development of Agriculture in Uzbekistan until 2030” was developed and approved, as well as a number of state sectoral programs to strengthen the country’s position in all key SDG indicators.

Joining Uzbekistan to the joint initiative of the World Bank, IFAD and FAO on the development of agricultural statistics called "50 STRATEGIES UNTIL 2030" will increase our ability to coordinate the agricultural sector and respond faster to future challenges.

We will have to jointly build a digital system for reporting and monitoring the implementation of projects with international financial institutions to increase their transparency and efficiency of further planning.”