Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 11 December 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan is holding an event dedicated to the Day of Agricultural Workers in Tashkent. 

The event is attended by the press secretary of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sherzod Asadov, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the head of the complex for agrarian and food issues Shukhrat Ganiev, the Minister of Agriculture Aziz Voitov, the head of the Center "Uzbekistan-KOPIA" (Republic of Korea) Professor Oh Song Jong, as well as managers, experts in the agricultural sector, farmers, dekhkans, entrepreneurs, media representatives and other guests.

At the event, representatives of the industry, who selflessly and effectively worked in the agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, were awarded badges and gifts. The awards were presented by the Press Secretary of the President Sherzod Asadov, Deputy Prime Minister Shukhrat Ganiev and Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Voitov.

They were awarded such badges and awards as “Qishloq hujaligi fidoyisi” (“For selfless labor in agriculture”), “Mehnatkash dehkon” (“Hard-working farmer”), “Namunali tomorkachi” (“Exemplary worker of a personal plot”).

Shukhrat Ganiev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan:

- 2022 has become a real test for agricultural workers. Particularly unfavorable for agriculture, the spring and summer months of this year created a number of difficulties for farmers and dehkans, requiring them to double their responsible approach and dedication to their work. However, in subsequent years, only thanks to the system created in the agro-industrial complex, even in such a difficult year, high performance was achieved in all our sectors. Thanks to your selfless work, 7.2 million tons of crops were grown this year, of which 2.6 million tons of grain were purchased for state resources, and more than 4.6 million tons remained at the disposal of dekhkans and farmers. An opportunity was created for farmers to sell grain at free prices in the period they chose. Also this year, it was possible to obtain more than 22 million tons of fruits and vegetables, more than 3.5 million tons of cotton, 24 thousand tons of silk raw materials, 2.7 million tons of meat and more than 11.7 million tons of milk, 8.7 billion pieces. eggs. 500 thousand tons of fish. Also, high rates were achieved in the processing of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and beekeeping products and in their export. Of course, all this was created thanks to the painstaking and hard work of our dekhkans, farmers, clusters, livestock breeders, mechanics, scientists and specialists in various fields of agriculture.

Aziz Voitov, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan:

- In 2022, as part of the Agricultural Development Strategy for 2020-2030, we carried out fundamental reforms and achieved a number of positive results. In particular, the place of Uzbekistan among 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index rose by 12 places, from 85 to 73 places. Uzbekistan ranked first among the 10 countries with the highest growth rates in terms of food security in 2019-2022. Taking this opportunity, I would like to highlight the most important tasks that must be completed by the Ministry of Agriculture for the further development of the sector in the coming year:

- Fundamentally new systems of financing, crediting, insurance and subsidizing in the agro-industrial complex will be introduced on the basis of the proposals of farmers and dekhkans, the best world practices.

- Legal grounds will be created for establishing mutual cooperative cooperation in the system organization of storage, processing and sale of products.

- Agricultural service centers will be established in 3-4 districts of each region.

- The Agroplatform information system will be launched to monitor the placement of crops and allocate preferential loans.

- "Industrial parks of food products" with modern infrastructure will be created in the regions.

As part of the event, panel discussions and meetings of representatives of the agrarian sector were organized on various topics related to reforms implemented in agriculture. As well as exhibitions and fairs of agricultural products, which present a variety of products grown by farms and dekhkan farms, brought from each region of our republic.

Thematic panel sessions will be held in four areas.

In particular, they will discuss issues of effective interaction between agricultural enterprises and financial institutions, on which effective work is being carried out to finance the agricultural sector, coordinate the correct processing of information and statistics of the agro-food sector, create favorable conditions for clusters, farms and dekhkan farms in the regions, work with loans and foreign grants international financial institutions and these issues will be given attention at the event.

Oh Song Jong, Director of the KOPIA Center in Uzbekistan:

- On behalf of the Korean Rural Development Administration (RDA), I congratulate Uzbekistan on the holiday - Agricultural Worker’s Day. Agriculture plays an important role in ensuring national food security, and the KOPIA center uses every opportunity to develop agriculture in Uzbekistan. In particular, among the projects there are smart farms. We use every opportunity to deliver technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, such as water-saving agriculture, to Uzbek farmers. I believe that the leading researchers in Uzbekistan and the KOPIA Center are always striving to bring together research and technology to this country.

Particular attention will be paid to the trend of creating a high value chain in the food industry. Experts will express their opinions on the implementation of investment projects in the agricultural and food industries, increasing the volume of storage, processing of agricultural products and the development of agro-logistic infrastructure, issues of production, export and quarantine of products and the possibilities of using international standards.

Further on the program, a round table will be held on improving the efficiency of the use of land and water resources. The participants will give lectures on land development, increasing soil fertility and productivity, ensuring employment and stable income through the allocation of land to the population, the effectiveness of introducing water-saving technologies, and the effective use of energy-saving technologies in agriculture.

At the event, special attention will be paid to the issues of modern technologies in agriculture - there will be lectures and discussions on the creation of new types of seeds based on innovative solutions, taking into account the soil and climatic conditions of the regions, on promoting and supporting the use of modern energy-saving technologies in the fields.

It is planned to hold round tables with the participation of specialists and experts, exhibitions of agricultural products from all regions of the country and innovative technologies used in the field. It is also planned to hold bilateral meetings in B2B, B2G, B2S formats.

At the initiative of the head of our state, one of the main tasks was the reform of the agricultural sector, which is an important sector of the country’s economy, and ensuring the well-being of the people. Based on this, large-scale measures are being taken to comprehensively support agricultural workers and create opportunities for them.

In particular, in 2017, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted the Law “On Establishing the Day of Agricultural Workers of the Republic of Uzbekistan” and annually, on the second Sunday of December, this date and the “Harvest Festival” are widely celebrated throughout the country.

In our republic, 4.2 million people are employed in agriculture and the food industry. Most of them selflessly work in various areas of the industry: in agricultural clusters and cooperatives, farms and dekhkan farms.